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


Striscia la Notizia
1988 · IT
Striscia la notizia is an Italian television program on the Mediaset-controlled Canale 5. Its name in Italian translates as "the news slithers", a probable parody of the slighting Italian journalist, submitted to politicians and overwhelmed with shame. The polysemic term Striscia, in English strip, can recall both a line of cocaine and the comic strip. But Striscia is also the slithing snake: this show worm in the hidden holes to unmask the television cheats. Founded in 1988, it is meant to be a parody of the daily news, which airs right before the program, but Striscia also satirizes government corruption and exposes scams with the help of local reporters who are also comedians. The program is directed and produced by Antonio Ricci and is hosted by two major comedians. Usually Ezio Greggio is assisted by another comedian for the winter season, after which there is a change of guard.


Casa Vianello
1988 · IT
Cascina Vianello is an Italian television series.


The Octopus
1984 · IT
An epic crime saga of power, money, violence and corruption. The mafia controls everything through local and international networks like an octopus, and anyone who tries to bring them down pays the ultimate price.


Un giorno in pretura
1988 · IT
No overview available


Chi l'ha visto?
1989 · IT
No overview available


Marco Polo
1982 · IN
The life of the 13th-century Venetian explorer who sought to connect the civilizations of China and Europe through trade.


Indietro tutta!
1987 · IT
No overview available


Eurocops
1988 · DE
No overview available


Around the World in 80 Days
1989 · YU
The plot centres around Phileas Fogg making a £20,000 wager with three members of the Reform Club that he can circumnavigate the world in 80 days. He takes with him his newly employed French valet Passepartout, and is pursued by Detective Wilbur Fix who mistakenly thinks Fogg robbed the Bank of England and is using the wager as a cover to escape capture.


La Pimpa
1983 · IT
Pimpa, a white female dog with red dots all over her body, who lives with her owner/father figure Armando, a plump moustached man who treats her like a daughter. Every day Pimpa goes through new adventures wheter it's in her house's surroundings or all over the world, or even in space, meeting old friends and making newers.
Buona Domenica
Buona Domenica
1985 · IT
No overview available


Teneramente Licia
1987 · IT
Teneramente Licia is an Italian television series. It is one of the four live adpatations of the Japanese manga Ai Shite Knight. It is the sequel to "Love me Licia" and "Licia dolce Licia", and was followed by "Balliamo e cantiamo con Licia".


The Boys of 3rd C
1987 · IT
Rome, late 1980s, Leopardi Classical High School. This is where the various protagonists of the series meet and experience the epic, hilarious exploits of their classmates in 3C, the most outgoing high school students of the entire school year. Bruno Sacchi, a shy, rather plump boy, often awkward but with a big heart. Chicco Lazzaretti, the classic, tireless repeater, obsessed with school and his classmates, always ready to answer teachers in funny ways to distract his classmates. Of course, Daniele and Rossella, typical sweethearts who have grown up together since childhood, are also present, along with the beautiful, blonde Sharon Zampetti, desired by everyone.
Little Roma
Little Roma
1987 · IT
No overview available


Big Man
1988 · IT
The renowned Insurance International Co. has created an enquiry network, headed by detective Jack Clementi, to defend itself against insurance fraud. Jack has saved the company enormous amounts of money throughout his successful investigations and his bosses are more than willing put up with his brusque manners, his disconcerting frankness, and his intolerance for any form of company bureaucracy. Yet he is a big guy with a huge heart.


Professione vacanze
1987 · IT
Enrico Borghini is an entertainer who finds himself becoming the director of a tourist village in crisis. Helped by the village staff, who are initially hostile to him, he manages to revive the fortunes of the structure.


Valentina
1989 · IT
The stories revolve around the investigations of Valentina Rosselli, and the intrigues in which she gets involved because of her curiosity and her wonderful physical appearance. In the Shareholders She is often assisted by the antiquarian Philip Rembrandt, with whom she shares an ambiguous relationship.


Christopher Columbus
1985 · IT
After his proposal to sail west to the East Indies is rejected by Portugal, Columbus overcomes court intrigue in Spain to gain support for his expedition.
A Rainha da Vida
A Rainha da Vida
1987 · BR
Jurema, of humble origins, was raised on a large farm together with Vítor Correia and Carlos Valadares, whose father was the farmer. The three of them were very close and spent their childhood together. Only in adolescence began the rivalry between Carlos and Vítor, because of Jurema.


Verdi
1982 · IT
Giuseppe Verdi was born in 1813 and lived until 1901, his life spanning nearly a century of political turmoil and considerable personal turmoil. This 1982 biographical television miniseries, as seen on PBS's Great Performances, dramatizes the life of this classic Italian composer known for operas including La Traviata, Rigoletto, and Aida and his Requiem.
Zanzibar
Zanzibar
1988 · IT
Zanzibar is an Italian television series.


The Secret of the Sahara
1988 · IT
In 1925, Desmond Jordan, an American archaeologist, tries to find the mysterious Speaking Mountain that is supposed to be in the middle of the Sahara desert, where he meets a bunch of deserters from the French Foreign Legion, who are pursued by the ruthless Lieutenant Ryker.


Quo Vadis?
1985 · IT
Drama about love and intrigues in ancient Rome during the times of Nero.


Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days
1989 · QA
Michael Palin attempts to copy the exploits of fictional character Phileas Fogg, by trying to travel around the world (without flying) in 80 days.


