Best 80s TV Shows That’ll Fuel Some Nostalgia

Who would've thought that watching grumpy older ladies could be fun? Well, the '80s, obviously! The Golden Girls, a critically acclaimed and plentifully awarded '80s TV series, follows four dames as they go about their daily lives in a shared house they occupy together. And the grouchier their moods - the louder the laughs in the staple behind-the-scenes track. It's also worthy of mentioning that one of The Golden Girls' leads is played by our beloved megastar Betty White.

A puppet show for adults, The Muppets was ahead of its time with its absurdist and surreal humor, burlesque nature, and uniquely designed characters. The Muppets were presented as a variety show, featuring recurring sketches and musical numbers unified by several plotlines, mainly Kermit the Frog's struggles to control the cast. The Muppets were also one of the rare series presented with the Peabody award given only to the most enlightening and invigorating stories and programs.

Quantum Leap, a science-fiction series, follows Dr. Sam Beckett, a physicist who involuntarily leaps through time due to an experiment gone wrong and fixes what he thinks as historical mistakes. Supplemented by characters as holograms and self-aware artificial intelligence computers, the series was thoroughly original and captivating. And though Quantum Leap was slow to gain a solid position in the ratings, it was later named by TV Guide as one of the best cult series ever.

After its premiere in September 1982, Cheers nearly got canceled as its ratings were at about sea bottom level. Thankfully, though, the broadcasting channel did not give up on it, and during the summer reruns of the first season, Cheers suddenly gained its audience, which proved to be an ever-growing one. A sitcom in all of its essence, Cheers follows a group of friends that meets and spends their time together at a bar called, you guessed it, Cheers. Filmed in front of a live audience, it has that signature sitcom laugh track and is often set in the same location. It's also a series that birthed probably one of the most successful spin-offs ever. If not for Cheers, we wouldn't have gotten Frasier!

Married… With Children follows the lives of Al Bundy, a misogynist shoe seller, Peggy, his vain and lazy wife, and their two kids - stereotypic blonde Kelly and very uncool yet smart Bud. And if you haven't heard about this legendary series, you are definitely a rare specimen as it was an absolute '80s TV staple. Loathed by plenty for its mean-spiritedness, Married… With Children still had a solid allure based on Ed O'Neill's portrayal of Al, relatable family situations, and a pretty gloomy sense of humor which resonated with audiences worldwide.

This action-adventure series follows a foursome of ex-military personnel, wrongfully sentenced and imprisoned. Of course, the four of them escape to Los Angeles and become soldiers of fortune, bringing justice to the little man. Impressionable characters, cartoonish violence, and cool catchphrases are what made The A-Team an iconic series of the decade. Also, its episodic nature, where you can tune in whenever without missing essential plot details, made it very agreeable with audiences and The A-Team soon skyrocketed to the top of the ratings.

In our days, it's usually the kids that are hip and the parents that are square. Well, in Family Ties universe, it's all reversed - ex-hippie parents and conservationist '80s kids. And, that's precisely where the conflict lies, and it's never dull to follow this family in their daily lives when their views on life and politics are divided by a chasm. A brilliant depiction of actual events and culture of the decade gained this series plenty of awards and accolades.

A womanizer private investigator living life to the fullest while solving heinous crimes will never go out of fashion, and Magnum, P.I. is a true classic of the crime drama series genre. And so is Tom Selleck's, a.k.a. Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV's glorious mustache, which plays a part of its own in this series. Oh, and if you love guest star appearances on series that you are watching, Magnum, P.I. had plenty of those, including but not limited to Shannen Doherty, Sharon Stone, and Frank Sinatra, just to name a few.

MacGyver is an action-adventure series following Angus MacGyver, a secret agent equipped with incredible resourcefulness to solve problems using simple everyday things. In fact, MacGyver is so good at what he does; his name became a term for when you fix or solve something with random stuff at hand. Though the 1985 series saw a slow start in ratings with the first season, it later proved to be a sleeper hit, gaining popularity and loyal fans as MacGyver went on.

With a sweet vision of life in the ‘50s America, quirky yet relatable characters, and a delightful sense of humor, Happy Days was everyone's favorite series for its whole ten years of existence. Besides being hugely successful, Happy Days was also the show where Robin Williams started his career, and by a lucky accident! With five spin-offs, loads of loyal fans, and time-defying production, Happy Days is probably one of the best shows aired in the '80s.

M*A*S*H - an acronym for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital - is a war comedy-drama series that graced TV screens for almost ten years, starting from 1972. It follows a team of field doctors stationed in South Korea during the Korean War (1950-1953) and their lives during wartime. M*A*S*H became so wildly popular during its run that the final episode still holds the record for the most-watched finale of any TV series. In fact, so many people watched that episode that the New York City Sanitation Department reported broken plumbing issues after seemingly everyone in NYC went to the bathroom right after the end credits. And though it might be just an urban legend, it perfectly illustrates just how captivated the audience was with M*A*S*H.

The '80s birthed many cool things, and one of them, undoubtedly, was Star Trek: The Next Generation. When Sir Patrick Stewart was picked for the series as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, he was a relatively unknown 'British Shakespearean actor,' and now we couldn't imagine our pop culture without him. Praised for its fantastic production, great acting, and unique plotlines supplemented by such guest stars as Stephen Hawking himself and NASA astronaut Mae Jemison, Star Trek: The Next Generation has solidified itself as a cultural phenomenon for decades to come.

The Simpsons, which is the longest-running American animated series, has made us laugh, cry, and feel love for the last three decades. It saw Baby Boomers laughing at hidden jokes their Millennial kids couldn't understand at the time, and it saw those same Millennials showing The Simpsons to their own kids - a staple animated series any generation can find relatable and loveable.

Mork And Mindy supplied the vastly talented Robin Williams with a breakthrough role and, in return, gained stellar popularity, ranking at third place in the Nielsen Ratings at the time of its release. And how could it not, when you have such an ingenious (even if inexperienced) actor as Robin Williams playing an extraterrestrial from the Ork planet who came to live on Earth? 

As shown by many TV series, the night shift at the court is generally a gathering place for low-lives, outcasts, and criminals, often with no comedic element in their endeavors. With Night Court, though, the premise takes another turn, and the night shift proceedings, conducted by a young and very unorthodox judge Harold Stone, are usually a place for hilarious happenings and humor.

Now here's a series that had a serious allure to various audience segments - starting from petrolheads as it stars a heavily modified, AI-equipped Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, to crime and action lovers and ending with David Hasselhoff fans because, well, David Hasselhoff. Knight Rider grips you right from the start with its synth-heavy, mean theme song and does not release you with its action sequences and plot twists.

An adaptation of the 1975 Moonrunners movie, The Dukes Of Hazzard, shares a very similar premise following the no-good Duke brothers, their cousin Daisy, and the wise patriarch of the family, Uncle Jesse. Filled with comedic action and plot twists in each episode, The Dukes Of Hazzard became an iconic show. And even if you haven't seen it, you've most likely heard about Daisy's style, especially the skimpy 'Daisy Dukes' jean shorts.