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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
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500 series (top 500 shown)

My Family and Other Animals

★ 7.9
266 10 1987–1987
Drama

Bordertown

★ 7.2
266 78 1989–1991
Adventure · Drama · Western

Neon Rider

★ 6.3
266 64 1989–1995
Drama

Shine on Harvey Moon

★ 7.5
266 41 1982–1995
Comedy · Drama

Hardball

★ 7.2
266 18 1989–1990
Action · Crime · Drama

Star Cops

★ 7.2
266 9 1987–1987
Crime · Drama · Mystery

Avicenna

★ 7.7
265 9 1987–present
Biography · Drama · History

By the Sword Divided

★ 8.1
262 20 1983–1985
Drama · History · War

Behaving Badly

★ 6.4
259 4 1989–1989
Drama

The Endless Game

★ 6.1
258 2 1989–1989
Drama · Mystery · Thriller

Big Deal

★ 8.1
258 30 1984–1986
Comedy · Drama

C.A.T.S. Eyes

★ 6.4
257 31 1985–1987
Action · Crime · Drama

Thérèse Raquin

★ 7.0
256 3 1980–1980
Drama

The Citadel

★ 8.2
255 10 1983–1983
Drama

For the Term of His Natural Life

★ 7.5
255 3 1983–1983
Adventure · Drama

Kimagure Orange Road OVA

★ 7.9
254 8 1989–1991
Animation · Comedy · Drama

Chouju Sentai Liveman

★ 7.2
254 49 1988–1989
Action · Adventure · Drama

Ramona

★ 7.9
253 10 1988–1989
Drama · Family

Tender Is the Night

★ 7.9
251 6 1985–1985
Drama

Lottery!

★ 6.9
249 17 1983–1984
Comedy · Drama

Liebling Kreuzberg

★ 7.2
249 58 1986–1998
Comedy · Drama · Thriller

Madam Sousou

★ 8.0
248 26 1986–1986
Comedy · Drama

We'll Meet Again

★ 7.2
247 13 1982–1982
Drama · Romance · War

Anna

★ 6.7
245 6 1987–1987
Drama · Family
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