The 40 most popular 1980s brazilian TV shows, ranked. Click any show for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.


Little Missy
1986
country: Brazil
In 1886, in the small town of Araruna, Little Missy rejects the actions of her father—the slave-owning Colonel Ferreira—alongside Rodolfo, an active abolitionist republican with whom she falls in love.


Os Imigrantes
1981
country: Brazil
No overview available


Roque Santeiro
1985
country: Brazil
In the tiny poor town of Asa Branca, in the middle of Brazilian Northeast, Roque Santeiro is worshiped as a saint. He was supposedly killed by a bandit, 18 years ago, trying to save the local church. After his disappearance, local leaderships such as landowner Sinhozinho Malta and mayor Florindo, took profit on that to control the humble population. They even make up a widow, Porcina, who should have married Roque secretly before his death. What they don't expect is that Roque is alive, and he's back to, allegedly, "save his people". Now Malta, Florindo, Porcina, and others must hold him down and explain the "truth" to their commoners, in a desperate attempt to save their own bottoms. Meanwhile, mysterious facts surround Asa Branca, such as a Werewolf, a film crew who are trying to shoot a movie about Roque's story, and violent murderers.


Tieta
1989
country: Brazil
Inspired on Jorge Amado's romance "Tieta do Agreste", the plot is set on the fictional city of Santana do Agreste, at Brazil's northwest, and has as main theme Tieta's life turnarounds. Twenty-five years after being chased out of town by her father Zé Esteves, she returns to her home town seeking revenge against everyone who mistreated her and laugh at her face in the past.


Dance with Me
1981
country: Brazil
Quinzinho and João Victor are identical twins separated at birth, unaware of each other's existence. The brothers eventually draw closer, guided by their instincts.


Vale Tudo
1988
country: Brazil
Fátima Accioly is a young, callous woman who wants to be rich and successful at any price. After selling her family's house in the country, she heads to Rio and gets to know dress man César who is unscrupulous himself. Meanwhile, her mother Raquel stays behind without home and money, but finally tries to find her daughter in the big city. Both women come in contact with the rich Roitman family which changes their lives forever.


Marina
1980
country: Brazil
Marina is raised by her father on an island after her mother's death. As a teenager, she moves to Rio de Janeiro to study and live with her godparents, where she ends up falling in love with Marcelo.


Guerra dos Sexos
1983
country: Brazil
Cousins Charlô and Otávio once had a romance, but today they detest each other. However, fate plays a trick on them: they will receive a large inheritance, on the condition that they live together.


Hipertensão
1986
country: Brazil
The routine of the quiet town of Rio Belo changes with the arrival of Carina, a traveling actress determined to discover who her father is. At the same time, a mysterious crime involving the powerful Donana shakes the town.


Top Model
1989
country: Brazil
Maria Eduarda "Duda" Pinheiro is a successful top model. After being hired to model Covery brand clothes, she meets the Kundera brothers, Alex and Gaspar, owners of the company. Gaspar, a former beatnik, is over 40 but still practices surfing, lives in a beach-side house and raises five children: Elvis (named after Elvis Presley), Ringo (Starr), Jane (Fonda), Olívia (Newton-John) and (John) Lennon, all from different mothers who left them with him. Anastácia "Naná" Passos, Duda's friend and mentor, loves him platonically, and rivalizes with Mariza Borges over him. Alex by contrast is a yuppie. He and their mother Morgana have a love-hate relationship and rivalry with his brother over Morgana's attention and the company. Alex begins to love Duda, however she falls in love with Lucas, a graffiti artist who is on the run from the São Paulo police due to his involvement in a crime there. He is also searching for his real father, and thinks it's either Alex or Gaspar.


Xou da Xuxa
1986
country: Brazil
Airing weekday mornings, the show featured segments of games (mainly competitions and musical numbers) interspersed with cartoons. Despite the consistently negative reactions from intellectuals and specialized critics, Xou da Xuxa quickly became the most successful children's program in the history of Brazilian television, transforming its presenter into a phenomenon from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s.


Elas por Elas
1982
country: Brazil
Seven high school friends reunite after 20 years. Memories of the past and coincidences of the present reveal the secrets and affections that bind the women and their families.


Jogo da Vida
1981
country: Brazil
The cheerful and outgoing Jordana lived alongside Silas for 20 years, helping him become wealthy. Despite this, he abandons her to run away with the opportunistic Carla. After the separation, Jordana faces financial difficulties. She then meets Dona Mena, an eccentric and lonely old woman abandoned by her family. Jordana takes care of Dona Mena and, when she dies, inherits four bronze cupids containing a million dollars. The problem is that the cupids disappear without a trace. The cupids become the subject of a fight between Dona Mena's nephews, Loreta and Carlito. The two are the villains of the story. Jordana, however, ends up falling in love with Carlito. In the final chapters, Jordana manages to recover the cupids and rebuild her life. She has the help of her friend Vieira.


