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Best Mystery TV Series of 1981

14 Mystery series that started in 1981, ranked by popularity

All Mystery series All series from 1981
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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.

Specific year
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

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
14 series

Hill Street Blues

★ 8.2
12K 144 1981–1987
Ensemble cast · Workplace · Gritty

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The Hound of the Baskervilles

★ 8.5
7K 2 1981–1981
Detective mystery · Atmospheric

Cagney & Lacey

★ 6.9
6K 126 1981–1988
Female perspective

Bergerac

★ 6.9
3K 87 1981–1991
Crime · Drama · Mystery

Nero Wolfe

★ 7.2
478 14 1981–1981
Crime · Drama · Mystery

Seeing Things

★ 7.8
372 43 1981–1987
Comedy · Fantasy · Mystery

Queen Millennia

★ 7.9
244 42 1981–1982
Animation · Drama · Mystery

Get Lost!

★ 7.5
79 4 1981–1981
Drama · Mystery · Romance

La madrastra

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

Der Fuchs von Övelgönne

★ 7.2
20 13 1981–present
Crime · Drama · Mystery

Saken Ruth Vang

★ 6.9
20 3 1981–present
Crime · Mystery

Jok gor juk

★ 5.5
9 1981–present
Comedy · Mystery

Extraños caminos del amor

★ 8.8
8 209 1981–present
Drama · Mystery · Romance

The Willow Bend Mystery

★ 7.4
8 5 1981–present
Horror · Mystery
‹ 1980 1981 1982 ›
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