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The Best 1980s NBC Shows 

Ranker TV
Updated April 7, 2019 4.9k votes 442 voters 10.6k views 47 items

List Rules Vote up your favorite NBC TV series that aired in the '80s

These are the best 1980s NBC shows ranked by user votes. The 1980s was a great time for NBC television programs. Really, it was just a great time for TV in general. Particularly the sitcom. Some of the best 1980s NBC shows were dramas and other good 80s NBC series were comedies. Greatness knew no genre. Many of the greatest 1980s NBC TV shows are still popular to this day with syndicated reruns.

What shows appear near the top of this best 1980s NBC shows list? Cheers was a hit for the network as soon as it premiered in 1982. Part of its success was thanks to a talented cast including Ted Danson, Shelley Long and Woody Harrelson. Family Ties is another good show that aired on NBC in the 1980s, as is the out-of-this-world comedy Alf.

St. Elsewhere used the setting of a working hospital to add drama into the plot. Other great series that appear on this top 1980s NBC shows list include Hill Street Blues, The Facts of Life and Misfits of Science.

Do you have a favorite NBC show from the 80s? Take a look at this list and give the best series a thumbs up to bump them all the way up to the top.
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1
Cheers is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list The Best 1980s NBC Shows
Ted Danson, Rhea Perlman, John Ratzenberger

Premiered: 1982

Genres (Tv): Sitcom, Comedy

Watch for Free with Amazon Prime Free Trial Cheers is an American sitcom that ran for eleven seasons between 1982 and 1993. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association with Paramount Network Television for ...more

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2
The Golden Girls is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list The Best 1980s NBC Shows
Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan

Premiered: 1985

Genres (Tv): Sitcom, Comedy

The Golden Girls is an American sitcom, created by Susan Harris, that originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, and ...more

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Behind-The-Scenes Secrets From 'The Golden Girls' #77 of 807 The Best TV Shows To Binge Watchlisted on The Longest Running US Sitcoms

3
Family Ties is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list The Best 1980s NBC Shows
Michael J. Fox, Michael Gross, Meredith Baxter

Premiered: 1982

Genres (Tv): Sitcom, Comedy

Watch for Free with Amazon Prime Free Trial Family Ties is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 22, 1982 until May 14, 1989. The series, created by Gary David Goldberg, reflected the move in the United States from the ...more

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4
Night Court is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list The Best 1980s NBC Shows
Harry Anderson, John Larroquette, Richard Moll

Premiered: 1984

Genres (Tv): Sitcom, Comedy, Legal

Night Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984, to May 31, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan court, presided over by the young, ...more

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#335 of 807 The Best TV Shows To Binge Watch #87 of 590 The Best TV Theme Songs of All Timelisted on The Longest Running US Sitcoms

5
The Facts of Life is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list The Best 1980s NBC Shows
Lisa Whelchel, Kim Fields, Mindy Cohn

Premiered: 1979

Genres (Tv): Sitcom, Drama, Comedy

The Facts of Life is an American sitcom that originally ran on the NBC television network from August 24, 1979, to May 7, 1988, making it one of the longest running sitcoms of the 1980s. A ...more

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6
The A-Team is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list The Best 1980s NBC Shows
George Peppard, Mr. T, Dwight Schultz

Premiered: 1983

Genres (Tv): Crime Fiction, Action/Adventure, Military, Adventure film, Action, + more

The A-Team is an American action-adventure television series, running from 1983 to 1987, about a fictional group of ex–U.S. Army personnel who escape and, while still on the run from the army, ...more

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7
Miami Vice is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list The Best 1980s NBC Shows
Don Johnson, Philip Michael Thomas, Saundra Santiago

Premiered: 1984

Genres (Tv): Crime Fiction, Police procedural, Drama

Miami Vice is an American television drama series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip ...more

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8
Knight Rider is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list The Best 1980s NBC Shows
David Hasselhoff, Edward Mulhare, Richard Basehart

Premiered: 1982

Genres (Tv): Crime Fiction, Action/Adventure, Drama, Adventure film, Action, + more

Knight Rider is an American television series that originally ran from September 26, 1982, to August 8, 1986. The series was broadcast on NBC and stars David Hasselhoff as Michael Knight, a ...more

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9
Diff'rent Strokes is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list The Best 1980s NBC Shows
Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges, Conrad Bain

Premiered: 1978

Genres (Tv): Sitcom, Comedy

Diff'rent Strokes is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman ...more

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10
ALF is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list The Best 1980s NBC Shows
Mihaly 'Michu' Meszaros, Paul Fusco, Max Wright

Premiered: 1986

Genres (Tv): Sitcom, Comedy, Science Fiction, Puppet

ALF is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 22, 1986 to March 24, 1990. It was the first television series to be presented in Dolby Surround sound system. The title character is ...more

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11
The Cosby Show is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list The Best 1980s NBC Shows
Bill Cosby, Phylicia Rashad, Keshia Knight Pulliam

Premiered: 1984

Genres (Tv): Sitcom, Comedy

The Cosby Show is an American television sitcom starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on the Huxtable family, ...more

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#398 of 807 The Best TV Shows To Binge Watch #250 of 590 The Best TV Theme Songs of All Timelisted on The Longest Running US Sitcoms

12
Mama's Family is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list The Best 1980s NBC Shows
Vicki Lawrence, Beverly Archer, Ken Berry

