The 1980s were a transformational time in television, redefining what it meant to be on the small screen in several different ways, especially when it came to sitcoms. While sitcoms in the early era of TV were meant to be a funny reprieve from everyday life, it quickly became clear that they were far more than a jokey thirty-minute escape.
Sitcoms began to understand that they were able to balance humor and heart in the 1970s, and by the ’80s, it was clear that their reach could go even further than anticipated. While they were still using punchlines and laugh tracks to navigate viewers through their stories, sitcoms were also establishing ways to send bigger messages to their audiences week-in and week-out.
During a golden age of television, where shows had room to breathe and find themselves before being put on the chopping block, sitcoms were given the grace to develop their characters slowly and tackle genuine emotion along with controversial topics. While viewers were still looking for classic sitcom antics, sitcoms of the ’80s had the chance to prove that they were able to do more than comedy.
Many modern comedies have found themselves too reliant on shock value, quick jokes, or niche premises, but the sitcoms of the 1980s found success with simple plots that infused themselves with social commentary and heart. Stacking emotional stakes with every day life, the sitcoms of the ’80s and beyond had the opportunity to reshape the genre entirely as they tried new things.
While most episodes of ’80s sitcoms aren’t all 10 out of 10 home runs, there are far more winners than losers, with some episodes even proving to reach a legendary status. Proving that the era had some timeless television moments, here are 10 of the best episodes of the ’80s, all of which are arguably better than anything being made in the entertainment world today.
10
The Jeffersons
“984 W. 124th Street, Apt. 5C”
The Jeffersons, which ran for 11 seasons over the course of a decade, featured standard holiday episodes, but one of its Christmas offerings is a poignant episode of the series. Following Louise Jefferson (Isabel Sanford) as she grew suspicious over her husband George (Sherman Hemsley) and his recent behavior, it’s discovered that despite her initial suspicions, George has been sending gifts and money back to Harlem for good reason.
Uncovering a deeply personal story, the stingy George Jefferson is revealed throughout the episode to actually be a far more generous person than viewers understood. Sending money back to the apartment he grew up in to help the struggling family that lives there now, George’s exterior is dismantled throughout the episode in a funny, effortless way that creates emotional depth.
- Release Date
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1975 – 1985-00-00
- Showrunner
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Norman Lear
- Directors
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Jack Shea, Oz Scott, David W. Duclon
- Writers
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David Clark Lee, Peter Casey, John Baskin, Jeffrey Richman, Seaman Jacobs, Bob Bendetson, Erik Tarloff, Kim Weiskopf, Stephen Sustarsic, David Adam Silverman, David Isaacs, Jim Carlson, Ken Levine, Mark Miller, Mark Rothman, Tedd Anasti, Wayne Kline, George Scott
- Franchise(s)
-
All In The Family
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Isabel Sanford
Louise Jefferson
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Sherman Hemsley
George Jefferson
9
Newhart
“Go, Grandma, Go!”
A wildly funny episode of Newhart, the eccentric staff and guests make “Go, Granda, Go!” a classic. Blending all the best parts of the series, which featured Bob Newhart as Dick Loudon and Mary Frann as his wife Joanna, the episode featured Ruth Gordon as Blanche Devane. With the traditional inn shenanigans taking a turn when Blanche turns up, the episode proved what made Newhart work.
With its absurdist humor and deadpan delivery, Newhart’s ability to bring outside voices into the mix of its ensemble was unmatched. Compared to many contemporary comedies that rely on shock or rapid montage, Newhart’s season 2 episode trusts the slow build and subtlety of sitcom mischief. Blanche’s voice provided a whole new look at the already-known staff, ramping up the absurdity as the episode progressed.
- Release Date
-
1982 – 1990-00-00
- Directors
-
Dick Martin, Will Mackenzie, Peter Baldwin, Michael Lessac, David Steinberg, John Tracy, Lee Shallat Chemel, John Pasquin, Jim Drake, Rod Daniel, Tom Trbovich, Burt Brinckerhoff, Richard Sakai, Arlene Sanford, Peter Scolari, Neal Marlens, Michael Zinberg, John Rich
- Writers
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Mark Egan, Mark Solomon, Bob Bendetson, Arnie Kogen, Barbara Hall, Dan O’Shannon, Jane Milmore, Billy Van Zandt, Janet Leahy, M.M. Shelly Moore, Marjorie Gross, Dan Wilcox, Phoef Sutton, Katherine Green, Bob Perlow, Gene Braunstein, Russ Woody, Susan Beavers, Stephen Sustarsic, Tracy Gamble, Richard Vaczy, Nat Mauldin, Mike Kagan, Burt Prelutsky
8
The Wonder Years
“Pilot”
While there are likely more substantial episodes of The Wonder Years over the course of its run, the pilot episode is one of the most iconic TV pilots of all time. Following 12-year-old Kevin Arnold (Fred Savage) as he grows up in 1968, the pilot of the series lays down the foundation for a comedic, emotional journey for its viewers.
