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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

Stig of the Dump

120 10 1981–1981

Adventure · Drama · Family

Gospel Bill

105 9 1981–2022

Comedy · Drama · Family

Musikantenstadl

96 225 1981–2016

Family · Music

Going Out

89 6 1981–1981

Drama · Family

Barriers

88 20 1981–present

Drama · Family

Tik tak

Stjärnhuset

77 24 1981–1981

Break in the Sun

70 6 1981–1981

Drama · Family

Neochakvana Vakancia

68 4 1981–1981

Comedy · Family

Storybook International

67 65 1981–1987

Family · Fantasy

På kurs med Kurt

60 5 1981–present

Comedy · Family

TROS TV Show

54 94 1981–2022

Documentary · Family

The Garden with the Statues

53 6 1981–1981

Torvet

46 24 1981–1981

Chockablock

45 13 1981–1981

Family · Music

Codename Icarus

44 5 1981–1981

Drama · Family

Rod, Jane and Freddy

44 120 1981–1991

Family · Music

American Dream

41 9 1981–1981

Drama · Family

Sijamci

40 5 1981–1982

Comedy · Family

What Now?

38 157 1981–present

5 auf dem Apfelstern

38 4 1981–present

Maggie

37 18 1981–1982

Drama · Family

Rodzina Lesniewskich

33 7 1981–present

Comedy · Family

Interster

32 13 1981–present

Family · Sci-Fi

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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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