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Best Drama TV Series of the 1980s

Top 500 most popular Drama series that started in the 1980s

All Drama series All series from the 1980s
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Genres

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

Decades

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

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

Rating patterns

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

Tone & mood
Pacing & structure
Humor style
Themes & subject matter
Characters & perspective
Emotional payoff
Craft & style
Format & audience
Viewing-culture clusters
Intensity & content character
500 series (top 500 shown)

American Playhouse

★ 7.3
444 165 1980–1994
Drama

Bohubrihi

★ 9.3
443 26 1988–1988
Comedy · Drama · Family

Talking Heads

★ 8.6
441 6 1988–1988
Comedy · Drama

Death of an Expert Witness

★ 7.4
441 7 1983–1983
Crime · Drama · Mystery

Jackasses and Nerds

★ 6.9
436 6 1988–1989
Drama · Family

Loving

★ 7.0
436 3298 1983–1995
Drama · Romance

Princess Daisy

★ 6.3
435 2 1983–1983
Drama · Romance

Summer's Lease

★ 7.5
434 4 1989–present
Drama · Mystery

Kamen Rider Black RX

★ 8.2
433 47 1988–1989
Action · Adventure · Drama

The Wizard

★ 7.8
432 19 1986–1987
Adventure · Drama

A Tale of Two Cities

★ 7.1
430 2 1989–1989
Drama · History · Romance

Shroud for a Nightingale

★ 7.5
430 5 1984–1984
Crime · Drama · Mystery

Lady Blue

★ 6.5
430 14 1985–1986
Drama

Großstadtrevier

★ 6.2
424 527 1986–present
Comedy · Crime · Drama

Cover Her Face

★ 7.5
424 6 1985–1985
Crime · Drama · Mystery

Hollywood Wives

★ 6.4
424 3 1985–1985
Drama · Romance

The Family-Ness

★ 6.8
423 25 1984–1985
Adventure · Animation · Drama

Sins

★ 7.1
423 3 1986–1986
Drama · Romance

Cuna de lobos

★ 8.7
421 169 1986–1987
Crime · Drama · Thriller

Dress Gray

★ 7.0
420 2 1986–1986
Crime · Drama · Mystery

The Black Tower

★ 7.4
418 6 1985–1985
Crime · Drama · Mystery

The Two Mrs. Grenvilles

★ 7.5
418 2 1987–1987
Crime · Drama

The Beiderbecke Tapes

★ 8.4
415 2 1987–1987
Drama · Music · Mystery

Capital City

★ 8.2
414 23 1989–1990
Drama
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