Narrated with gentle nostalgia for the ’60s and ’70s, the series captures childhood wonder and adult reflection with a tone that, in many ways, feels impossible to recapture. Establishing the Arnold family at the beginning of the series, along with Winnie Cooper (Danica McKellar), the raw emotional honesty of The Wonder Years‘ pilot makes it one of the decade’s most rewatchable episodes.
- Release Date
-
1988 – 1993-00-00
- Directors
-
Peter Baldwin, Daniel Stern, Andy Tennant, David Greenwalt, Matia Karrell, Greg Beeman, Nick Marck, Art Wolff, Arthur Albert, Jeffrey D. Brown, Thomas Schlamme, Bethany Rooney, Bryan Gordon, Richard Masur, Rob Thompson, Neal Israel, Stephen Cragg, Lyndall Hobbs, Peter Werner, Peter Horton, Arlene Sanford, Dan Lauria
- Writers
-
Mark B. Perry, David M. Stern, Jon Harmon Feldman, Sy Dukane, Denise Moss, Eric Gilliland, Jeffrey Stepakoff, Kim Friese, Debra Frank, Jane Anderson, Max Pross, Tammy Ader, Tom Gammill, Frank Renzulli, Sivert Glarum
-
Dan Lauria
John ‘Jack’ Arnold
-
-
-
7
The Golden Girls
“Isn’t It Romantic?”
An early episode of The Golden Girls, season 2’s “Isn’t It Romantic?” sees Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthur) and her live-in friends dealing with a revelation of someone else’s sexuality. When Dorothy’s friend Jean (Lois Nettleton) comes to visit the ladies in Miami, she quickly gets to know Rose Nylund (Betty White) and feels a romantic connection, though the other women don’t know she’s a lesbian.
The show handles Jean’s sexuality with a sense of warmth and empathy that was unexpected from the time period. The Golden Girls was known for tackling topical issues, and while it pokes fun at the situation between Blanche and Jean with a light sense of humor, the series never reduces Jean’s sexuality to a punchline. For 1986, the story was bold, and it still resonates.
- Release Date
-
1985 – 1992-00-00
- Showrunner
-
Susan Harris
- Directors
-
Susan Harris
- Writers
-
Susan Harris
6
Night Court
“Another Day In The Life”
During this season 5 episode of Night Court, which has recently been rebooted on NBC, the staff are thrown into overdrive. While the dynamics on Night Court were always fun to play with during tense situations, the sitcom throwing over 200 cases at the team created a whole new sense of chaos that the show hadn’t seen before, upping the stakes with each act.
Night Court’s ensemble work was some of the best on TV during the 80s, and seeing the team have to work at a break-neck pace in order to help a millionaire defendant pay off an orphanage blended an emotional payoff with a fun, fast-moving story. With traditional sitcom antics and pure chaos blended into a simple story, the episode showed off what the series could do.
- Release Date
-
1984 – 1992-00-00
- Directors
-
Jim Drake, Alan Bergmann, Jay Sandrich, Gary Shimokawa, Asaad Kelada, John Larroquette, Tim Steele, James Burrows, Lee Bernhardi
- Writers
-
Nat Mauldin, Gary Murphy, Nancy Steen, Neil Thompson, Tom Reeder, Teresa O’Neill, Jeff Reno, Ron Osborn, Lee Maddux, Chris Cluess, Howard Ostroff, Leonard Mlodinow, Julie Fleischer, Tony Sheehan, Gene Braunstein, Jeffrey Davis, Reinhold Weege, Zachary D. Wechsler
-
Adele Yoshioka
Miss Japan
-
5
Cheers
“Death Takes A Holiday On Ice”
In an episode later in the series’ run, Cheers’ “Death Takes A Holiday On Ice” brought Carla Tortelli (Rhea Perlman) into the spotlight for a difficult, emotionally heavy episode that finally explored a dynamic that viewers had seen from another angle for years. When Carla’s husband Eddie dies, she learns that he was living a double life throughout their time together.
Carla, mourning her husband and angry at the revelation all at once, has to grapple with Eddie’s other wife, Gloria, and the children they shared while reconciling that she may have been the other woman all along. Though there are moments played for laughs throughout the episode, Cheers made a mark with the bittersweet episode, ensuring it packed an emotional punch.
