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Genres

Drama Comedy Animation Action Crime Adventure Romance Reality-TV More genres →

Decades

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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 1985

Top 500 most popular series that started in 1985

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Genres

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

Action 53 Adult 0 Adventure 70 Animation 84 Biography 21 Comedy 177 Crime 48 Documentary 34 Drama 232 Family 109 Fantasy 24 Game-Show 21 History 39 Horror 11 Music 39 Musical 3 Mystery 24 News 10 Reality-TV 5 Romance 38 Sci-Fi 16 Short 3 Sport 20 Talk-Show 22 Thriller 15 War 11 Western 2

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 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 1 Gritty 1 Dark tone 1 Feel-good 4 Cozy 1 Wholesome 7 Melancholic 0 Tense 3 Unsettling 1 Whimsical 3 Campy 5 Cynical 1 Hopeful 0 Sentimental 1 Nostalgic 9 Bittersweet 1 Chaotic energy 1 Deadpan cool 0

Pacing & structure

Slow burn 1 Fast-paced 0 Episodic 20 Serialized 3 Procedural 3 Mystery box 0 Anthology 4 Cliffhanger-driven 1 Sprawling saga 1 Tight limited run 1 Puzzle plot 0 Vignette style 0

Humor style

Dry humor 0 Absurdist 0 Satirical 0 Cringe comedy 0 Slapstick 1 Witty banter 2 Dark comedy 0 Warm humor 4 Raunchy 0 Parody 0 Ironic & meta 1

Themes & subject matter

Criminal underworld 0 Detective mystery 3 True crime 0 Heists & cons 0 Legal 0 Medical 0 Political intrigue 1 Espionage 0 War & military 4 Family saga 2 Coming of age 1 Workplace 0 School & campus 0 Love story 3 Friendship 1 Found family 2 Survival 1 Post-apocalyptic 0 Dystopia 0 Supernatural 1 Space & sci-fi 1 Near-future tech 0 Time travel 0 High fantasy 2 Urban fantasy 0 Monster horror 0 Psychological horror 0 Addiction & vice 0 Mental health 0 Faith & religion 0 Sports 0 Music scene 1 Food & cooking 0 Nature & science 0 Real history 1 Royalty & aristocracy 0 Small town 2 Big city life 1 Rural & frontier 0 Suburban underbelly 0 Class divide 0 Immigrant experience 0 Queer stories 0 Female perspective 1 Social commentary 1 Philosophical 1 Existential dread 0 Revenge 0 Redemption 0 Secrets & lies 2

Characters & perspective

Antihero lead 0 Morally gray 0 Villain's POV 0 Ensemble cast 4 Central duo 1 Strong female lead 3 Child's perspective 1 Outsider lead 0 Genius lead 1 Working class 1 Elites & privilege 0 Unreliable narrator 0 Character study 0 Banter chemistry 2

Emotional payoff

Tearjerker 0 Adrenaline 3 Intellectual challenge 0 Comfort rewatch 2 Romantic yearning 1 Cathartic 0 Wonder & awe 1 Mounting dread 1 Warm glow 2 Gut punch 0

Craft & style

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

Format & audience

Sitcom 5 Adult animation 0 Anime 1 Kids & family 11 Young adult 0 Soap & telenovela 2 Event miniseries 2 Reality competition 0 Lifestyle reality 0 Docuseries 0 Sketch & variety 0 Game & quiz show 0 Talk & panel 0 Period piece 3 Contemporary life 0 Long-runner 2 Built to binge 0

Viewing-culture clusters

British TV 2 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 16 Emotionally heavy 1 Easy watching 15

Sort

500 series (top 500 shown)

The Golden Girls

53K 180 1985–1992

Friendship · Witty banter · Sitcom

MacGyver

45K 139 1985–1992

Episodic · Genius lead

Das Boot

40K 3 1985–1985

War & military · Tense · Survival

Moonlighting

27K 66 1985–1989

Witty banter · Banter chemistry

Anne of Green Gables

25K 2 1985–1985

Wholesome · Coming of age

Thundercats

21K 130 1985–1989

Kids & family · Nostalgic

The Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes Comedy Hour

19K 6 1985–1986

Slapstick · Kids & family

Growing Pains

18K 167 1985–1992

Sitcom · Wholesome · Family-safe

The Twilight Zone

13K 66 1985–1989

Anthology · Episodic · Unsettling

North & South: Book 1, North & South

13K 6 1985–1985

Real history · Period piece

Gummi Bears

13K 67 1985–1991

Kids & family · Whimsical

EastEnders

10K 7405 1985–present

Soap & telenovela · Long-runner

She-Ra: Princess of Power

7K 93 1985–1987

Kids & family · Family-safe

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero

7K 85 1985–1986

Kids & family · War & military

Amazing Stories

7K 45 1985–1987

Anthology · Episodic

Neighbours

7K 9363 1985–2025

Long-runner · Soap & telenovela

The Equalizer

7K 88 1985–1989

Episodic · Big city life

Small Wonder

6K 96 1985–1989

Sitcom · Family-safe · Campy

Mr. Belvedere

5K 118 1985–1990

Sitcom · Wholesome · Family-safe

Mask

5K 75 1985–1986

Kids & family · Family-safe

227

5K 116 1985–1990

Sitcom · Episodic · Warm humor

Edge of Darkness

5K 6 1985–1985

Slow burn · Political intrigue

Robotech

4K 85 1985–1985

Sprawling saga · War & military

The Berenstain Bears

4K 52 1985–1987

Kids & family · Family-safe

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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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