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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)

Matt Houston

★ 6.5
2K 67 1982–1985
Action · Crime · Drama

Circus

★ 7.8
2K 19 1989–1990
Drama

Small Sacrifices

★ 7.6
2K 2 1989–1989
Crime · Drama · History

The Women of Brewster Place

★ 7.8
2K 2 1989–1989
Drama

The New Mike Hammer

★ 6.9
1K 46 1984–1989
Action · Crime · Drama

Luv Kush

★ 9.0
1K 39 1988–1989
Adventure · Drama · Fantasy

Maison Ikkoku

★ 8.1
1K 96 1986–1988
Animation · Comedy · Drama

Marco Polo

★ 7.7
1K 8 1982–1983
Adventure · Biography · Drama

Ever Decreasing Circles

★ 7.4
1K 27 1984–1989
Comedy · Drama

Verano azul

★ 7.9
1K 19 1981–1982
Comedy · Drama · Family

A Woman of Substance

★ 7.5
1K 3 1984–1984
Drama · Romance

Mansfield Park

★ 6.7
1K 6 1983–1983
Drama · Romance

Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna

★ 6.6
1K 2 1986–1986
Biography · Drama · Mystery

The Barchester Chronicles

★ 8.1
1K 7 1982–1982
Drama

The Mahabharata

★ 7.8
1K 3 1989–1990
Action · Adventure · Drama

The Kickers

★ 7.4
1K 26 1986–1988
Animation · Comedy · Drama

The Colbys

★ 6.1
1K 49 1985–1987
Drama

Goliath Awaits

★ 6.6
1K 2 1981–1981
Adventure · Drama · Romance

Fatal Vision

★ 7.7
1K 2 1984–1984
Crime · Drama · History

Brødrene Dal og spektralsteinene

★ 8.1
1K 13 1982–1982
Adventure · Comedy · Drama

Campion

★ 7.6
1K 16 1989–1990
Adventure · Crime · Drama

Oshin

★ 8.3
1K 298 1983–1984
Biography · Drama · Family

Press Gang

★ 8.0
1K 43 1989–1993
Comedy · Drama · Family

New Captain Tsubasa

★ 7.6
1K 13 1989–1990
Animation · Drama · Family
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