Maybe this officially means we are old, but we have to say it anyway, “they don’t make ’em like they used to!” The shows in the 1980’s broke new ground with action, drama, comedy, and took the family sitcom to new depths. These shows are iconic and we do our best to rank the top 20 T.V. shows from the 1980’s. The criteria for our list is that the show must have started anywhere from 1980-1988. If the show first aired in 1989 we will transition that into our 1990’s T.V. shows list, coming soon!


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20. 21 Jump Street ’87

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgvsDZlm9ps

19. Miami Vice ’84


18. Fraggle Rock ’83


17. Muppet Babies ’84


16. Magnum, P.I. ’80


15. Knight Rider ’82


14. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ’87


13. ALF ’86


12. Full House ’87


11. A-Team ’83


10. Star Trek: The Next Generation ’87


9. Cheers ’82


8. MacGyver ’85


7. Married with Children ’87


6. Cosby Show ’84


5. Golden Girls ’85

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRDtSclFGPs

4. Roseanne ’88


3. Family Ties ’82


2. Highway to Heaven ’84


1. The Wonder Years ’88


Let us hear your thoughts in the comments section below!

  • What shows do you feel should have made our list?
  • Did we select a majority of the right shows?
  • Which show is ranked too high or too low?

Thank you for reading!


Avatar of Noah Gronniger

By Noah Gronniger

Co-founder of Starcade Media as well as a podcast host, filmmaker and writer.

3 thoughts on “Retro Review: Ranking the Top 20 T.V. Shows of the 1980’s”
  1. No Perfect Strangers?!? Also no Mama’s Family even though Vinton and Naomi were all over the graphic? Tisk tisk lol. Also love Just the 10 of Us even though it only lasted a few seasons! TGIF original! 😎

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