1980s Mystery TV Shows
The 40 most popular 1980s mystery TV shows on Flickfolio, ranked by popularity. Click any show for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.

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.

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

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.

Masterpiece Mystery
1980
country: United States
Mystery! is an episodic television series that debuted in 1980 in the USA. It airs on PBS and is produced by WGBH. The show has brought a large number of detective series and television movies—most of them British productions from the BBC or the ITV companies and usually adapted from mystery fiction literary sources—to air on American television. In 2002, they added an American-produced series based on the novels of Tony Hillerman to their roster.

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.

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.

Sherlock Holmes
1984
country: United Kingdom
Sherlock Holmes uses his abilities to take on cases by private clients and those that the Scotland Yard are unable to solve, along with his friend Dr. Watson.

Tales from the Crypt
1989
country: United States
Cadaverous scream legend the Crypt Keeper is your macabre host for these forays of fright and fun based on the classic E.C. Comics tales from back in the day. So shamble up to the bar and pick your poison. Will it be an insane Santa on a personal slay ride? Honeymooners out to fulfill the "til death do we part" vow ASAP?

Moonlighting
1985
country: United States
After being duped and going bankrupt, model Maddie is convinced by David to become a partner in a detective agency. Together they solve various cases, while getting comfortable with each other.

City Hunter
1987
country: Japan
Ryo Saeba works the streets of Tokyo as the City Hunter. He's a "sweeper" and with his sidekick Kaori Makimura, he keeps the city clean. People hire the City Hunter to solve their dangerous problems, which he does with a Colt Python. When Ryo's not working on a case, he's working on getting the ladies, and Kaori must keep him in check with her trusty 10 kg hammer.

The Twilight Zone
1985
country: United States
This 1980s revival of the classic sci-fi series features a similar style to the original anthology series. Each episode tells a tale (sometimes two or three) rooted in horror or suspense, often with a surprising twist at the end. Episodes usually feature elements of drama and comedy.

Inspector Morse
1987
country: United Kingdom
Inspector Morse is a detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels. The series starred John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis, as well as a large cast of notable actors and actresses.

DuckTales
1987
country: United States
Scrooge McDuck finds his hands full at home when nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie move to Duckburg. Joined by their loyal pals Launchpad McQuack, Gyro Gearloose and Mrs. Beakley, the DuckTales gang never fails to deliver a wealth of adventure. Get ready for a fortune of fun with DuckTales!

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.

Friday the 13th: The Series
1987
country: Canada
Micki and Ryan with the help of their friend Jack try to recover cursed antiques so they can store them in safety inside the antique store's vault.

El Engaño
1986
country: Mexico
No overview available

Crime Story
1986
country: United States
The hard-boiled saga of hair-trigger cop Lieutenant Mike Torello and his obsessive pursuit of ruthless gangster Ray Luca.

Unsolved Mysteries
1988
country: United States
Combines four to five segments of dramatic re-enactments, interviews and updates of real human and paranormal mysteries. An audience interactive call-to-action request allowed viewers to call in with tips to help solve the cases.

Cat's Eye
1983
country: Japan
Cat's Eye is the most notorious group of art thieves in Japan. No one knows their identities, but for most of Tokyo, the mystery only heightens their allure.

Monsters
1988
country: United States
Monsters is a syndicated horror anthology series which originally ran from 1988 to 1991 and reran on the Sci-Fi Channel during the 1990s. Similarly to Tales from the Darkside, Monsters shared the same producer, and in some ways succeeded the show. It differed in some respects nonetheless. While Tales sometimes dabbled in stories of science fiction and fantasy, this series was more strictly horror. As the name implies, each episode features a different monster, from the animatronic puppet of a fictional children's television program to mutated, weapon-wielding lab rats.

Spenser: For Hire
1985
country: United States
Mystery and suspense series based on Robert Parker's "Spenser" novels. Spenser, a private investigator living in Boston, gets involved in a new murder mystery each episode.

Furuya Ikkou's Great Detective Kindaichi Kousuke Series
1983
country: Japan
No overview available

Lovejoy
1986
country: United Kingdom
The adventures of the eponymous Lovejoy, a likeable but roguish antiques dealer based in East Anglia. Within the trade, he has a reputation as a “divvie”, a person with an almost supernatural powers for recognising exceptional items as well as distinguishing genuine antique from clever fakes or forgeries.

