The Best Sitcoms of the ’80s — and Where to Watch Them
When do you think “Must-See TV” started? That’s the famous advertising slogan NBC used mostly to describe its impressive Thursday night lineups in the ’90s. But it would be completely understandable if you thought the Must-See TV tagline started in the ’80s!
How else would you describe a Thursday night with these amazing sitcoms: The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers and Night Court (and capped off with an hour of the groundbreaking cop drama Hill Street Blues). That lineup, powered by the then-new Cosby Show, marked the beginning of the 1984-85 season and NBC’s ratings dominance through the 1990s.
Of course, there was no shortage of other memorable 1980s sitcoms from all the networks. ABC could boast of Who’s the Boss?, Coach, Roseanne, and Growing Pains; CBS broadcast Designing Women, Murphy Brown and Newhart. And the Bundys delivered the cheeky laughs for FOX on Married… With Children.
Here are 27 of them we still love, in alphabetical order, and where you can watch them today.
ALF
Life for the Tanners was never the same after a furry, wisecracking alien life force (“A.L.F.,” get it?) crashed into their garage in 1986. But unlike ET wanting to phone home, this Muppet-ish weirdo from the planet Melmac just wanted to eat the family cat. Still, he stole our hearts — and most of the best jokes — over four seasons that ended with an abrupt 1990 cancellation and a less-than-stellar wrap-up 1996 TV-movie.
Airs on Catchy Comedy and MeTV+
Where To Stream
Bosom Buddies
What struggling guy wouldn’t dress up like a woman in order to find affordable housing? Tom Hanks got his first break in 1980, along with costar Peter Scolari, as a couple of struggling ad execs who donned wigs and dresses to move into the dirt-cheap Susan B. Anthony hotel. The hilarious, often-improvised sitcom lasted only two seasons, but Hanks and Scolari’s buddy chemistry made a real splash. Scolari went on to star in an even bigger ’80s comedy hit, Newhart, and Hanks became America’s biggest movie star.
Airs on MeTV+.
Where To Stream
Charles in Charge
Are you singing the theme song? To help put himself through college, Charles (Scott Baio) took a live-in manny position that placed him in charge of the days and the nights of the Pembroke family’s three children. Canceled by CBS in 1985 after one season, the show was resurrected in first-run syndication (1987-90), with Charles now in charge of the wrongs and the rights of the Powell clan instead. Lucky for us, his advice was still as comically hit-or-miss, and his friend Buddy, played by Willie Aames, still as lovably annoying!
Where To Stream
Cheers
Before he worked in The Good Place, Ted Danson tended bar for 11 seasons (1982-93) in the comedy TV Guide Magazine ranked as #11 in its list of TV’s 60 Greatest Shows. And no wonder. Whether it was Danson’s randy Sam Malone sparking with haughty waitress Diane Chambers (Shelley Long) and, later, brittle manager Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley) or barflies Norm and Cliff trading barbs with waitress Carla, everybody knew the name of this classic that scored 28 Emmys and spun off the equally beloved Frasier.
Airs on Catchy Comedy.
Where To Stream
Coach
Craig T. Nelson won an Emmy for his role as obliviously insensitive head college football coach Hayden Fox on this ABC laughfest that ran for 200 episodes from 1989 to 1997. He juggled working with quirky assistant coaches — old pal Luther (Jerry Van Dyke) and younger, shaggier Dauber (Bill Fagerbakke) — while awkwardly getting to know his arty daughter, Kelly (Clare Carey), again when she enrolled at the university. Throw in the ups and downs with his girlfriend (later wife) TV news anchor Christine Armstrong (Shelley Fabares) and you have a comedy touchdown!
Airs on IFC TV.
Where To Stream
The Cosby Show
The Huxtable clan was credited with turning NBC into a ratings-rich network. Starting in 1984, The Cosby Show spent most of its eight-year run as the top-rated show every season, powering the other comedies that followed in the same Thursday-night lineup to classic ’80s sitcom status: Family Ties, Cheers and Night Court. Episodes from the show landed on two TV Guide Magazine lists: 100 Most Memorable Moments in TV History and 100 Greatest Episodes.
