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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 Family TV Series of 1981

84 Family series that started in 1981, ranked by popularity

All Family series All series from 1981

Filter & sort

Genres

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

Action 1 Adult 0 Adventure 8 Animation 19 Biography 0 Comedy 22 Crime 0 Documentary 1 Drama 13 Family 84 Fantasy 6 Game-Show 2 History 0 Horror 0 Music 3 Musical 2 Mystery 0 News 0 Reality-TV 0 Romance 0 Sci-Fi 4 Short 1 Sport 0 Talk-Show 0 Thriller 1 War 0 Western 1

Decades

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

2020s 1298 2010s 2185 2000s 1839 1990s 1311 1980s 1052 1970s 750 1960s 441 1950s 241 1940s 46 1930s 2 1920s 0 1900s 0

Specific year

2026 54 2025 150 2024 173 2023 200 2022 220 2021 246 2020 255 2019 236 2018 238 2017 246 2016 220 2015 238 2014 200 2013 200 2012 212 2011 205 2010 190 2009 185 2008 167 2007 203 2006 214 2005 173 2004 173 2003 189 2002 203 2001 169 2000 163 1999 164 1998 145 1997 150 1996 129 1995 127 1994 128 1993 123 1992 114 1991 119 1990 112 1989 120 1988 104 1987 123 1986 118 1985 109 1984 90 1983 111 1982 100 1981 84 1980 93 1979 80 1978 80 1977 78 1976 96 1975 76 1974 93 1973 62 1972 87 1971 56 1970 42 1969 64 1968 51 1967 49 1966 50 1965 44 1964 39 1963 36 1962 35 1961 40 1960 33 1959 27 1958 23 1957 25 1956 22 1955 32 1954 19 1953 23 1952 24 1951 14 1950 32 1949 23 1948 12 1947 7 1946 2 1943 2 1938 1 1930 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 0 Dark tone 0 Feel-good 0 Cozy 1 Wholesome 1 Melancholic 0 Tense 0 Unsettling 0 Whimsical 0 Campy 0 Cynical 0 Hopeful 0 Sentimental 0 Nostalgic 0 Bittersweet 0 Chaotic energy 0 Deadpan cool 0

Pacing & structure

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

Characters & perspective

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

Emotional payoff

Tearjerker 0 Adrenaline 0 Intellectual challenge 0 Comfort rewatch 1 Romantic yearning 0 Cathartic 0 Wonder & awe 0 Mounting dread 0 Warm glow 1 Gut punch 0

Craft & style

Dialogue-driven 0 Visually striking 0 Stylized direction 0 Naturalistic 0 Big-budget spectacle 0 Lo-fi charm 0 Atmospheric 0 Distinctive score 0 Experimental 0 Deep worldbuilding 0 Tight writing 0

Format & audience

Sitcom 0 Adult animation 0 Anime 0 Kids & family 1 Young adult 0 Soap & telenovela 0 Event miniseries 0 Reality competition 0 Lifestyle reality 0 Docuseries 0 Sketch & variety 0 Game & quiz show 0 Talk & panel 0 Period piece 0 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 1 Emotionally heavy 0 Easy watching 1

Sort

84 series

Postman Pat

4K 190 1981–2017

Kids & family · Family-safe · Cozy

Spider-Man

2K 26 1981–1982

Adventure · Animation · Family

Swiss Family Robinson

1K 50 1981–1981

Adventure · Animation · Family

Verano azul

1K 19 1981–1982

Comedy · Drama · Family

Today's Special

962 94 1981–1987

Family · Fantasy · Musical

Löwenzahn

961 477 1981–present

Animation · Comedy · Family

Blackstar

931 13 1981–1982

Adventure · Animation · Family

Alice in Wonderland

870 3 1981–1981

Animation · Comedy · Family

Silas

567 6 1981–1981

Adventure · Drama · Family

Willo the Wisp

560 26 1981–1981

Animation · Family

Jelenko

519 13 1981–1981

Under the Mountain

478 8 1981–1981

Family · Sci-Fi · Thriller

Father Murphy

362 34 1981–1983

Drama · Family · Western

Mr. Merlin

347 22 1981–1982

Comedy · Family · Fantasy

School of Love

323 26 1981–1981

Animation · Drama · Family

The Great Space Coaster

312 2 1981–1986

Animation · Comedy · Family

The Sylvester & Tweety, Daffy & Speedy Show

229 1981–1985

Animation · Comedy · Family

Into the Labyrinth

202 21 1981–1982

Family · Fantasy

Hello! Spank

194 63 1981–1982

Animation · Comedy · Family

Space Stars

192 66 1981–1981

Animation · Family · Sci-Fi

Laverne & Shirley in the Army

168 21 1981–1982

Animation · Comedy · Family

The Kwicky Koala Show

155 16 1981–1981

Animation · Comedy · Family

Pigeon Street

145 13 1981–1981

Animation · Family

Little Women

127 26 1981–1981

Animation · Drama · Family

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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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