Best TV Shows 1980 - 2010
by ksirnick | created - 03 Jun 2014 | updated - 01 Sep 2021 | PublicMy favorite TV shows between 1980 & 2010, listed by release date… Note: If the show premiered before 1980 it will not be on the list even if it was still on the air after 1980.
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1. Magnum, P.I. (1980–1988)
TV-PG | 48 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
The adventures of a Hawaii-based private investigator.
Stars: Tom Selleck, John Hillerman, Roger E. Mosley, Larry Manetti
Votes: 28,904
2. Hill Street Blues (1981–1987)
TV-14 | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The lives and work of the staff of an inner city police precinct.
Stars: Daniel J. Travanti, Michael Warren, Bruce Weitz, James Sikking
Votes: 10,543
3. The Fall Guy (1981–1986)
TV-PG | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
The adventures of a film stuntman who moonlights as a bounty hunter when movie work is slow.
Stars: Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, Heather Thomas, Markie Post
Votes: 8,940
4. Tales of the Gold Monkey (1982–1983)
60 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
The adventures of a 1930's Pacific Islands bush pilot and his companions.
Stars: Stephen Collins, Jeff MacKay, Caitlin O'Heaney, Marta DuBois
Votes: 1,882
5. T.J. Hooker (1982–1986)
TV-PG | 60 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The weekly adventures of tough-as-nails veteran police officer Sgt. T.J. Hooker, who rides the beat with his rookie partner Vince Romano.
Stars: William Shatner, Heather Locklear, Adrian Zmed, James Darren
Votes: 5,107
6. Night Court (1984–1992)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy
An eccentric fun-loving judge presides over an urban night court and all the silliness going on there.
Stars: Harry Anderson, John Larroquette, Richard Moll, Charles Robinson
Votes: 17,838
7. The Cosby Show (1984–1992)
TV-G | 30 min | Comedy, Family, Romance
The goings-on in the life of a successful African-American family.
Stars: Bill Cosby, Phylicia Rashad, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Tempestt Bledsoe
Votes: 36,326
8. Moonlighting (1985–1989)
TV-PG | 3,073 min | Comedy, Drama, Mystery
The quirky cases of a former model and a smart aleck detective who manage a private detective agency.
Stars: Cybill Shepherd, Bruce Willis, Allyce Beasley, Curtis Armstrong
Votes: 24,223
9. L.A. Law (1986–1994)
TV-PG | 46 min | Drama
The lives and work of the staff of a major Los Angeles law firm.
Stars: Corbin Bernsen, Jill Eikenberry, Alan Rachins, Michael Tucker
Votes: 6,450
10. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994)
TV-PG | 45 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Set almost 100 years after Captain Kirk's 5-year mission, a new generation of Starfleet officers sets off in the U.S.S. Enterprise-D on its own mission to go where no one has gone before.
Stars: Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton
Votes: 135,768
11. Quantum Leap (1989–1993)
TV-PG | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
During an experiment into time travel, a scientist finds himself trapped in the past, "leaping" into the lives of different people, sorting out their problems and changing history in hopes of getting back to his own life in the present.
Stars: Scott Bakula, Dean Stockwell, Deborah Pratt, Dennis Wolfberg
Votes: 36,432
12. Seinfeld (1989–1998)
TV-PG | 22 min | Comedy
The continuing misadventures of neurotic New York City stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld and his equally neurotic New York City friends.
Stars: Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards, Jason Alexander
Votes: 350,911
13. The Simpsons (1989– )
TV-14 | 22 min | Animation, Comedy
The satiric adventures of a working-class family in the misfit city of Springfield.
Stars: Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright, Harry Shearer, Julie Kavner
Votes: 435,407
14. Law & Order (1990– )
TV-14 | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
New York's finest police detectives and prosecutors fight to make the city a safer place. With integrity as the guiding force from investigation to verdict, the teams weigh every perspective in their commitment to finding justice.
