The best sitcoms of the 1980s
The top 3 according to 119 votes from people: Cheers (1982-1993) · Married... with Children (1987-1997) · The Golden Girls (1985-1992). (Updated Aug 7, 2026.)
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.
Top 15
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1
Cheers (1982-1993)
Sam, Diane, Carla and a Boston bar.
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2
Married... with Children (1987-1997)
Al Bundy and the anti-family sitcom.
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3
The Golden Girls (1985-1992)
Four older women sharing a house in Miami.
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4
Family Ties (1982-1989)
Michael J. Fox as a conservative son of hippie parents.
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5
ALF (1986-1990)
An alien moves in with a suburban family.
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6
Who's the Boss? (1984-1992)
Tony Danza as a live-in housekeeper.
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7
Full House (1987-1995)
Three men raise three girls in San Francisco.
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8
Night Court (1984-1992)
A Manhattan night court and its oddballs.
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9
Blackadder (1983-1989)
Rowan Atkinson through four eras of English history.
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10
The Cosby Show (1984-1992)
The Huxtables of Brooklyn, a ratings phenomenon.
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11
The Young Ones (1982-1984)
Four anarchic students in a shared house.
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12
Newhart (1982-1990)
Bob Newhart runs a Vermont inn.
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13
Only Fools and Horses (1981-2003)
Del Boy and Rodney's schemes in Peckham.
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14
Roseanne (1988-1997)
A working-class family in Illinois.
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15
The Wonder Years (1988-1993)
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.
Is something missing?
Comments (11)
Family Ties made Michael J. Fox a star, glad it's here.
The Young Ones was pure chaos, I loved it.
ALF was my favourite as a kid.
Night Court is so underrated.
The Wonder Years made me nostalgic for a childhood I didn't even have.
Only Fools and Horses deserves to be higher, Del Boy is a legend.
Married with Children third? It was funny but not that good.
It was the anti-Cosby Show, that was the whole point.
Cheers first, absolutely. Best ensemble cast ever.
Blackadder Goes Forth's final episode is one of the greatest things on TV.
The Golden Girls still holds up, Sophia gets the best lines.