The Ruth Rendell Mysteries
1987
country: United Kingdom
The Ruth Rendell mysteries is a British television series made by TVS and Meridian Television for ITV between 2 August 1987 and 11 October 2000.

The Agatha Christie Hour
1982
country: United Kingdom
This ten episode program was based on ten short stories written by Agatha Christie but with wide-ranging themes. Some were romances, some had supernatural themes and a couple were adventures. The common link was that all came from the talented pen of Agatha Christie, all were entertaining and each drama was carefully crafted and well cast with many of Britain's best known actors of the time represented.

Freddy's Nightmares
1988
country: United States
The evil, sinister killer of the "Nightmare On Elm Street" movies, Freddy Krueger, hosts this show, where each week, he shows us a tale of evil and death about the lives of people who live in Springwood.

Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio
1987
country: China
No overview available

La madrastra
1981
country: Chile
Marcia has grown bitter and full of resentment after being framed for murder 20 years ago during a visit to the United States. As soon as she gets out of jail she comes back to Chile to recover what was taken away from her and search the real killer of the incident that costed several years of her life.

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.

El camino secreto
1986
country: Mexico
No overview available

La casa al final de la calle
1989
country: Mexico
No overview available

Los cuervos
1984
country: Spain
No overview available

Kamen Rider Black
1987
country: Japan
Desperate and terrified, Kotaro Minami escaped the clutches of the ancient secret society, Gorgom—but in doing so, left behind his best friend and adoptive brother, Nobuhiko Akizuki. Both have been transformed into beings of immense power in order to serve Gorgom's dark purposes. If left unchecked, Gorgom will destroy humanity and eliminate all traces of its civilization and culture. Now the powerful cyborg known as Kamen Rider Black, Kotaro will use the powers Gorgom gave him to preserve justice and freedom, as well as to save his brother. But Gorgom has their own plans for Nobuhiko—and if Kotaro can't save him, he may have to fight him!

Mike Hammer
1984
country: United States
Private detective Mike Hammer hunts down criminals on the mean streets of New York City.

The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show
1983
country: United States
The New Scooby and Scrappy Doo Show is the sixth incarnation of the Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoon Scooby-Doo. It premiered on September 10, 1983, and ran for one season on ABC as a half-hour program made up of two eleven-minute short cartoons. The show is a return to the mystery solving format and reintroduces Daphne after a four-year absence. The plots of each episode feature her, Shaggy, Scooby-Doo, and Scrappy-Doo solving supernatural mysteries under the cover of being reporters for a teen magazine.

Hammer House of Horror
1980
country: United Kingdom
Each self-contained episode features a different kind of horror, varying from witches, werewolves, ghosts, devil worship and voodoo, but also includes non-supernatural themes such as cannibalism, confinement and serial killers.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo
1988
country: United States
The world's favorite chicken-hearted canine, as a puppy? That's right! And the old gang is back with him. Shaggy, Daphne, Velma, and Freddy are all here as gangly kids — goofing off, solving kid-size mysteries, and having run-ins with ghouls, ghosts, and goblins.

Vivir un poco
1985
country: Mexico
No overview available

Ghostbusters
1986
country: United States
Jake Kong Jr. and Eddie Spencer Jr. are sons of the original Ghost Busters, and they work alongside Tracy the Gorilla (who also worked with their fathers). Together, they are dedicated to ridding the world of the evil ghost wizard Prime Evil and his cast of henchmen.

Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense
1984
country: United Kingdom
A short-lived anthology television series from Hammer Studios. Though similar in format to the 1980 series Hammer House of Horror, the Mystery and Suspense series had feature-length episodes, usually running around 70 minutes without commercials. Co-produced by Hammer Studios with 20th Century Fox Television, it is known in the United States as Fox Mystery Theater. Unlike 1980's Hammer House of Horror, all episodes feature American actors as either the leads or in key roles. It first broadcast in the UK on ITV in 1984, though was not simulcast and was shown in different timeslots throughout the various regions.