Treasure Island in Outer Space
1987 · IT
Treasure Island in Outer Space is a 1987 science fiction Italian and German television miniseries directed by Antonio Margheriti. It is based on the novel Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, setting the story in space on the year 2300. The series was produced by RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana in co-production with West Germany and France, and directed by Anthony M. Dawson. It is the biggest sci-fi production of Italian television. The miniseries of 5 episodes of 100 min was originally aired in Italy from November 19, 1987 on RAI Due channel. It was also adapted as a 120 min film. The miniseries is also known as Space Island (UK and Norway, USA on VHS) and Der Schatz im All (Germany).


The Fortunate Pilgrim
1988 · US
The saga of an Italian immigrant family in search of the American dream.
La trappola
La trappola
1989 · IT
1989 2-part miniseries


Mussolini and I
1985 · FR
World War II is about to end. Benito Mussolini, il Duce, supreme dictator of Fascist Italy, sees his totalitarian dream crumbling and his power slipping away as the terrible day of his ignominious death at the hands of those he so ruthlessly oppressed for more than two decades draws inexorably near.


Classe Di ferro
1989 · IT
Classe di ferro is an Italian action/adventure television series that aired from October 6, 1989 to December 26, 1991. The series focused on a diverse group of young adults who enroll in Italy's military service.


Seagull Island
1982 · IT
Barbara Carey arrives in Rome to visit her sister, blind pianist Marianne Saunders, only to discover that she has mysteriously vanished. To make matters worse, this is the third instance in recent months of a blind girl's abduction. With the help of British Consulate Martin Foster, Barbara searches for her sister – a search that leads her to the private island of millionaire David Malcom. Is Marianne still alive? Why are blind women being targeted? And what terrible secrets does David keep on his remote island?


The Devil's Game
1981 · IT
A story about the devil's influence on five people's lives in 20th-century Venice.


The Charterhouse of Parma
1982 · IT
Stendhal's epic tale of a young French officer in the Napoleonic wars, and his aunt - a duchess of legendary beauty and resourcefulness.


Anastasia - The Mystery of Anna
1986 · AT
Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna is a 1986 TV movie, starring Amy Irving, Rex Harrison, Olivia de Havilland, Omar Sharif, and Jan Niklas. The film was loosely based on the story of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia and the book The Riddle of Anna Anderson by Peter Kurth. It was Christian Bale's first film and Rex Harrison's last film. It was originally broadcast in two parts.


I promessi sposi
1989 · IT
Set between 1629 and 1631. Renzo Tramaglino and Lucia Mondella are Lombard peasants forced to separate and endure a thousand vicissitudes because of the bullying of the squire Don Rodrigo. However, during their journey they will find various people willing to help them, from Friar Cristoforo to the Innominato, from Federigo Borromeo to Donna Prassede.


Topo Gigio
1988 · IT
Topo Gigio (トッポ・ジージョ) is a Japanese anime television series featuring the Italian character Topo Gigio. The Anime talks about the bizarre adventure of Topo Gigio Kujo, in the alternative universe of Steel Gigio Run, the most important friend of Gigio Kujo is Jujuseppe Brusciano Zappeli. Gigio (or Jitaro Kujo in the Japanese original version) has the stand Star Topium, a special power of the mouse, he can stop the time and he can do a rapid series of punches.


Sogni e bisogni
1985 · IT
A TV series composed of eleven episodes and a conclusion, it aired in six one-hour programs starting on October 6, 1985. Lasting about half an hour each, the episodes are separated by intermissions starring three characters: Good, Evil, and Destiny. LA MORTE PORTA CONSIGLIO: At her father's deathbed, a daughter asks the man to tell her the winning Lotto numbers once he makes it to the after-life. But the man is offended by the modest funeral he receives and has fun playing pranks on his daughter. IL FATTACCIO: a doorman is paid to show an apartment in which something gruesome happened. Determined to keep the extra work, he invents increasingly grisly stories to keep interested buyers away. LADRI: two thieves in a working-class neighborhood have tragicomic adventures. L’IMBIANCONE: a very shy man enters a shoe store to buy a pair of shoes and seduce the female shop owner.


Cinderella '87
1987 · IT
In this contemporary retelling of the Cinderella story, a feisty 18-year-old Italian-American New Yorker named Cindy is sent off to Rome with her irascible stepmother and vain stepsisters. On the way, she meets, and falls in love with, globetrotting bagpacker Mizio, who eventually turns out to be of Italian nobility. There's a fairy stand-in in the form of a spaced-out astrologer, a dance, and she even loses a shoe at one point. Care to venture a guess how it all turns out?


Oceano
1989 · ES
No overview available


Licia dolce Licia
1987 · IT
Licia dolce Licia is an Italian television series. It is one of the four live adaptations of the Japanese manga Ai Shite Knight. It is the sequel to "Love me Licia" and was followed by "Teneramente Licia" and "Balliamo e cantiamo con Licia".


Fathers and Sons: A German Tragedy
1986 · DE
Follows two wealthy families in Germany during the first half of the 20th century. One of them is German, the other one Jewish.
1980s television saw the serialized primetime drama take hold and cable begin to fragment the audience that networks had held uncontested for thirty years.
Italian television's international profile rests largely on crime — organized-crime sagas rooted in specific cities and their histories, made with unusual documentary texture.