Best TV Shows of the 1980s

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The 1980s expanded television's creative possibilities through innovative shows that blended genres and pushed content boundaries. Programs like Miami Vice, Hill Street Blues, and The Twilight Zone demonstrated television's potential for cinematic storytelling and sophisticated themes.

J.J. Starbuck (1987)

Belle and Sebastian (1981)

Space Runaway Ideon (1980)

Code Red (1981)

L'Heure de vérité (1982)

动物世界 (1981)

Reading Rainbow (1983)

Police Squad! (1982)

POV (1988)

Plymptoons: The Complete Early Works of Bill Plympton (1989)

Heart Cocktail (1986)

Honjitsu mo Seiten Nari (1981)

V (1983)

Mobile Cop Jiban (1989)

Kids Incorporated (1983)

MTV Unplugged (1989)

Dragon Ball (1986)

Beauty and the Beast (1987)

This decade's experimentation with television formats and storytelling techniques established foundations that would support the medium's later artistic achievements.