# The best sitcoms of the 1980s

From Cheers and The Golden Girls to Blackadder and Only Fools and Horses: the decade's best sitcoms on both sides of the Atlantic, from Paste, Ranker and Screen Rant.

- 119 votes · 15 items
- Aug 7, 2026 · Rachel Brown
- https://even.best/en/l/3791/the-best-sitcoms-of-the-1980s

## Top 15

1. **Cheers (1982-1993)** (12 · ▲12 ▼0) — Sam, Diane, Carla and a Boston bar.
2. **Married... with Children (1987-1997)** (10 · ▲10 ▼0) — Al Bundy and the anti-family sitcom.
3. **The Golden Girls (1985-1992)** (9 · ▲9 ▼0) — Four older women sharing a house in Miami.
4. **Family Ties (1982-1989)** (9 · ▲9 ▼0) — Michael J. Fox as a conservative son of hippie parents.
5. **ALF (1986-1990)** (8 · ▲9 ▼1) — An alien moves in with a suburban family.
6. **Who's the Boss? (1984-1992)** (8 · ▲9 ▼1) — Tony Danza as a live-in housekeeper.
7. **Full House (1987-1995)** (6 · ▲6 ▼0) — Three men raise three girls in San Francisco.
8. **Night Court (1984-1992)** (5 · ▲7 ▼2) — A Manhattan night court and its oddballs.
9. **Blackadder (1983-1989)** (5 · ▲6 ▼1) — Rowan Atkinson through four eras of English history.
10. **The Cosby Show (1984-1992)** (5 · ▲6 ▼1) — The Huxtables of Brooklyn, a ratings phenomenon.
11. **The Young Ones (1982-1984)** (5 · ▲6 ▼1) — Four anarchic students in a shared house.
12. **Newhart (1982-1990)** (3 · ▲5 ▼2) — Bob Newhart runs a Vermont inn.
13. **Only Fools and Horses (1981-2003)** (3 · ▲4 ▼1) — Del Boy and Rodney's schemes in Peckham.
14. **Roseanne (1988-1997)** (3 · ▲4 ▼1) — A working-class family in Illinois.
15. **The Wonder Years (1988-1993)** (2 · ▲4 ▼2) — Kevin Arnold grows up in the late 1960s.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.