# The 20 Best TV Series of the 1980s

> Network powerhouses, cult favorites and the shows that quietly rewrote the rules all share this lineup. Which one still holds up best?

*By YPB Team · Published September 14, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-20-best-tv-series-of-the-1980s*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Cheers** — score 1000/1000
   A beloved Boston bar sitcom that ran from 1982 and became one of the most awarded comedies of the decade.
2. **The Wonder Years** — score 699/1000
   A nostalgic coming-of-age dramedy narrating a boy's suburban childhood during the late 1960s.
3. **Magnum, P.I.** — score 550/1000
   A breezy Hawaii-set detective series starring Tom Selleck as a charming private investigator.
4. **Hill Street Blues** — score 498/1000
   A gritty ensemble police drama that redefined the TV cop show and swept the Emmys in the early 1980s.
5. **St. Elsewhere** — score 498/1000
   An acclaimed Boston hospital drama known for its realism and famously ambiguous finale.
6. **Married... with Children** — score 498/1000
   A crude, subversive sitcom about the dysfunctional Bundy family that helped launch the Fox network.
7. **Knight Rider** — score 440/1000
   A hit action series pairing David Hasselhoff with a talking, crime-fighting supercar named KITT.
8. **Night Court** — score 440/1000
   An absurdist workplace sitcom set in a Manhattan night-shift courtroom led by a quirky young judge.
9. **The A-Team** — score 372/1000
   An action-packed adventure series about a team of fugitive commandos-for-hire.
10. **Newhart** — score 372/1000
   Bob Newhart's Vermont-inn sitcom, remembered for one of the greatest series finales in TV history.
11. **Dynasty** — score 372/1000
   A lavish prime-time soap about feuding oil dynasties, epitomizing 1980s excess and glamour.
12. **Roseanne** — score 372/1000
   A groundbreaking working-class family sitcom praised for its honest portrayal of blue-collar life.
13. **Family Ties** — score 372/1000
   A warm family sitcom that launched Michael J. Fox as conservative teen Alex P. Keaton.
14. **Miami Vice** — score 293/1000
   A stylish, neon-soaked crime drama that made 1980s pastel fashion and synth soundtracks iconic.
15. **Moonlighting** — score 293/1000
   A genre-blending detective dramedy famed for the crackling banter between Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd.
16. **Dallas** — score 293/1000
   A prime-time soap about a scheming Texas oil family, famous for its 'Who shot J.R.?' cliffhanger.
17. **The Golden Girls** — score 200/1000
   A sharp-witted sitcom about four older women sharing a Miami home that became a cultural staple.
18. **Star Trek: The Next Generation** — score 200/1000
   The 1987 sci-fi revival that introduced Captain Picard and reinvigorated the Star Trek franchise.
19. **The Cosby Show** — score 200/1000
   A landmark family sitcom about the Huxtables that dominated Thursday-night ratings in the mid-1980s.
20. **L.A. Law** — score 0/1000
   A glossy legal drama that made courtroom storytelling prestige television in the late 1980s.

Tags: 80s, tv shows, classics, sitcom