Premiered: 1983

Genres (Tv): Sitcom, Comedy

Mama's Family is an American television sitcom starring Vicki Lawrence as Thelma Harper. The series is a spin-off of a recurring series of comedy sketches on The Carol Burnett Show and Carol ...more

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13
Saturday Night Live is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list The Best 1980s NBC Shows
clash1977 added Kenan Thompson, Kate McKinnon, Pete Davidson

Premiered: 1975

Genres (Tv): Sketch comedy, Satire, Variety show, Sketch, Comedy, + more

Saturday Night Live (NBC, 1975), also known as SNL, is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol. Hosted by a ...more

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14
CHiPs is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list The Best 1980s NBC Shows
Erik Estrada, Larry Wilcox, Robert Pine

Premiered: 1977

Genres (Tv): Crime Fiction, Action/Adventure, Police procedural, Drama, Adventure film, + more

CHiPs is an American television drama series produced by MGM Studios that originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to July 17, 1983. CHiPs followed the lives of two motorcycle police ...more

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15
Silver Spoons is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list The Best 1980s NBC Shows
Ricky Schroder, Erin Gray, Joel Higgins

Premiered: 1982

Genres (Tv): Sitcom, Comedy

Silver Spoons is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 25, 1982 to May 11, 1986 and in first-run syndication from September 15, 1986 to March 4, 1987. The series was produced by ...more

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16
Punky Brewster is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list The Best 1980s NBC Shows
Soleil Moon Frye, George Gaynes, Cherie Johnson

Premiered: 1984

Genres (Tv): Sitcom, Children's television series, Comedy

Punky Brewster is an American sitcom about a girl named Punky Brewster being raised by her foster parent. The show ran on NBC from September 16, 1984 to September 7, 1986 and again in first-run ...more

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17
Highway to Heaven is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list The Best 1980s NBC Shows
Michael Landon, Victor French

Premiered: 1984

Genres (Tv): Supernatural, Drama, Fantasy

Highway to Heaven is an American television drama series which ran on NBC from 1984 to 1989. The series aired for five seasons, running a total of 111 episodes. It was shot entirely in ...more

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18
Gimme a Break! is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list The Best 1980s NBC Shows
Nell Carter, Kari Michaelsen, Lara Jill Miller

Premiered: 1981

Genres (Tv): Sitcom, Comedy

Gimme a Break! is an American sitcom which aired on NBC for six seasons from October 29, 1981 until May 12, 1987. The series stars Nell Carter as the housekeeper for a widowed police chief and ...more

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19
Bosom Buddies is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list The Best 1980s NBC Shows
Tom Hanks, Peter Scolari, Donna Dixon

Premiered: 1980

Genres (Tv): Improvisational theatre, Sitcom

Bosom Buddies is an American sitcom starring Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari created by Robert L. Boyett, Thomas L. Miller and Chris Thompson. It ran from 1980 to 1982 on ABC and in reruns in the ...more

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20
Matlock is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list The Best 1980s NBC Shows
Andy Griffith, Linda Purl, Kene Holiday

Premiered: 1986

Genres (Tv): Police procedural, Drama, Comedy-drama, Legal drama, Legal

Matlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of attorney Ben Matlock. The show, produced by The Fred Silverman Company, Dean Hargrove Productions, ...more

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21
Quincy, M.E. is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list The Best 1980s NBC Shows
Jack Klugman, John S. Ragin, Robert Ito

Premiered: 1976

Genres (Tv): Crime Fiction, Drama, Medical fiction

Quincy, M.E. is an American television series from Universal Studios that aired from October 3, 1976, to September 5, 1983, on NBC. It stars Jack Klugman in the title role, a Los Angeles County ...more

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#72 of 89 The Best 1980s Primetime TV Shows #33 of 125 The Best Serial Cop Dramas of All Time #40 of 272 The Best '70s TV Shows

22
Remington Steele is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list The Best 1980s NBC Shows
Stephanie Zimbalist, Pierce Brosnan, Doris Roberts

Premiered: 1982

Genres (Tv): Crime Fiction, Drama, Comedy, Detective fiction

Remington Steele is an American television series co-created by Robert Butler and Michael Gleason. The series, starring Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan, was produced by MTM Enterprises ...more

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23
Little House on the Prai... is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list The Best 1980s NBC Shows
Little House on the Prairie (NBC, 1974) is an American western historical drama developed by Blanche Hanalis, and an adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's book series Little House. The series ...more

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24
Amazing Stories is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list The Best 1980s NBC Shows
Charles Durning, Douglas Seale, Louis Giambalvo

Premiered: 1985

Genres (Tv): Anthology, Anthology series, Science Fiction, Fantasy

Amazing Stories is a fantasy, horror, and science fiction television anthology series created by Steven Spielberg. It ran on NBC from 1985 to 1987, and in 1992 was somewhat erratically screened ...more

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25
Hunter is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list The Best 1980s NBC Shows
Fred Dryer, Stepfanie Kramer, Charles Hallahan

Premiered: 1984

Genres (Tv): Crime Fiction, Action/Adventure, Police procedural, Drama, Action

Hunter is an American police drama television show that was created by Frank Lupo, and starring Fred Dryer as Sgt. Rick Hunter and Stepfanie Kramer as Sgt. Dee Dee McCall, which ran on NBC from ...more

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