Can You ID These '80s TV Shows?

By: Brittany Rowland
Estimated Completion Time
5 min
Can You ID These '80s TV Shows?
Image: NBC

About This Quiz

The 1980s ushered in a new age for television. With the economy rebounding after the struggles of the '70s, audiences wanted everything bigger, even in their entertainment: bigger action, bigger explosions and bigger laughs. And networks delivered with a slew of family-friendly sitcoms, primetime dramas and action-packed crime shows. 

Now audiences could see reflections of themselves on TV: in the Conners, the Seavers, the Keatons or the Huxtables. Each sitcom family reflected the values and attitudes of the '80s, with people focused on climbing the economic ladder and maintaining their social standing. More women were entering the workforce, as reflected on shows like "Growing Pains," "The Cosby Show" and "Roseanne." And many socially conservative youths found their '80s values at odds with their liberal parents', as on the show "Family Ties."

Whether you enjoyed the many lighthearted sitcoms of the 1980s or preferred the more serious dramas of the decade, see how many of these '80s shows you can remember. We pity the fool who can't get most of these right!




Cheers
NBC
We all want to go where everybody knows our name! Can you name this hit show set in a Boston bar?
"ALF"
"Cheers"
"The Facts of Life"
"Three's Company"
Roseanne
ABC
Can you name the '80s show featuring a working-class family in Lanford, Illinois?
"Roseanne"
"Perfect Strangers"
"Newhart"
"Happy Days"
Taxi
ABC
Call the Sunshine Cab Company if you need a ride around Manhattan. That's the premise of which '80s sitcom?
"Punky Brewster"
"Taxi"
"Laverne & Shirley"
"Silver Spoons"

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Muppet Babies
CBS
Young versions of Kermit, Miss Piggy and Fozzie have adventures in their nursery in which animated '80s show?
"Voltron"
"ThunderCats"
"Adventures of the Gummi Bears"
"Muppet Babies"
Full House
ABC
This beloved '80s sitcom launched the careers of the Olsen twins and got a reboot in 2016. Can you name it?
"Webster"
"The Jeffersons"
"Full House"
"Taxi"
Mork & Mindy
ABC
Robin Williams was truly out of this world as a zany alien in which sitcom?
"Mork & Mindy"
"WKRP in Cincinnati"
"Full House"
"Kate & Allie"

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Married ... with Children
FOX
If you can croon along to "Love and Marriage" with Frank Sinatra, then you probably remember this '80s show.
"Married ... with Children"
"The Jeffersons"
"The Facts of Life"
"Who's the Boss"
Murder, She Wrote
CBS
Cabot Cove has a high murder rate for a small coastal town! Good thing Jessica Fletcher's there to assist! What's this long-running show?
"Simon & Simon"
"Murder, She Wrote"
"Hawaii Five-O"
"The Equalizer"
Saved by the Bell
NBC
The kids at Bayside High dealt with normal teenage issues in which sitcom?
"Too Close for Comfort"
"Saved by the Bell"
"Charles in Charge"
"Mork & Mindy"

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Seinfeld
NBC
For a show about nothing, this sitcom portrayed a lot of memorable situations! What is it?
"Laverne & Shirley"
"Seinfeld"
"Small Wonder"
"Newhart"
The Wonder Years
ABC
Kevin Arnold gets by with a little help from his friends in which show that started in 1988?
"The Wonder Years"
"The Hogan Family"
"Empty Nest"
"My Two Dads"
America's Most Wanted
dbking via WikiCommons
Help the police catch a fugitive? Sounds exciting! Which show ran for 25 years and was hosted by John Walsh?
"Automan"
"Taggart"
"The Professionals"
"America's Most Wanted"

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Syndicated TV
Four crime-fighting martial artists get their instruction from a rat in the sewers of New York City. Can you name this show?
"The Real Ghostbusters"
"Robotech"
"He-Man and the Masters of the Universe"
"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"
DuckTales
Syndicated TV
Did you ever wish for a vault full of gold you could swim in, like Scrooge McDuck in this show? It's OK to admit it ...
"DuckTales"
"G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero"
"Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers"
"The Transformers"
Doogie Howser, MD
ABC
Neil Patrick Harris played a teenage doctor in which medical drama?
"A Country Practice"
"HeartBeat"
"Doogie Howser, M.D."
"Trapper John, M.D."

