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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 Drama TV Series of 1981

182 Drama series that started in 1981, ranked by popularity

All Drama series All series from 1981

Filter & sort

Genres

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

Action 11 Adult 0 Adventure 13 Animation 5 Biography 13 Comedy 10 Crime 19 Documentary 0 Drama 182 Family 13 Fantasy 1 Game-Show 0 History 23 Horror 3 Music 0 Musical 1 Mystery 9 News 0 Reality-TV 0 Romance 32 Sci-Fi 1 Short 0 Sport 0 Talk-Show 0 Thriller 6 War 5 Western 4

Decades

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

2020s 15153 2010s 12095 2000s 6142 1990s 3041 1980s 2162 1970s 1372 1960s 637 1950s 386 1940s 31 1930s 5 1920s 2 1900s 0

Specific year

2026 1449 2025 2989 2024 2392 2023 2296 2022 2211 2021 2019 2020 1797 2019 1714 2018 1552 2017 1490 2016 1338 2015 1194 2014 1082 2013 1003 2012 966 2011 929 2010 827 2009 801 2008 771 2007 784 2006 715 2005 646 2004 559 2003 513 2002 463 2001 476 2000 414 1999 384 1998 355 1997 371 1996 326 1995 292 1994 291 1993 292 1992 238 1991 250 1990 242 1989 262 1988 238 1987 238 1986 230 1985 232 1984 221 1983 203 1982 179 1981 182 1980 177 1979 188 1978 183 1977 155 1976 156 1975 128 1974 143 1973 106 1972 129 1971 97 1970 87 1969 94 1968 74 1967 77 1966 68 1965 65 1964 58 1963 56 1962 44 1961 44 1960 57 1959 59 1958 43 1957 40 1956 37 1955 49 1954 36 1953 29 1952 34 1951 25 1950 34 1949 21 1948 5 1947 2 1946 2 1945 1 1938 2 1937 1 1931 1 1930 1 1929 1 1928 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 1 Dark tone 0 Feel-good 0 Cozy 0 Wholesome 0 Melancholic 1 Tense 0 Unsettling 0 Whimsical 0 Campy 1 Cynical 0 Hopeful 0 Sentimental 0 Nostalgic 1 Bittersweet 1 Chaotic energy 0 Deadpan cool 0

Pacing & structure

Slow burn 1 Fast-paced 0 Episodic 1 Serialized 2 Procedural 2 Mystery box 0 Anthology 0 Cliffhanger-driven 1 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 2 True crime 0 Heists & cons 0 Legal 0 Medical 0 Political intrigue 0 Espionage 0 War & military 0 Family saga 3 Coming of age 0 Workplace 2 School & campus 0 Love story 1 Friendship 2 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 1 Sports 0 Music scene 0 Food & cooking 0 Nature & science 0 Real history 0 Royalty & aristocracy 1 Small town 0 Big city life 1 Rural & frontier 0 Suburban underbelly 0 Class divide 0 Immigrant experience 0 Queer stories 0 Female perspective 1 Social commentary 0 Philosophical 0 Existential dread 0 Revenge 0 Redemption 0 Secrets & lies 2

Characters & perspective

Antihero lead 0 Morally gray 1 Villain's POV 0 Ensemble cast 2 Central duo 1 Strong female lead 1 Child's perspective 0 Outsider lead 0 Genius lead 0 Working class 0 Elites & privilege 3 Unreliable narrator 0 Character study 1 Banter chemistry 1

Emotional payoff

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

Craft & style

Dialogue-driven 2 Visually striking 1 Stylized direction 0 Naturalistic 1 Big-budget spectacle 0 Lo-fi charm 0 Atmospheric 1 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 2 Event miniseries 1 Reality competition 0 Lifestyle reality 0 Docuseries 0 Sketch & variety 0 Game & quiz show 0 Talk & panel 0 Period piece 1 Contemporary life 0 Long-runner 0 Built to binge 0

Viewing-culture clusters

British TV 1 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 1

Sort

182 series

Private Schulz

466 6 1981–1981

Comedy · Crime · Drama

Second Chance

463 6 1981–1981

Darkroom

396 16 1981–1982

Drama · Fantasy · Horror

Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years

377 8 1981–1981

Biography · Drama · History

Father Murphy

362 34 1981–1983

Drama · Family · Western

Les uns et les autres

357 5 1981–1983

Kessler

346 6 1981–1981

Drama · Thriller

Walking Tall

341 7 1981–1981

Action · Crime · Drama

The Gangster Chronicles

336 15 1981–1981

Biography · Crime · Drama

School of Love

323 26 1981–1981

Animation · Drama · Family

The Manions of America

289 3 1981–1981

Queen Millennia

244 42 1981–1982

Animation · Drama · Mystery

Seagull Island

242 5 1981–present

Adventure · Drama · Horror

From the Northern Country

234 24 1981–1982

The Borgias

234 10 1981–1981

Biography · Drama · History

Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls

228 2 1981–1981

Code Red

227 19 1981–1982

Action · Adventure · Drama

Rossiya molodaya

223 9 1981–1984

Drama · History

Great Expectations

206 13 1981–1981

Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan

174 50 1981–1982

Action · Adventure · Drama

The Chinese Detective

155 14 1981–1982

Nepokoreni Grad

142 14 1981–1982

Drama · History · Thriller

Punishment

137 26 1981–1982

An Orphan's Tale

134 3 1981–present

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‹ 1980 1981 1982 ›

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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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