Airs on TV One.
Where To Stream
Dear John
“We can really get our turkeys tetrazzini-ed in a place like this,” says swaggering Kirk (Jere Burns) to newly divorced John (leading man Judd Hirsch) at a meeting of the One-to-One Club for divorced and separated people — the gathering place of this 1988-92 comedy’s ensemble. One-liners aside, Dear John… operated on the quieter, almost downbeat end of the sitcom spectrum, yet in its freshman season, the Top 15 series landed Hirsch a Golden Globe.
Airs on Rewind TV.
Where To Stream
Designing Women
Has there ever been a character on TV who could scold someone as savagely as Julia Sugarbaker? As played by the incomparable Dixie Carter, Julia was whiskey in a teacup: a sweet-seeming Atlanta interior designer who took no nonsense from anyone who crossed her, her sister (Delta Burke), or her employees (Annie Potts and Jean Smart) at Sugarbaker & Associates. Like the stars of The Golden Girls, the quartet on this 1986-93 CBS comedy had perfect comedic chemistry no matter what situation they were in. And we usually hoped that the situation involved Julia dressing someone down.
Airs on Rewind TV and Antenna TV.
Where To Stream
A Different World
Spun off from the hit family sitcom Cosby, this coming-of-age NBC series (1987-93) followed the second-oldest of the Huxtable kids, free-spirited Denise (Lisa Bonet), to college. Bonet departed after the first season, and the show was rejiggered to focus on Southern belle Whitley (Jasmine Guy), math whiz Dwayne (Kadeem Hardison), and others at the fictional historic Black university. Woven in among the comedy were storylines about serious topical issues.
Airs on TV One.
Where To Stream
Family Ties
Former hippies Steven and Elyse Keaton (Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter) had a full house: Reagan-loving oldest son Alex (Michael J. Fox, who won three Emmys for the role); flighty middle daughter Mallory (Justine Bateman); tomboy Jennifer (Tina Yothers); and, later, baby Andy (Brian Bonsall). The hit NBC comedy (1982-89) represented the cultural shift to conservative politics and materialism of the decade — through humor, of course, typically via the differences of opinion between Alex and his parents. “It really was just an observation of what was going on in my own life with my own friends,” said creator Gary David Goldberg. Guest actors included future movie stars River Phoenix, Geena Davis and Tom Hanks (as alcoholic Uncle Ned!).
Airs on Rewind TV and Antenna TV.
Where To Stream
Full House
Don’t ask us to “cut it out.” We’re still not over this family comedy about widowed dad Danny Tanner (Bob Saget) raising his three daughters with the help of his comedian best pal Joey (Dave Coulier) and dreamy brother-in-law Jesse (John Stamos). After its 1987-95 run, the series got a 2016-20 Netflix spinoff, Fuller House, which followed the Tanner girls all grown up. Have mercy!
Airs on Catchy Comedy.
Where To Stream
Gimme a Break!
Nell Carter won a 1978 Tony for Ain’t Misbehavin’, but from 1981 to 1987, she was best known for playing Nell Harper, the sassy housekeeper to widowed police chief Carl Kanisky (Dolph Sweet) and his three teenage kids. Nell’s loving but carefree way of running the household (and being a surrogate mother of sorts to the kids) often clashed with the by-the-book chief, but the show always had heart. It also attracted big-name guest stars over the years like Whitney Houston, Sammy Davis Jr. and Milton Berle! And just try to get that catchy theme song (sung by Carter, of course) out of your head!
Where To Stream
The Golden Girls
Who could have predicted that a show about four elderly women would become such a hit — and remain a favorite decades after its finale? Best friends Blanche (Rue McClanahan), Rose (Betty White), Dorothy (Bea Arthur) and her mother Sophia (Estelle Getty) cracked wise on their Miami lanai from 1985 to 1992. Their outrageous antics and bawdy humor earned the series 11 Emmy Awards and turned the characters into cultural icons.
