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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 Mystery TV Series of 1980

24 Mystery series that started in 1980, ranked by popularity

All Mystery series All series from 1980

Filter & sort

Genres

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

Action 3 Adult 0 Adventure 1 Animation 0 Biography 0 Comedy 1 Crime 10 Documentary 1 Drama 10 Family 2 Fantasy 0 Game-Show 0 History 0 Horror 1 Music 0 Musical 0 Mystery 24 News 0 Reality-TV 0 Romance 0 Sci-Fi 1 Short 0 Sport 0 Talk-Show 0 Thriller 4 War 0 Western 0

Decades

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

2020s 2074 2010s 1614 2000s 629 1990s 274 1980s 195 1970s 146 1960s 77 1950s 46 1940s 8 1930s 2 1920s 0 1900s 0

Specific year

2026 152 2025 296 2024 326 2023 319 2022 362 2021 317 2020 302 2019 259 2018 221 2017 241 2016 176 2015 155 2014 152 2013 115 2012 108 2011 104 2010 83 2009 76 2008 77 2007 84 2006 75 2005 80 2004 55 2003 45 2002 48 2001 46 2000 43 1999 34 1998 27 1997 44 1996 25 1995 24 1994 23 1993 25 1992 21 1991 28 1990 23 1989 23 1988 19 1987 21 1986 20 1985 24 1984 19 1983 17 1982 14 1981 14 1980 24 1979 16 1978 12 1977 14 1976 14 1975 10 1974 17 1973 18 1972 16 1971 18 1970 11 1969 12 1968 9 1967 16 1966 5 1965 9 1964 7 1963 4 1962 3 1961 5 1960 7 1959 6 1958 5 1957 8 1956 7 1955 3 1954 6 1952 4 1951 5 1950 2 1949 5 1947 1 1946 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 0 Wholesome 0 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 0 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 1 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 0 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 1 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 0 Romantic yearning 0 Cathartic 0 Wonder & awe 0 Mounting dread 0 Warm glow 0 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 0 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 1 Contemporary life 0 Long-runner 0 Built to binge 0

Viewing-culture clusters

British TV 0 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 0

Sort

24 series

Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson

5K 2 1980–1980

Detective mystery · Central duo

The Martian Chronicles

3K 3 1980–1980

Drama · Mystery · Sci-Fi

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson

2K 3 1980–1980

Crime · Drama · Mystery

Masterpiece Mystery

991 311 1980–present

Crime · Drama · Mystery

Beyond Westworld

410 5 1980–1980

Action · Crime · Mystery

Juliet Bravo

349 88 1980–1985

Crime · Drama · Mystery

Fantômas

283 4 1980–1980

Crime · Horror · Mystery

Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World

274 13 1980–1980

Documentary · Mystery

Cribb

203 14 1980–1981

Crime · Drama · Mystery

Kanikuly Krosha

137 4 1980–1980

Adventure · Family · Mystery

Breakaway

59 12 1980–1980

Mystery · Thriller

We, the Accused

52 5 1980–1980

Crime · Drama · Mystery

CBS Children's Mystery Theatre

31 5 1980–1982

Family · Mystery

Jup do bo

Comedy · Mystery

Timelapse

21 12 1980–1980

Action · Drama · Mystery

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

19 4 1980–1980

L'enigma delle due sorelle

16 4 1980–present

Mystery · Thriller

Watch All Night

15 7 1980–1980

Mystery · Thriller

Square Mile of Murder

8 6 1980–1980

Crime · Mystery

Cat's Head

El solitario

7 39 1980–present

Drama · Mystery · Thriller

Al Qina' Al Za'ef

Drama · Mystery

Al Khabaya

Drama · Mystery

Bambole: scene di un delitto perfetto

6 1980–present

Action · Crime · Mystery

‹ 1979 1980 1981 ›

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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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