Chico Anysio Show
1982
country: Brazil
No overview available


O Outro
1987
country: Brazil
No overview available


Um Homem Muito Especial
1980
country: Brazil
No overview available


Transas e Caretas
1984
country: Brazil
The telenovela tells the story of Francisca Moura Imperial, a wealthy businesswoman, and her two sons: Jordão and Tiago, who show little interest in the family business. Jordão is the product of a whirlwind romance in Francisca's youth, while Tiago was born from her marriage to Roberto, a seductive man who moves in high society but is penniless. Francisca is preoccupied with her sons but cannot interfere in their lives as much as she would like. Eccentric and full of outlandish ideas, she decides to undergo plastic surgery, which makes her look 20 years younger, believing that this will bring her closer to Jordão and Tiago. Francisca's greatest concern is that at least one of her sons will marry and give her a grandchild, thus ensuring the continuation of the family name.


O Salvador da Pátria
1989
country: Brazil
Sassá Mutema is a farm laborer who becomes the target of the city's powerful figures' cruelty. With Clotilde's support, he discovers that it's possible to start a new life alongside a great love.


Coração Alado
1980
country: Brazil
No overview available


Direito de Amar
1987
country: Brazil
An industrialist is forced to marry his daughter Rosalia to a banker to save himself from bankruptcy. But Rosalia is in love with Adriano, unaware that he is the banker's son.


Power Play
1984
country: Brazil
Eloá and Osmar's marriage is thrown into crisis when a mysterious man crosses their path. With a thirst for prestige and power, Eloá will face the consequences of her ambition.


Selva de Pedra
1986
country: Brazil
Cristiano Vilhena is a young man from the countryside who dreams of high society, risking his happiness alongside Simone.


Água Viva
1980
country: Brazil
No overview available


Plumas & Paetês
1980
country: Brazil
After an accident, Marcela arrives in São Paulo and decides to assume a new identity. Torn between love, she plunges into a world that is not her own.


Wildcat
1988
country: Brazil
Cláudia returns to her rural hometown in order to take revenge for the murder of her family a long time ago. She believes that the Flores family committed the crime and tries to destroy them....


Roda de Fogo
1986
country: Brazil
Renato Villar is an ambitious businessman. After discovering a brain tumor, his life takes a turn, and he decides to settle his debts and live his true love.


Champagne
1983
country: Brazil
In 1970, during a glittering New Year's Eve party attended by the aristocracy, a young pantry maid named Zaíra is mysteriously murdered. Thirteen years later, the prime suspect—Gastão, a humble waiter and former colleague of the victim—seeks to prove his innocence with the help of his son, Nil, becoming entangled in the lives of the other party guests. The story also follows a cunning pair of jewel thieves: the sophisticated Antônia Regina and João Maria—a criminal lawyer and member of the declining aristocracy who takes up the cause of Nil's father.


Corpo Santo
1987
country: Brazil
No overview available


Amor com Amor Se Paga
1984
country: Brazil
Nonô Corrêa, a character inspired by Molière's "The Miser", is the story's protagonist. The orphan Zezinho crosses paths with Nonô and wins the neurotic gentleman's heart.


Kananga do Japão
1989
country: Brazil
No overview available


Sassaricando
1987
country: Brazil
After becoming a widower, businessman Aparício Varela takes over as president of Tecelagem Abdala and decides to win back the great love of his life, Rebeca.


Sétimo Sentido
1982
country: Brazil
No overview available


Que Rei Sou Eu?
1989
country: Brazil
In the imaginary king of Avilan, the bastard prince Jean Pierre leads a popular group against councilors who will invade Rainha Valentine's palace and take away the power.


A Gata Comeu
1985
country: Brazil
After getting lost on a sea excursion, Jô Penteado and Fábio Coutinho develop mutual feelings during the two months they spend stranded on a deserted island.


Vida Nova
1988
country: Brazil
São Paulo, 1945. A tenement in the Bixiga neighborhood centralizes the plots and characters. The cheerful Lalá is a former prostitute who got along with a senator of the Republic, her lover, who, when he died, left her in an excellent financial situation, since she had a daughter with him, Marialina. Lalá is courted by the simple Italian Antônio Sapateiro, a mature man in love with her. The Portuguese Manoel Vitor loves the Jewish Ruth, but her parents forbid dating because of religion.


Pão-Pão, Beijo-Beijo
1983
country: Brazil
To defend the humble Soró Sereno in a traffic accident, the mysterious Ciro Cerqueira, a bus driver, ends up getting involved with the traditional italian family of Mamma Vittoria Cantarelli, owner of a chain of canteens in which he starts to work as an executive, and is torn between the love of the matriarch's granddaughters, the responsible Luísa and the seductive Bruna, a woman who spares no effort to get what she wants.


Partido Alto
1984
country: Brazil
No overview available


Ti Ti Ti
1985
country: Brazil
'Ti-Ti-Ti' presents a humorous plot, set in São Paulo, whose central theme is the professional, familial, and romantic rivalry between André Spina and Ariclenes Martins, or Ari, as he is known to those closest to him. The two were childhood friends and always fought a lot, engaging in tireless disputes over the same girlfriends.


Cambalacho
1986
country: Brazil
The story follows the lives of Naná and Gegê, a pair of con artists. Gegê is the uncle of Tina Pepper, a Tina Turner fan who dreams of becoming a famous singer.


Cortina de Vidro
1989
country: Brazil
No overview available
1980s television saw the serialized primetime drama take hold and cable begin to fragment the audience that networks had held uncontested for thirty years.
Brazilian television is built on the telenovela, produced at enormous scale and with a broader social range than the format's reputation suggests.