Airs on MeTV and Hallmark Channel.
Where To Stream
Growing Pains
As the theme song says, they shared the laughter and love. The Seaver family — psychiatrist dad Jason (Alan Thicke), reporter mom Maggie (Joanna Kerns), popular older son Mike (Kirk Cameron), supersmart daughter Carol (Tracey Gold), and youngest Ben (Jeremy Miller) (baby Chrissy, played by Ashley Johnson, came a few seasons later) — experienced typical family sitcom hijinks. But the 1985-1992 ABC comedy also tackled important topics facing many teens, like drug use, drinking and driving, and body image. No surprise that the approachable, advice-giving Jason made TV Guide Magazine’s list of 50 Greatest Dads of All Time.
Where To Stream
Head of the Class
If you cross the classic ’70 sitcoms Welcome Back, Kotter and WKRP in Cincinnati, you get the 1986 premiere of Head of the Class. Howard Hesseman, who played disc jockey Johnny Fever on WKRP, here plays history teacher to the anti-Sweathogs, a group of academically gifted kids who need a lot of help with their social IQs at the fictitious Millard Fillmore High School in New York City. The show ran for five seasons, though comedian Billy Connolly replaced Hesseman in the last season as the new teacher for the honors program.
Airs on Rewind TV.
Where To Stream
Kate & Allie
Female friendship was the core of this 1984-89 New York City-based sitcom in which traditional Allie Lowell (Saturday Night Live’s Jane Curtin) and spirited Kate McArdle (McMillan and Wife‘s Susan St. James) decided to live together and raise their kids following their respective divorces. The series focused on the struggles of two women raising kids while maintaining busy careers and romantic lives. Viewers also got to enjoy a cavalcade of soon-to-be-familiar guest stars like Kelsey Grammer, Ben Stiller, and Wendie Malick. Now, can we get long-missing reruns to turn back up on our TVs?
Where To Stream
Mama’s Family
Thelma “Mama” Harper (Vicki Lawrence) had an endless supply of housedresses in this 1983-90 sitcom, but just one expression: sour. First seen in a recurring sketch on The Carol Burnett Show, the gray-haired force of nature filled her Raytown home with family, from high-strung sister Fran (Rue McLanahan) to not-so-bright son Vint (Ken Berry) and his two kids. When Vint tied the knot with neighbor Naomi (Dorothy Lyman) — a “floozy,” per Mama — and moved her in, Thelma’s dissatisfaction was complete.
Airs on CMT.
Where To Stream
Married … With Children
While other family comedies at the time taught good values through saccharine moments, Married…With Children was busy thumbing its nose at the idea of the traditional, wholesome sitcom. Nothing was off limits for the Bundys, led by grouchy Al (Ed O’Neill) and shopaholic Peg (Katey Sagal). Somehow, the risky, racy storylines worked for them, as it aired for 11 seasons on Fox, from 1987 to 1997, with over 250 episodes.
Airs on Cozi TV.
Where To Stream
Murphy Brown
Candice Bergen won five Emmys for playing a cantankerous investigative journalist on the fictional news program FYI in this smart, D.C.-based CBS workplace comedy. From 1988 to 1998 (as well as a short-lived 2018 revival), the show tackled controversial and topical issues head-on while featuring lots of familiar real-life media and political figures (not to mention a revolving cast of Murphy’s inept assistants). The show regularly skirted the line between reality and fiction but always brought laughter, even in its perhaps best-known storyline, when a pregnant and unmarried Murphy decided to raise her baby solo. Be it the series or the character, Murphy Brown always did it her way … and we loved her for it.
Airs on Rewind TV.
Where To Stream
Punky Brewster
Move over, Annie! With her mismatched sneakers and colorful style, Punky Brewster (Soleil Moon Frye) was a thoroughly ’80s orphan. The series, which aired on NBC from 1984 to 1986 and in syndication from 1987 to 1988, followed the heartwarming adventures of Punky and her pals. It even spawned a 1985 animated spinoff and a 2021 revival on streaming service Peacock.
