FALL 2019 TV SURVEY: 20 TV Shows That Defined the 1980s

For Rotten Tomatoes’ annual Fall TV Survey, we asked thousands of our users what they’re most looking forward to in the coming TV season and to reflect on the best shows from seasons past.

Cheers to Cheers! Rotten Tomatoes users selected the show about a bar where everybody knows your name and they’re always glad you came as the top show of the 1980s. The series was truly an ensemble effort with Ted Danson, Rhea Perlman, John Ratzenberger, George Wendt, Kelsey Grammer, Woody Harrelson, Kirstie Alley, and Shelley Long as the principal cast.

Cheers took top spot with 66% of the vote, followed by The Cosby Show at 53%, The Golden Girls at 47%, Magnum, P.I. with 46%, and the 1980s edition of Saturday Night Live taking fifth place with 45%.

Which star ruled the 1980s? Your vote went to SNL star Eddie Murphy with 16%, followed by The Golden Girls cast with 14%, and Tom Selleck with 12%. Bruce Willis was at No. 4 with 12%, and Don Johnson took fifth with 7%.

Disagree with the survey results? Tell us in the comments who you think should have made the list or have been ranked higher.

Murder, She Wrote (1984)

#20

Synopsis: A feisty widow solves murders when she's not writing about them in her home town of Cabot Cove, Maine, a... [More]

Starring: Angela Lansbury, Barry Nelson, Don Calfa, Bobby Sherman

Directed By: Charles S. Dubin, Allen Reisner, Alan Cooke, Anthony Shaw

ALF (1986)

#19

Synopsis: A popular sitcom about a furry Alien Life Form from the planet Melmac who crash-lands on Earth and finds a... [More]

Starring: Carla Gugino, Bob Denver, Holly Fields, Jeff Doucette

Directed By: Burt Brinckerhoff, R. Paul Miller, Paul Fusco, Gary Shimokawa

Dynasty (1981)

#18

Synopsis: The excessive '80s fueled this lavish, campy soap about the Carringtons, a brood of beautiful bed-hoppers with twisted family ties... [More]

Starring: Heather Locklear, Paul Burke, John Forsythe, Pamela Sue Martin

Directed By: Michael Lange, Harry Falk, Alan Myerson, Bruce Bilson

Knight Rider (1982)

#17

Synopsis: A former police officer gets a new identity and teams with a talking supercar to fight crime.... [More]

Starring: James Le Gros, David Hasselhoff, Arye Gross, Luke Askew

Directed By: Bernard McEveety, Paul Stanley, Gil Betteman, Bruce Bilson

The A-Team (1983)

#16

Synopsis: Series revolving soldiers with bad attitude and the hero rescues.... [More]

Starring: Stephanie Kramer, Michael Young, David McCallum, Richard Herd

Directed By: John Peter Kousakis, Christian Nyby II, Tony Mordente, James Fargo

Three's Company (1977)

#15

Synopsis: A man shares an apartment with two women and pretends to be gay so the landlord won't kick him out... [More]

Starring: Judith-Marie Bergan, George McDaniel, John Ritter, Judy Kain

Directed By: Michael Ross, Bill Hobin, Neal Marlens

Moonlighting (1985)
97%

#14

Synopsis: The sly, hip, often imitated romantic dramedy about an ex-model and a PI who team up to run the Blue... [More]

Starring: Joyce Brothers, Patricia Duff, Mark Harmon, Roberts Blossom

Directed By: Jay Daniel, Ron Osborn, Chris Hibler, Christian Nyby II

Dukes of Hazzard (1979)

#13

Synopsis: The Robin Hood-style escapades of two cousins at odds with a greedy, bombastic politician and his blundering lackey, the local... [More]

Starring: Johnny Paycheck, Donna Fargo, Melinda Naud, Beth Schaffell

Directed By: Michael Caffey, Paul Baxley, Ernie Pintoff, Ron Satlof

21 Jump Street (1987)

#12

Synopsis: Young L.A. cops go undercover in high schools in this teen-oriented police drama, which helped jump-start the new Fox network... [More]