Stars: Jerry Orbach, Jesse L. Martin, Dennis Farina, Sam Waterston
Votes: 44,457
15. Wings (1990–1997)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy, Drama
Brothers Brian and Joe Hackett attempt to run an airline on the New England island of Nantucket while surrounded by their various wacky friends and employees.
Stars: Tim Daly, Steven Weber, Crystal Bernard, David Schramm
Votes: 14,517
16. Picket Fences (1992–1996)
120 min | Crime, Drama, Family
An aging Sheriff tries to keep the peace in Rome, Wisconsin, a small town plagued by bizarre and violent crimes.
Stars: Kathy Baker, Tom Skerritt, Lauren Holly, Costas Mandylor
Votes: 5,140
17. The X-Files (1993–2018)
TV-14 | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Two F.B.I. Agents, Fox Mulder the believer and Dana Scully the skeptic, investigate the strange and unexplained, while hidden forces work to impede their efforts.
Stars: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Mitch Pileggi, William B. Davis
Votes: 249,457
18. Frasier (1993–2004)
TV-PG | 22 min | Comedy
Dr. Frasier Crane moves back to his hometown of Seattle, where he lives with his father and works as a radio psychiatrist.
Stars: Kelsey Grammer, Jane Leeves, David Hyde Pierce, Peri Gilpin
Votes: 95,340
19. Friends (1994–2004)
TV-14 | 22 min | Comedy, Romance
Follows the personal and professional lives of six twenty to thirty year-old friends living in the Manhattan borough of New York City.
Stars: Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc
Votes: 1,086,766
20. ER (1994–2009)
TV-14 | 44 min | Drama, Romance
The doctors who work in the ER at the County General Hospital in Chicago grapple with ups and downs in their personal and professional lives while trying to give apt medical care to their patients.
Stars: Anthony Edwards, George Clooney, Julianna Margulies, Eriq La Salle
Votes: 67,642
21. That '70s Show (1998–2006)
TV-14 | 22 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A comedy revolving around a group of teenage friends, their mishaps, and their coming of age, set in 1970s Wisconsin.
Stars: Topher Grace, Laura Prepon, Mila Kunis, Danny Masterson
Votes: 189,190
22. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003)
TV-14 | 44 min | Action, Drama, Fantasy
A young woman, destined to slay vampires, demons and other infernal creatures, deals with her life fighting evil, with the help of her friends.
Stars: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, Anthony Head
Votes: 159,540
23. Angel (1999–2004)
TV-14 | 44 min | Action, Drama, Fantasy
The vampire Angel, cursed with a soul, moves to Los Angeles and aids people with supernatural-related problems while questing for his own redemption.
Stars: David Boreanaz, Charisma Carpenter, Alexis Denisof, J. August Richards
Votes: 75,692
24. Band of Brothers (2001)
TV-MA | 59 min | Drama, History, War
The story of Easy Company of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division and their mission in World War II Europe, from Operation Overlord to V-J Day.
Stars: Scott Grimes, Damian Lewis, Ron Livingston, Shane Taylor
Votes: 525,972
25. 24 (2001–2010)
TV-14 | 44 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Counter Terrorism Agent Jack Bauer races against the clock to subvert terrorist plots and save his nation from ultimate disaster.
Stars: Kiefer Sutherland, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Carlos Bernard, Dennis Haysbert
Votes: 196,901
26. Star Trek: Enterprise (2001–2005)
TV-PG | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A century before Captain Kirk's five-year mission, Jonathan Archer captains the United Earth ship Enterprise during the early years of Starfleet, leading up to the Earth-Romulan War and the formation of the Federation.
Stars: Scott Bakula, John Billingsley, Jolene Blalock, Dominic Keating
Votes: 59,030
27. Firefly (2002–2003)
TV-14 | 45 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Five hundred years in the future, a renegade crew aboard a small spacecraft tries to survive as they travel the unknown parts of the galaxy and evade warring factions as well as authority agents out to get them.
Stars: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin
Votes: 281,468
28. NCIS (2003– )
TV-14 | 60 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Follows the Major Case Response Team (MCRT) from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), as they get to the bottom of criminal cases connected to Navy and Marine Corps personnel.
