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Best Mystery TV Series of the 1980s

195 Mystery series that started in the 1980s, ranked by popularity

All Mystery 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
195 series

Pasión y poder

★ 8.8
58 80 1988–1988
Drama · Mystery · Romance

Inspektor Losev

★ 6.1
56 3 1983–1983
Crime · Mystery · Romance

Don Tonino

★ 6.6
54 14 1988–1990
Comedy · Crime · Mystery

La casa al final de la calle

★ 8.3
54 170 1989–1989
Drama · Horror · Mystery

We, the Accused

★ 7.5
52 5 1980–1980
Crime · Drama · Mystery

Scene of the Crime

★ 7.0
51 5 1984–1985
Horror · Mystery · Thriller

El camino secreto

★ 8.2
50 120 1986–1987
Drama · Mystery · Romance

Powerhouse

★ 8.7
48 18 1982–present
Adventure · Family · Mystery

La madrastra

★ 7.8
44 75 1981–1981
Crime · Drama · Mystery

Mandara

★ 7.6
44 12 1983–present
Mystery

Sueurs froides

★ 6.9
42 18 1988–1988
Crime · Mystery · Thriller

Hot Shots

★ 6.7
42 13 1986–1987
Crime · Drama · Mystery

Big Game

★ 6.5
41 6 1988–1988
Crime · Mystery

The Watch House

★ 7.1
41 3 1988–present
Family · Horror · Mystery

K rassledovaniyu pristupit

★ 6.9
34 1986–present
Mystery

The New Adventures of Chor Lau-heung

★ 8.2
31 1984–present
Action · Adventure · Mystery

CBS Children's Mystery Theatre

★ 7.7
31 5 1980–1982
Family · Mystery

Deke Wilson's Mini-Mysteries

★ 7.0
30 13 1989–1990
Comedy · Crime · Mystery

Charlie

★ 6.5
30 4 1984–1984
Crime · Drama · Mystery

Briefgeheim

★ 6.0
29 7 1983–1983
Family · Mystery

Moordspel

★ 6.3
29 6 1987–1987
Crime · Game-Show · Mystery

Menace Unseen

★ 6.7
29 3 1988–1988
Mystery · Thriller

Grim Pickings

★ 7.5
28 2 1989–1989
Drama · Mystery

Outer Limits

★ 7.8
27 1983–1984
Fantasy · Horror · Mystery
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