Where To Stream
Perfect Strangers
An immigrant gets the job done in this 1986-93 slapstick comedy. From the isle of Mypos came wide-eyed shepherd Balki (Emmy-nominee Bronson Pinchot) to live with his neurotic distant cousin Larry (Mark Linn-Baker) and chase the American dream in Chicago. Balki brought with him the catchphrase “Don’t be ridikalus!,” the two-man “Dance of Joy,” and the innate talent to draw a comic strip based on his beloved stuffed sheep Dimitri.
Where To Stream
Roseanne
From 1988 to 1997, this beloved ABC sitcom proved that working-class families can survive anything. Even as they struggled to make ends meet, the Connors, led by Roseanne (Roseanne Barr) and Dan (John Goodman), always managed to make us laugh. The show itself managed to survive its share of controversies. A 2017 revival was abruptly canceled, but the cast (minus Roseanne) reunited in 2018 for the ongoing, well-received spinoff The Conners.
Where To Stream
Saved by the Bell
A true teen classic! NBC’s Saturday morning staple (1989-93) began as a Disney Channel series about a teacher (Haley Mills) that was then retooled to focus on her prank-pulling students at Bayside High, which of course included stars-to-be Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Mario Lopez, Tiffani Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkley and Dustin Diamond. Four seasons, a slew of social-issue storylines, a few TV movies and a new reboot later and Bayside is still the place to be.
Where To Stream
Silver Spoons
What ’80s boy didn’t want to be 12-year-old Ricky Stratton (Ricky Schroder), a neglected kid stuck in military school whose birth father turns out to be fun-loving toy magnate Edward Stratton (Broadway star Joel Higgins), living in a mansion stocked with arcade games and a huge train set running through it! An unexpected hit from producers who later launched Punky Brewster and Who’s the Boss, the 1982-86 NBC sitcom (plus an additional season in syndication) had a cool cast that ranged from the inimitable octogenarian John Houseman to scene-stealer (and future teen icon) Jason Bateman.
Where To Stream
Square Pegs
This coming-of-age series, which lasted only one season on CBS in 1982, followed two of Weemawee High School’s most awkward teenagers, Patty (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Lauren (Amy Linker). As budding squares, these two BFFs attempted to scheme their way into a social life by doing things like joining the girls’ football team and becoming the school’s biggest pranksters. Alas, by the end of Episode 20, they had yet to break through to the popular clique — but it was fun to watch them try!
Where To Stream
Too Close for Comfort
Oh, Monroe! Ted Knight and Nancy Dussault had a full house in this 1980-87 gem as San Francisco cartoonist Henry Rush, his photographer wife Muriel, their two very different daughters (Lydia Cornell and Deborah Van Valkenburgh) and goofy family friend Monroe Ficus (Jim J. Bullock). Despite being canceled by ABC after three seasons, the comedy found a second life in first-run syndication and continued to be a hoot for three more years, thanks in large part to the impeccable timing of Knight and the breakout appeal of Bullock.
Airs on Antenna TV.
Where To Stream
Who’s the Boss?
The ABC comedy was ahead of its time. Retired baseball player/housekeeper Tony Micelli (Tony Danza) and advertising exec Angela Bower (Judith Light) turned gender stereotypes on their heads, as she had the big corporate job and he ran the household and took care of the kids. Though they weren’t a couple until the end of the series’ 1984-92 run, the bantering best friends formed a family with his daughter, Samantha (Alyssa Milano), her son, Jonathan (Danny Pintauro), and Angela’s cougar mom, Mona (Katherina Helmond). No wonder a revival is in development with Danza and Milano.
Airs on Antenna TV and Rewind TV.
Where To Stream
For more shows not mentioned, be sure to check out our list of over-the-air networks for other titles.
This originally ran in the TV Guide Puzzler Magazine issue of ’80s Comedy Classics. You can purchase the full issue at the link here.