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


The Simpsons
1989
country: United States
Set in Springfield, the average American town, the show focuses on the antics and everyday adventures of the Simpson family; Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie, as well as a virtual cast of thousands. Since the beginning, the series has been a pop culture icon, attracting hundreds of celebrities to guest star. The show has also made name for itself in its fearless satirical take on politics, media and American life in general.


Jeopardy!
1984
country: United States
America's favorite quiz show where contestants are presented with general knowledge clues in the form of answers, and must phrase their responses in question form.


LIVE with Kelly and Mark
1988
country: United States
A morning talk show with A-list celebrity guests, top-notch performances and one-of-a-kind segments that are unrivaled on daytime television, plus spontaneous, hilarious and unpredictable talk.


EastEnders
1985
country: United Kingdom
The everyday lives of working-class residents of Albert Square, a traditional Victorian square of terrace houses surrounding a park in the East End of London's Walford borough.


Late Night with David Letterman
1982
country: United States
Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night with Conan O'Brien then filled the time slot. As of March 2, 2009, the slot has been filled by Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. It will be filled by Seth Meyers in the spring of 2014, after Fallon becomes host of The Tonight Show.


Seinfeld
1989
country: United States
A stand-up comedian and his three offbeat friends weather the pitfalls and payoffs of life in New York City in the '90s. It's a show about nothing.


Newsnight
1980
country: United Kingdom
A daily BBC Television current affairs programme which specialises in analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians.


Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
1987
country: United States
Four turtles fall into the sewers and are befriended by Hamato Yoshi a Japanese man sent to New York who was forced to live in the sewers. One day he sees a strange green glow which transforms the four turtles into human-like creatures. Hamato (now Master Splinter) changes into a giant rat from the green glow and teaches the turtles the skills of the ninja as they team up with news reporter April O'Neil to battle against Yoshi's arch enemy Shredder and Krang, an alien warlord from Dimension X.


Murder, She Wrote
1984
country: United States
An unassuming mystery writer turned sleuth uses her professional insight to help solve real-life homicide cases.


Sale of the Century
1980
country: Australia
$ale of the Century was an Australian game show that aired on the Nine Network from 14 July 1980 – 29 November 2001. Tony Barber hosted a game show with essentially the same format under the title Temptation from 1970 to 1976, and was also the initial host of Sale for over a decade before being replaced by Glenn Ridge in 1991. Hostesses over the years have included Victoria Nicholls, Delvene Delaney, Alyce Platt, Jo Bailey, Nicky Buckley and Karina Brown. Pete Smith was Sale's announcer for the majority of its run. Ron Neate was announcer for only the first ten episodes in 1980 before Smith took over. From 30 May 2005 – 23 January 2009, the series was revived under its original Australian title, Temptation. The Sale of the Century format has been used internationally.


Star Trek: The Next Generation
1987
country: United States
Follow the intergalactic adventures of Capt. Jean-Luc Picard and his loyal crew aboard the all-new USS Enterprise NCC-1701D, as they explore new worlds.


Quantum Leap
1989
country: United States
Theorizing that one could time travel within his own lifetime, Dr. Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished... He woke to find himself trapped in the past, facing mirror images that were not his own and driven by an unknown force to change history for the better. His only guide on this journey is Al, an observer from his own time, who appears in the form of a hologram that only Sam can see and hear. And so Dr. Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong and hoping each time that his next leap will be the leap home.


Knight Rider
1982
country: United States
Michael Long, an undercover police officer, is shot while investigating a case and left for dead by his assailants. He is rescued by Wilton Knight, a wealthy, dying millionaire and inventor who arranges life-saving surgery, including a new face and a new identity--that of Michael Knight. Michael is then given a special computerized and indestructible car called the Knight Industries Two Thousand (nicknamed KITT), and a mission: apprehend criminals who are beyond the reach of the law. The series depicts Michael's exploits as he and KITT battle the forces of evil on behalf of the Foundation for Law and Government.


Casualty
1986
country: United Kingdom
Drama series about the staff and patients at Holby City Hospital's emergency department, charting the ups and downs in their personal and professional lives.


The Bill
1984
country: United Kingdom
The daily lives of the men and women at Sun Hill Police Station as they fight crime on the streets of London. From bomb threats to armed robbery and drug raids to the routine demands of policing this ground-breaking series focuses as much on crime as it does on the personal lives of its characters.


Married... with Children
1987
country: United States
Al Bundy is an unsuccessful middle aged shoe salesman with a miserable life and an equally dysfunctional family. He hates his job, his wife is lazy, his son is dysfunctional (especially with women), and his daughter is dim-witted and promiscuous.


Dragon Ball Z
1989
country: Japan
Now happily married and with a son, martial arts champion Goku must defend Earth from a series of extraterrestrial invaders bent on destruction.


MacGyver
1985
country: United States
He's everyone's favorite action hero... but he's a hero with a difference. Angus MacGyver is a secret agent whose wits are his deadliest weapon. Armed with only a knapsack filled with everyday items he picks up along the way, he improvises his way out of every peril the bad guys throw at him. Making a bomb out of chewing gum? Fixing a speeding car's brakes... while he's riding in it? Using soda pop to cook up tear gas? That's all in a day's adventures for MacGyver. He's part Boy Scout, part genius. And all hero.


Cheers
1982
country: United States
The story about a blue-collar Boston bar run by former sports star Sam Malone and the quirky and wonderful people who worked and drank there.


Agatha Christie's Poirot
1989
country: United Kingdom
From England to Egypt, accompanied by his elegant and trustworthy sidekicks, the intelligent yet eccentrically-refined Belgian detective Hercule Poirot pits his wits against a collection of first class deceptions.