Starring: Yvette Nipar, Peter DeLuise, Christine Elise, Holly Robinson Peete

Directed By: Bill Corcoran, Steven Williams, Mario Van Peebles, Tucker Gates

Hill Street Blues (1981)

#11

Synopsis: Steven Bochco's landmark ensemble crime drama was an often electrifying mix of realism and humor within continuing storylines (in an... [More]

Starring: Daniel J. Travanti, Bruce Weitz, Ed Marinaro, Barbara Bosson

Directed By: Corey Allen, Alexander Singer, Ben Bolt, Stan Lathan

Family Ties (1982)

#10

Synopsis: Former 1960s flower children raise their kids during the conservative Reagan era in one of the best written and acted... [More]

Starring: Geena Davis, Meredith Baxter, Jeff Cohen, Michael Gross

Directed By: Tony Mordente, Lee Shallat Chemel, Michael Zinberg, Debbie Allen

Saved by the Bell (1989) (0)

#9

Synopsis: Teens study, date and scheme at a California high school, where silly storylines didn't stop droves of kids from watching... [More]

Starring: Jennifer Blanc, Barbra Brighton, Louan Gideon, Mark-Paul Gosselaar

Directed By: Leanna Creel, Soleil Moon Frye, Dennis Erdman, Elizabeth Berkley

MacGyver (1985)

#8

Synopsis: The popular adventures of a resourceful former Special Forces operative, who undertakes impossible missions at the behest of a crimefighting... [More]

Starring: John Cameron Mitchell, Richard Dean Anderson, Lucas Till, Lawrence Dobkin

Directed By: Paul Krasny, Don Chaffey, Richard A. Colla, John Florea

Dallas (1978)

#7

Synopsis: Power, passion and duplicity drive this landmark saga set at the Southfork ranch, home of the oil-rich Ewing clan and... [More]

Starring: Larry Hagman, Barbara Bel Geddes, Denver Pyle, Harold Gould

Directed By: Michael Preece, Victor French, Ernest Pintoff, Bill Duke

Miami Vice (1984)
72%

#6

Synopsis: A hip, MTV-tinged drama about a pair of high-style detectives that added neon and attitude to the genre and drew... [More]

Starring: Joaquim de Almeida, Ramy Zada, Sean O'Bryan, Bill Maher

Directed By: Stan Lathan, James Widdoes, John Moxey, Rob Cohen

Saturday Night Live (1975)

#5

Synopsis: A variety show packed with some Emmy-winning satire for laughs.... [More]

Starring: Deborah Harry, Charlene Tilton, Bill Murray, Rod Stewart

Directed By: Beth McCarthy, Dave Wilson, Dave Wilson, Robert Altman

Magnum, P.I. (1980)

#4

Synopsis: CBS reworked its successful `Hawaii Five-O' formula into a hit spun around a charismatic PI. The scenic backdrop and action-oriented... [More]

Starring: Sharon Stone, Richard Johnson, Dana Hill, Roscoe Lee Browne

Directed By: Michael Vejar, John C. Flinn III, Robert J. Totten, Alan Cassidy

The Golden Girls (1985)

#3

Synopsis: Sitcom about four mature single women sharing a house in Miami.... [More]

Starring: Bridgette Andersen, Bea Arthur, Betty White, Christine Belford

Directed By: Jack Shea, Susan Harris, Steve Zuckerman, Paul Bogart

The Cosby Show (1984)

#2

Synopsis: Cosby played a doctor and dad in this all-time classic, which was TV's biggest hit in the 1980s and almost... [More]

Starring: Debbie Allen, Reiner Schöne, Keith Reddin, Edmund Lyndeck

Directed By: Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Carl Lauten, Reggie Life, Neema Barnette

Cheers (1982)

#1

Synopsis: This hugely successful, multi-Emmy-winning sitcom is set in a friendly Boston bar run by Sam Malone, a former Red Sox... [More]

Starring: Ted Danson, John McLaughlin, Daniel Gerroll, Robert Desiderio

Directed By: David Lloyd, Thomas Lofario, Jim Burrows, John Ratzenberger

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