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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 TV Series of 1981

495 series that started in 1981, ranked by popularity

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Genres

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

Action 31 Adult 0 Adventure 49 Animation 57 Biography 14 Comedy 128 Crime 28 Documentary 17 Drama 182 Family 84 Fantasy 13 Game-Show 15 History 33 Horror 10 Music 19 Musical 4 Mystery 14 News 12 Reality-TV 2 Romance 36 Sci-Fi 14 Short 1 Sport 12 Talk-Show 7 Thriller 14 War 7 Western 5

Decades

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

2020s 40410 2010s 48704 2000s 24492 1990s 11139 1980s 6467 1970s 4272 1960s 2491 1950s 1251 1940s 163 1930s 34 1920s 9 1900s 1

Specific year

2026 2911 2025 6438 2024 6061 2023 6198 2022 6411 2021 6430 2020 5961 2019 5621 2018 5440 2017 5665 2016 5306 2015 5111 2014 4727 2013 4716 2012 4479 2011 4160 2010 3479 2009 3298 2008 3064 2007 2994 2006 2987 2005 2586 2004 2285 2003 2059 2002 1872 2001 1799 2000 1548 1999 1489 1998 1411 1997 1314 1996 1169 1995 1120 1994 1037 1993 987 1992 879 1991 871 1990 862 1989 838 1988 735 1987 718 1986 648 1985 677 1984 641 1983 626 1982 554 1981 495 1980 535 1979 535 1978 496 1977 471 1976 486 1975 421 1974 424 1973 386 1972 423 1971 332 1970 298 1969 339 1968 315 1967 300 1966 290 1965 252 1964 240 1963 213 1962 159 1961 188 1960 195 1959 188 1958 135 1957 154 1956 147 1955 143 1954 110 1953 92 1952 107 1951 74 1950 101 1949 74 1948 42 1947 18 1946 14 1945 1 1944 5 1943 2 1941 4 1940 3 1939 2 1938 5 1937 3 1936 7 1934 1 1931 11 1930 5 1929 4 1928 3 1927 2 1908 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 1 Rock Solid 0 Past Its Prime 0 Roller Coaster 1

Taste tags, judged by our AI taste model. They cover the 5,000 most-rated shows.

Tone & mood

Bleak 0 Gritty 1 Dark tone 0 Feel-good 2 Cozy 1 Wholesome 4 Melancholic 1 Tense 1 Unsettling 0 Whimsical 4 Campy 2 Cynical 0 Hopeful 0 Sentimental 0 Nostalgic 5 Bittersweet 1 Chaotic energy 0 Deadpan cool 0

Pacing & structure

Slow burn 1 Fast-paced 0 Episodic 9 Serialized 2 Procedural 2 Mystery box 0 Anthology 0 Cliffhanger-driven 1 Sprawling saga 0 Tight limited run 1 Puzzle plot 0 Vignette style 0

Humor style

Dry humor 1 Absurdist 2 Satirical 1 Cringe comedy 0 Slapstick 0 Witty banter 1 Dark comedy 0 Warm humor 2 Raunchy 0 Parody 1 Ironic & meta 0

Themes & subject matter

Criminal underworld 0 Detective mystery 3 True crime 0 Heists & cons 0 Legal 0 Medical 0 Political intrigue 0 Espionage 0 War & military 0 Family saga 3 Coming of age 0 Workplace 2 School & campus 0 Love story 1 Friendship 2 Found family 2 Survival 0 Post-apocalyptic 0 Dystopia 0 Supernatural 0 Space & sci-fi 1 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 1 Sports 0 Music scene 0 Food & cooking 0 Nature & science 0 Real history 0 Royalty & aristocracy 1 Small town 1 Big city life 1 Rural & frontier 0 Suburban underbelly 0 Class divide 0 Immigrant experience 0 Queer stories 0 Female perspective 1 Social commentary 0 Philosophical 0 Existential dread 0 Revenge 0 Redemption 0 Secrets & lies 2

Characters & perspective

Antihero lead 0 Morally gray 1 Villain's POV 0 Ensemble cast 2 Central duo 2 Strong female lead 1 Child's perspective 0 Outsider lead 0 Genius lead 0 Working class 1 Elites & privilege 3 Unreliable narrator 0 Character study 1 Banter chemistry 1

Emotional payoff

Tearjerker 0 Adrenaline 0 Intellectual challenge 0 Comfort rewatch 2 Romantic yearning 0 Cathartic 0 Wonder & awe 0 Mounting dread 0 Warm glow 1 Gut punch 0

Craft & style

Dialogue-driven 2 Visually striking 1 Stylized direction 0 Naturalistic 1 Big-budget spectacle 0 Lo-fi charm 1 Atmospheric 2 Distinctive score 0 Experimental 0 Deep worldbuilding 0 Tight writing 0

Format & audience

Sitcom 2 Adult animation 0 Anime 0 Kids & family 4 Young adult 0 Soap & telenovela 2 Event miniseries 1 Reality competition 0 Lifestyle reality 0 Docuseries 0 Sketch & variety 0 Game & quiz show 0 Talk & panel 0 Period piece 2 Contemporary life 0 Long-runner 1 Built to binge 0

Viewing-culture clusters

British TV 5 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 6 Emotionally heavy 0 Easy watching 8

Sort

495 series

Only Fools and Horses

66K 64 1981–2003

British TV · Working class

The Smurfs

24K 261 1981–1989

Kids & family · Family-safe

The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

12K 6 1981–1981

Dry humor · Absurdist · British TV

Hill Street Blues

12K 144 1981–1987

Ensemble cast · Workplace · Gritty

The Fall Guy

11K 112 1981–1986

Episodic · Easy watching

Dynasty

9K 220 1981–1989

Soap & telenovela

Brideshead Revisited

9K 11 1981–1981

Nostalgic · Period piece

The Greatest American Hero

7K 44 1981–1983

Campy · Episodic · Whimsical

Simon & Simon

7K 156 1981–1989

Episodic · Banter chemistry

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

7K 2 1981–1981

Detective mystery · Atmospheric

Cagney & Lacey

6K 126 1981–1988

Female perspective

Falcon Crest

5K 228 1981–1990

Soap & telenovela

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends

5K 24 1981–1986

Kids & family · Family-safe

Danger Mouse

4K 94 1981–1992

Parody · Kids & family

Gimme a Break!

4K 137 1981–1987

Sitcom · Warm humor · Family-safe

Postman Pat

4K 190 1981–2017

Kids & family · Family-safe · Cozy

Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds

3K 27 1981–1982

Adventure · Animation · Comedy

Entertainment Tonight

3K 6427 1981–present

News · Talk-Show

Bergerac

3K 87 1981–1991

Crime · Drama · Mystery

The Day of the Triffids

3K 6 1981–1981

Drama · Horror · Sci-Fi

Ulysses 31

3K 27 1981–1982

Action · Adventure · Animation

Masada

3K 4 1981–1981

Action · Drama · History

SCTV Network

2K 39 1981–1983

Spider-Man

2K 26 1981–1982

Adventure · Animation · 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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