Magnum, P.I.
1980
country: United States
A private investigator who works when he wants, lives in a beachfront estate in Hawaii, drives a posh Ferrari, runs up an unlimited tab at a swank bar, and charms attractive women in peril - that's the lifestyle of Thomas Magnum, aka Magnum, P.I.


The News Puppets
1988
country: France
A parody of a newscast, the show is a caricature of the political world, the media, personalities or more generally of French society and the current world.


The A-Team
1983
country: United States
A fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel work as soldiers of fortune while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a "crime they didn't commit."


Señora
1988
country: VE
Señora is a Venezuelan telenovela that was produced by and broadcast on Venezuela's Radio Caracas Televisión. It was written by José Ignacio Cabrujas, Ibsen Martínez, Cristina Policastro, and Eliseo Morales and directed by Luis Alberto Lamata and Aura Guevara. The series lasted 229 episodes and was distributed internationally by RCTV International.


Ranma ½
1989
country: Japan
Ranma Saotome, a teenage martial artist, and his father Genma travel to the 'cursed training ground' of Jusenkyo in China. There, despite the warnings of the Chinese guard, they fall into the cursed springs. From now on, whenever Ranma is doused in cold water, he turns into a girl and a cute, well-built redhead at that. Hot water changes him back into a man again, but only until the next time. To make matters worse, his father engages him to Akane Tendo, a girl who hates boys.


Rua Sésamo
1989
country: Portugal
No overview available


Miami Vice
1984
country: United States
The story of the Miami Police Department's vice squad and its efforts to end drug trafficking and prostitution, centered on the unlikely partnership of Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs - who first meet when Tubbs is undercover in a drug cartel.


L.A. Law
1986
country: United States
L.A. Law is an American television legal drama series that ran for eight seasons on NBC from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. Created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, it contained many of Bochco's trademark features including a large number of parallel storylines, social drama and off-the-wall humor. It reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s, and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot-topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights, homophobia, sexual harassment, AIDS, and domestic violence. The series often also reflected social tensions between the wealthy senior lawyer protagonists and their less well-paid junior staff. The show was popular with audiences and critics, and won 15 Emmy Awards throughout its run, four of which were for Outstanding Drama Series.


Home and Away
1988
country: Australia
Home and Away is set in the fictional town of Summer Bay, a coastal town in New South Wales, and follows the personal and professional lives of the people living in the area. The show initially focused on the Fletcher family, Pippa and Tom Fletcher and their five foster children Frank Morgan, Carly Morris, Steven Matheson, Lynn Davenport and Sally Keating, who would go on to become one of the show's longest-running characters. The show also originally and currently focuses on the Stewart family. Home and Away had proved popular when it premiered in 1988 and had risen to become a hit in Australia, and after only a few weeks, the show tackled its first major and disturbing storyline, the rape of Carly Morris; it was one of the first shows to feature such storylines during the early timeslot. H&A has tackled many adult-themed and controversial storylines; something rarely found in its restricted timeslot.


Neighbours
1985
country: Australia
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera. The show's storylines concern the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in Erinsborough, a fictional suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. The series primarily centres around the residents of Ramsay Street, a short cul-de-sac, and its neighbouring areas, the Lassiters complex, which includes a bar, hotel, cafe, news office and park. Neighbours began with three families created by Watson – the Ramsays, the Robinsons and the Clarkes. Watson said that he wanted to show three families who are friends living in a small street. The Robinsons and the Ramsays had a long history and were involved in an ongoing rivalry.


WWF Superstars
1986
country: United States
WWE's flagship show of the early-90s featuring great in-ring action, news from the world of sports-entertainment, and more.


Sacrée soirée
1987
country: France
No overview available


Brookside
1982
country: United Kingdom
The ground-breaking soap set in a housing estate on the outskirts of Liverpool.


The Equalizer
1985
country: Canada
Robert McCall is a former agent of a secret government agency who is now running his own private crime fighting operation where he fashions himself as "The Equalizer." It is a service for victims of the system who have exhausted all possible means of seeking justice and have nowhere to go. McCall promises to even out the odds for them.


21 Jump Street
1987
country: United States
21 Jump Street revolves around a group of young cops who would use their youthful appearance to go undercover and solve crimes involving teenagers and young adults.


Full House
1987
country: United States
After the death of his wife, Danny enlists his best friend and his brother-in-law to help raise his three daughters, D.J., Stephanie, and Michelle.


Baywatch
1989
country: United States
Join the Baywatch lifeguards on their thrilling adventures filled with beautiful beaches and those iconic red swimsuits.


Night Court
1984
country: United States
An eccentric fun-loving judge presides over an urban night court and all the silliness going on there.


Falcon Crest
1981
country: United States
Falcon Crest is an American primetime television soap opera which aired on the CBS network for nine seasons, from December 4, 1981 to May 17, 1990. A total of 227 episodes were produced. The series revolves around the feuding factions of the wealthy Gioberti/Channing family in the Californian wine industry. Jane Wyman starred as Angela Channing, the tyrannical matriarch of the Falcon Crest Winery, alongside Robert Foxworth as Chase Gioberti, Angela's nephew who returns to Falcon Crest following the death of his father. The series was set in the fictitious Tuscany Valley northeast of San Francisco.


The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1985
country: United States
The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American anthology series that aired on NBC from 1985 to 1986, and on the USA Network from 1987 to 1989. The series is an updated re-imagining of the classic 1955 series Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
1980s television saw the serialized primetime drama take hold and cable begin to fragment the audience that networks had held uncontested for thirty years.