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Genres

Drama Comedy Animation Action Crime Adventure Romance Reality-TV More genres →

Decades

2020s 2010s 2000s 1990s 1980s 1970s 1960s 1950s 1940s 1930s 1920s 1900s

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Genres

Drama Comedy Animation Action Crime Adventure Romance Reality-TV More genres →

Decades

2020s 2010s 2000s 1990s 1980s 1970s 1960s 1950s 1940s 1930s 1920s 1900s

Tags Search My ratings Sign in

Best Documentary TV Series of 1980

24 Documentary series that started in 1980, ranked by popularity

All Documentary series All series from 1980

Filter & sort

Genres

Genres as assigned by IMDb. Selecting several means a show must match all of them.

Action 0 Adult 0 Adventure 0 Animation 0 Biography 3 Comedy 1 Crime 0 Documentary 24 Drama 1 Family 2 Fantasy 0 Game-Show 0 History 1 Horror 0 Music 0 Musical 0 Mystery 1 News 1 Reality-TV 0 Romance 0 Sci-Fi 0 Short 0 Sport 0 Talk-Show 0 Thriller 0 War 1 Western 0

Decades

By first-air year. Several selections widen the range; a specific year narrows within its decade.

2020s 6241 2010s 6789 2000s 3216 1990s 1037 1980s 361 1970s 168 1960s 123 1950s 45 1940s 5 1930s 2 1920s 0 1900s 0

Specific year

2026 333 2025 783 2024 946 2023 998 2022 1128 2021 1075 2020 978 2019 897 2018 849 2017 809 2016 752 2015 715 2014 612 2013 612 2012 574 2011 536 2010 433 2009 389 2008 388 2007 385 2006 369 2005 361 2004 360 2003 305 2002 250 2001 228 2000 181 1999 177 1998 157 1997 117 1996 116 1995 102 1994 83 1993 88 1992 76 1991 74 1990 47 1989 49 1988 55 1987 37 1986 32 1985 34 1984 32 1983 42 1982 39 1981 17 1980 24 1979 16 1978 29 1977 16 1976 23 1975 15 1974 14 1973 15 1972 18 1971 16 1970 6 1969 16 1968 14 1967 13 1966 10 1965 12 1964 17 1963 12 1962 4 1961 13 1960 12 1959 8 1958 4 1957 4 1956 5 1955 8 1954 7 1953 4 1952 2 1951 2 1950 1 1949 1 1948 1 1947 1 1941 1 1940 1 1939 1 1937 1

Tags

Rating patterns, computed from IMDb episode-rating trajectories. Deliberately strict: only shows with an unmistakable pattern carry one, so expect small numbers.

Rating patterns

Fumbled the Finale 0 Stuck the Landing 0 Grew the Beard 0 Rock Solid 0 Past Its Prime 0 Roller Coaster 0

Taste tags, judged by our AI taste model. They cover the 5,000 most-rated shows.

Tone & mood

Bleak 0 Gritty 0 Dark tone 0 Feel-good 0 Cozy 0 Wholesome 0 Melancholic 0 Tense 0 Unsettling 0 Whimsical 0 Campy 0 Cynical 0 Hopeful 0 Sentimental 0 Nostalgic 0 Bittersweet 0 Chaotic energy 0 Deadpan cool 0

Pacing & structure

Slow burn 0 Fast-paced 0 Episodic 0 Serialized 0 Procedural 0 Mystery box 0 Anthology 0 Cliffhanger-driven 0 Sprawling saga 0 Tight limited run 0 Puzzle plot 0 Vignette style 0

Humor style

Dry humor 0 Absurdist 0 Satirical 0 Cringe comedy 0 Slapstick 0 Witty banter 0 Dark comedy 0 Warm humor 0 Raunchy 0 Parody 0 Ironic & meta 0

