Best Documentary TV Series of the 1980s
294 Documentary series that started in the 1980s, ranked by popularity
Unsolved Mysteries
7K 609 1987–2010
Crime · Documentary · Drama
The Joy of Painting
7K 405 1983–1994
Documentary · Family
America's Funniest Home Videos
6K 948 1989–present
Comedy · Documentary · Family
48 Hours
3K 1505 1988–present
Crime · Documentary
Frontline
3K 875 1983–present
Documentary · News
American Experience
3K 395 1988–present
Biography · Documentary · History
America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back
2K 777 1988–2021
Crime · Documentary
Biography
2K 1280 1987–present
Biography · Documentary
American Masters
1K 316 1985–present
Biography · Documentary
Rescue 911
1K 186 1989–1996
Documentary
Nature
1K 745 1982–present
Documentary · Family
Inside Edition
922 4432 1988–present
Documentary · News
Natural World
838 537 1983–present
Documentary
MTV Unplugged
616 142 1989–present
Documentary · Music
Ripley's Believe It or Not!
587 77 1982–1986
Documentary · Family · History
The Charles Bukowski Tapes
539 25 1985–1985
Documentary
Shark Week
509 276 1987–present
Documentary
National Geographic Explorer
351 462 1985–present
Documentary
Free to Choose
350 10 1980–present
Documentary
America Undercover
349 72 1983–present
Documentary
P.O.V.
285 578 1988–present
Documentary
Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World
274 13 1980–1980
Documentary · Mystery
Dispatches
273 1039 1987–present
Documentary · News
The New Yankee Workshop
269 262 1989–2009
Documentary