- Release Date
-
1982 – 1993-00-00
- Showrunner
-
James Burrows, Glen Charles, Les Charles, Ken Estin, Sam Simon, David Angell, Peter Casey, David Lee, Bill Steinkellner, Cheri Steinkellner, Phoef Sutton, Tom Anderson, Dan O’Shannon
- Directors
-
James Burrows, Andy Ackerman
- Writers
-
James Burrows, Glen Charles, Les Charles
4
The Cosby Show
“Happy Anniversary”
Though The Cosby Show has become a tough sitcom to discuss in recent years, the cultural significance outweighs the scandal happening with its star. In one of the show’s most memorable episodes, Cliff Huxtable (Bill Cosby) is intent on celebrating his parents’ 49th wedding anniversary with the rest of the family in tow. Despite giving his parents luxurious gifts, it’s the family’s dedication that shines through.
The episode celebrated a long-term marriage on the surface, but the joy and familial warmth that bleed through the screen is more important than the storyline. Watching the Huxtable kids perform Ray Charles’ “Night Time Is The Right Time” from the staircase of their home is an iconic moment of the series, and reminds viewers of the multi-generational scope of the often edgy comedy.
- Release Date
-
1984 – 1992
- Directors
-
Jay Sandrich, Chuck Vinson, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Oz Scott, Alan Smithee
- Writers
-
Bill Cosby, John Markus, Gary Kott, Janet Leahy, Mark St. Germain, Ehrich Van Lowe, Adriana Trigiani, Ed. Weinberger, Lisa Albert, Michael J. Leeson, Oliver Hailey, Thad Mumford
-
Bill Cosby
Heathcliff Huxtable
-
Phylicia Rashad
Clair Huxtable
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Malcolm-Jamal Warner
Theo Huxtable
-
Tempestt Bledsoe
Vanessa Huxtable
3
Growing Pains
“Second Chance”
Growing Pains often had moments that were dark in order to teach its viewers important lessons, but “Second Chance” is one of its darkest. In the second half of a two-episode appearance, Carol Seaver (Tracey Gold) and her new college-aged boyfriend Sandy (Matthew Perry) are spending time together despite her parents’ wishes. When Sandy gets into a car accident, Carol has to reckon with his fate.
While it’s not immediately obvious if Sandy was driving drunk, as the events of the episode unfold, things become crystal clear. Though it appears Sandy may make a recovery, when Carol learns that he’s died from internal bleeding later in the episode, she has to mourn the person she’s been getting to know. Bringing real stakes to the small screen, “Second Chance” creates intense emotional depth.
- Release Date
-
1985 – 1992-00-00
-
Alan Thicke
Dr. Jason Seaver
-
Joanna Kerns
Maggie Malone Seaver
2
Family Ties
“A, My Name Is Alex”
This hour-long episode of Family Ties shows some of the most intense moments of Alex P Keaton’s (Michael J Fox) life after the sudden passing of his childhood friend Greg. Alex, who grapples with his guilt and loss in a therapeutic way throughout the episode, leans into the real human pain of grief. In the second half of the episode, Fox goes from sitcom to theater unexpectedly.
More like a stage play than a sitcom, the episode documents Alex as he speaks to his therapist about his grief off camera, with Fox alone on stage. Lit and staged like a theater production, Family Ties pauses its laugh track in order to lean into the raw emotion of the moment, making bold assertions about grief and human nature that hadn’t been seen on TV before.
- Release Date
-
1982 – 1989-00-00
-
Meredith Baxter
Elyse Keaton
-
Michael Gross
Steven Keaton
1
M*A*S*H
“Goodbye, Farewell, & Amen”
As the series finale of M*A*S*H, viewers expected the wartime sitcom to come to an end that felt hopeful, or at least left the series open to interpretation. Instead, M*A*S*H turned itself into a true drama, leaning into its wartime subject matter rather than allowing a fanciful end to overtake its long-wrought series.
In the finale, a two-hour emotional journey, the Korean War comes to an end and the unit holds a tearful farewell to reflect on their time together, but along with the trauma and dark humor, there’s a sense of hopelessness that bleeds through the episode, holding out for a catharsis that won’t come true. M*A*S*H’s finale episode’s end is one of the most crushing in TV history.
- Release Date
-
1972 – 1983-00-00
- Showrunner
-
Larry Gelbart
- Directors
-
Larry Gelbart
- Writers
-
Larry Gelbart, Richard Hooker
-
-
Loretta Swit
Margaret Houlihan