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ALF
NBC
The Tanner family takes in a lost alien in this show. Can you name it?
"ALF"
"Mork & Mindy"
"Dynasty"
"Star Trek: The Next Generation"
The A-Team
NBC
We loved it when a plan came together on this show, which featured B. A. Baracus. Do you remember it?
"The A-Team"
"Miami Vice"
"Knight Rider"
"M*A*S*H"
Hill Street Blues
NBC
Captain Frank Furillo leads a team of police in this gritty show. Let's be careful out there!
"Miami Vice"
"Crime Story"
"In the Heat of the Night"
"Hill Street Blues"

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Barney Miller
ABC Television via WikiCommons
Do you remember the show that starred Hal Linden as a police captain? What's it called?
"Jake and the Fatman"
"Barney Miller"
"Quincy, M.E."
"Matt Houston"
Star Trek- The Next Generation
Syndicated TV
Captain Jean-Luc Picard leads a crew in exploring the final frontier in which '80s show?
"In the Heat of the Night"
"MacGyver"
"The Waltons"
"Star Trek: The Next Generation"
The Dukes of Hazzard
CBS
You can hear the "General Lee" play "Dixie" with its horn on this action TV show. What is it?
"Little House on the Prairie"
"The Dukes of Hazzard"
"Captain Kangaroo"
"The Golden Girls"

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The Simpsons
FOX
Matt Groening came up with this show in 1989, and it's still on the air today! What show is it?
"Columbo"
"The Simpsons"
"Seinfeld"
"One Day at a Time"
21 Jump Street
FOX
Watch out, kids! Your bestie at school might be an undercover police officer! Which show featured Johnny Depp as Tom Hanson?
"21 Jump Street"
"Police Squad!"
"Columbo"
"Wiseguy"
The Cosby Show
NBC
Family life never looked so heartwarming! Can you name the '80s sitcom featuring the Huxtables?
"The Cosby Show"
"The Golden Girls"
"Married ... with Children"
"Family Ties"

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MacGyver
ABC
The weapon of choice of this action hero is not a gun, but a Swiss Army knife. Do you remember this show?
"MacGyver"
"The A-Team"
"Hill Street Blues"
"Magnum, P.I."
Dallas
CBS
Who shot J.R.? That was the question every fan of this show was asking.
"Dallas"
"M*A*S*H"
"Little House on the Prairie"
"Captain Kangaroo"
St. Elsewhere
NBC
Before there was "E.R.," there was this medical drama set at a Boston hospital. Can you name it?
"St. Elsewhere"
"Casualty"
"Trapper John, M.D."
"M*A*S*H"

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Magnum, PI
CBS
The hero of which '80s drama sports a thick mustache and Hawaiian shirts?
"MacGyver"
"Magnum, P.I."
"Dallas"
"The Waltons"
Diff'rent Strokes
NBC
"What'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?" was a popular catchphrase on which '80s sitcom?
"The Jeffersons"
"Diff'rent Strokes"
"The Young Riders"
"The Rockford Files"
Laverne & Shirley
ABC
Time for a shift at the Shotz Brewery with these two best friends and roommates! Can you name this show?
"Laverne & Shirley"
"Three's Company"
"The Cosby Show"
"Charlie's Angels"

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Beauty and the Beast
CBS
Vincent and Catherine share a special bond on which CBS fantasy series?
"The Jeffersons"
"Charlie's Angels"
"Beauty and the Beast"
"Full House"
Family Matters
ABC
The Winslows dealt with nerdy Urkel's shenanigans in which long-running '80s sitcom?
"Family Matters"
"A Different World"
"M*A*S*H"
"Family Ties"
The Golden Girls
NBC
Four seniors living together in a Miami home; that's the premise of which '80s sitcom?
"The Waltons"
"Full House"
"Family Matters"
"The Golden Girls"

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Night Court
NBC
The unconventional judge Harry T. Stone starred on which '80s series?
"Night Court"
"The Waltons"
"In the Heat of the Night"
"Magnum, P.I."
Family Ties
NBC
Alex P. Keaton is frequently at odds with his parents over politics in this show. What is it?
"The Jeffersons"
"The Greatest American Hero"
"Family Matters"
"Family Ties"
Jake and the Fatman
CBS
This crime drama featured a large man and his bulldog, Max. Do you remember the show?
"Miami Vice"
"Jake and the Fatman"
"The Equalizer"
"The Rockford Files"

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In the Heat of the Night
NBC
Virgil Tibbs returns to Sparta, Mississippi, in which '80s drama?
"Hill Street Blues"
"Barney Miller"
"In the Heat of the Night"
"T.J. Hooker"
Moonlighting
ABC
This '80s dramedy helped launch Bruce Willis's career. Do you know it?
"Moonlighting"
"Newhart"
"Taxi"
"L.A. Law"
Adventures of the Gummi Bears
NBC
Can you name this children's show based in part on the popular candy?
"Inspector Gadget"
"The Smurfs"
"The Care Bears"
"Adventures of the Gummi Bears"

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Growing Pains
ABC
As long as we have each other, we can remember this '80s sitcom featuring the Seaver family. What's the show?
"Full House"
"Diff'rent Strokes"
"Who's the Boss"
"Growing Pains"