Stars: David McCallum, Sean Murray, Mark Harmon, Brian Dietzen
Votes: 162,740
29. Two and a Half Men (2003–2015)
TV-14 | 22 min | Comedy, Romance
A hedonistic jingle writer's free-wheeling life comes to an abrupt halt when his brother and 10-year-old nephew move into his beach-front house.
Stars: Jon Cryer, Ashton Kutcher, Angus T. Jones, Conchata Ferrell
Votes: 280,329
30. Battlestar Galactica (2004–2009)
TV-14 | 45 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
When an old enemy, the Cylons, resurface and obliterate the 12 colonies, the crew of the aged Galactica protect a small civilian fleet - the last of humanity - as they journey toward the fabled 13th colony, Earth.
Stars: Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Jamie Bamber, James Callis
Votes: 175,416
31. Lost (2004–2010)
TV-14 | 5,445 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
The survivors of a plane crash are forced to work together in order to survive on a seemingly deserted tropical island.
Stars: Jorge Garcia, Josh Holloway, Yunjin Kim, Evangeline Lilly
Votes: 594,385
32. Doctor Who (2005–2022)
TV-PG | 45 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
The further adventures in time and space of the alien adventurer known as the Doctor and his companions from planet Earth.
Stars: Jodie Whittaker, Peter Capaldi, Pearl Mackie, Matt Smith
Votes: 246,263
33. Bones (2005–2017)
TV-14 | 40 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
F.B.I. Special Agent Seeley Booth teams up with the Jeffersonian's top anthropologist, Dr. Temperance Brennan, to investigate cases where all that's left of the victims are their bones.
Stars: Emily Deschanel, David Boreanaz, Michaela Conlin, T.J. Thyne
Votes: 175,985
34. Medium (2005–2011)
TV-14 | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Fantasy
Suburban mom Allison DuBois attempts to balance family life with solving mysteries using her special gift. The dead send her visions of their deaths or other crimes while she sleeps.
Stars: Patricia Arquette, Miguel Sandoval, Jake Weber, Sofia Vassilieva
Votes: 31,082
35. Heroes (II) (2006–2010)
TV-14 | 45 min | Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Common people discover that they have super powers. Their lives intertwine as a devastating event must be prevented.
Stars: Jack Coleman, Hayden Panettiere, Milo Ventimiglia, Masi Oka
Votes: 251,476
36. Dexter (2006–2013)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
He's smart. He's lovable. He's Dexter Morgan, America's favorite serial killer, who spends his days solving crimes and nights committing them.
Stars: Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, David Zayas, James Remar
Votes: 764,352
37. Burn Notice (2007–2013)
TV-PG | 44 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A spy recently disavowed by the U.S. government uses his special ops training to help others in trouble.
Stars: Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, Bruce Campbell, Sharon Gless
Votes: 79,112
38. Pushing Daisies (2007–2009)
TV-PG | 44 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A pastry chef with the power to bring dead people back to life solves murder mysteries with his resurrected childhood sweetheart, a cynical private investigator, and a lovesick waitress.
Stars: Lee Pace, Anna Friel, Chi McBride, Jim Dale
Votes: 59,526
39. Fringe (2008–2013)
TV-14 | 46 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
An F.B.I. agent is forced to work with an institutionalized scientist and his son in order to rationalize a brewing storm of unexplained phenomena.
Stars: Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, John Noble, Jasika Nicole
Votes: 257,297
40. Castle (2009–2016)
TV-14 | 43 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
When a psychopath commits murders based on novelist Castle's books, Detective Beckett seeks his help to solve the case. He decides to work with her and uses his experiences as research for his novels.
Stars: Nathan Fillion, Stana Katic, Susan Sullivan, Jon Huertas
Votes: 174,227
41. The Mentalist (2008–2015)
TV-14 | 43 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A famous "psychic" outs himself as a fake, and starts working as a consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation so he can find "Red John", the madman who killed his wife and daughter.
Stars: Simon Baker, Robin Tunney, Tim Kang, Owain Yeoman
Votes: 200,313
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