Themes & subject matter

Criminal underworld 0 Detective mystery 0 True crime 0 Heists & cons 0 Legal 0 Medical 0 Political intrigue 0 Espionage 0 War & military 0 Family saga 0 Coming of age 0 Workplace 0 School & campus 0 Love story 0 Friendship 0 Found family 0 Survival 0 Post-apocalyptic 0 Dystopia 0 Supernatural 0 Space & sci-fi 0 Near-future tech 0 Time travel 0 High fantasy 0 Urban fantasy 0 Monster horror 0 Psychological horror 0 Addiction & vice 0 Mental health 0 Faith & religion 0 Sports 0 Music scene 0 Food & cooking 0 Nature & science 1 Real history 0 Royalty & aristocracy 0 Small town 0 Big city life 0 Rural & frontier 0 Suburban underbelly 0 Class divide 0 Immigrant experience 0 Queer stories 0 Female perspective 0 Social commentary 0 Philosophical 1 Existential dread 0 Revenge 0 Redemption 0 Secrets & lies 0

Characters & perspective

Antihero lead 0 Morally gray 0 Villain's POV 0 Ensemble cast 0 Central duo 0 Strong female lead 0 Child's perspective 0 Outsider lead 0 Genius lead 0 Working class 0 Elites & privilege 0 Unreliable narrator 0 Character study 0 Banter chemistry 0

Emotional payoff

Tearjerker 0 Adrenaline 0 Intellectual challenge 0 Comfort rewatch 0 Romantic yearning 0 Cathartic 0 Wonder & awe 1 Mounting dread 0 Warm glow 0 Gut punch 0

Craft & style

Dialogue-driven 0 Visually striking 0 Stylized direction 0 Naturalistic 0 Big-budget spectacle 0 Lo-fi charm 0 Atmospheric 0 Distinctive score 0 Experimental 0 Deep worldbuilding 0 Tight writing 0

Format & audience

Sitcom 0 Adult animation 0 Anime 0 Kids & family 0 Young adult 0 Soap & telenovela 0 Event miniseries 0 Reality competition 0 Lifestyle reality 0 Docuseries 1 Sketch & variety 0 Game & quiz show 0 Talk & panel 0 Period piece 0 Contemporary life 0 Long-runner 0 Built to binge 0

Viewing-culture clusters

British TV 0 Nordic noir 0 K-drama 0 Turkish drama 0 Indian TV 0

Intensity & content character

Graphic violence 0 Disturbing 0 Sexually explicit 0 Family-safe 0 Emotionally heavy 0 Easy watching 0

Sort

24 series

Cosmos

54K 13 1980–1980

Nature & science · Wonder & awe

Hollywood

931 13 1980–1980

Biography · Comedy · Documentary

Free to Choose

352 10 1980–present

Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World

274 13 1980–1980

Documentary · Mystery

Vietnam: The Ten Thousand Day War

269 26 1980–1981

Documentary · History · War

The Silk Road

196 30 1980–1984

The Shock of the New

190 8 1980–1980

France/Tour/Detour/Two/Children

148 12 1980–1980

Great Railway Journeys of the World

113 8 1980–present

The Real Thing

51 6 1980–1980

A Change of Sex

46 5 1980–1999

Biography · Documentary

Ireland: A Television History

33 13 1980–1981

Biography · Documentary · Drama

Those Amazing Animals

28 2 1980–1981

Documentary · Family

Ellis Island Tales

24 2 1980–present

Bilder, die die Welt bewegten - Peter von Zahn berichtet

20 34 1980–1984

Strangeways

17 8 1980–1980

Gay Life

16 17 1980–1981

Télétests

12 16 1980–present

Venture

12 9 1980–present

Documentary · News

Carrott Gets Rowdie

11 1980–present

Training Dogs the Woodhouse Way

11 16 1980–1982

Torget

8 4 1980–1980

Hong Kong, città di profughi

7 1980–present

Julius

6 4 1980–present

Documentary · Family

‹ 1979 1980 1981 ›

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Action Adult Adventure Animation Biography Comedy Crime Documentary Drama Family Fantasy Game-Show History Horror Music Musical Mystery News Reality-TV Romance Sci-Fi Short Sport Talk-Show Thriller War Western

This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Rating data from IMDb Non-Commercial Datasets.

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