The 1980s gave us an unforgettable collection of TV series, ranging from laugh-out-loud sitcoms to gripping action shows, many of which went on to have a formative influence on popular culture. And of course, the enduring success of these shows can largely be attributed to their iconic characters and the legendary actors who brought them to life.
Attaining global popularity with their signature styles and characterizations, these groundbreaking characters had a significant influence on the fashions and cultural conversations of their time, and most of them are still regarded as nostalgic favorites today. So, let’s take a step back in time with our ranked selection of the eight greatest TV characters of the 1980s.
8
Michael Knight
‘Knight Rider’ (1982–1986)
Created and produced by Glen A. Larson, Knight Rider is a cult classic crime drama series that originally aired on NBC for four seasons, from 1982 to 1986. David Hasselhoff stars as Michael Knight, a police officer who survives a near-fatal gunshot thanks to the assistance of a billionaire, who gives him a new identity and equips him with the advanced, self-aware car KITT to fight crime on behalf of his organization, the Foundation for Law and Government (FLAG). The show was critically panned during its run, but it was a ratings hit and is now widely considered synonymous with the ’80s.
Hasselhoff’s Michael Knight might not necessarily be the actor’s best performance, but it is an iconic one, and the character is easily one of the defining pop culture figures of the 1980s. The actor later reprised the role in two made-for-TV films, 1991’s Knight Rider 2000 and 2008’s Knight Rider. Hasselhoff’s charisma was a big part of what made Michael Knight such an engaging character, as was his interesting buddy-cop dynamic with the AI car KITT, which is also a nostalgic icon in its own right.
7
Thomas Magnum
‘Magnum, P.I.’ (1980–1988)
Created by Donald P. Bellisario and Glen A. Larson, Magnum, P.I. is a CBS crime drama series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, Private Investigator. A former naval officer, the show follows Magnum’s life on Oahu, Hawaii, where he lives in comfort on the estate of a celebrity author, getting into adventures and solving mysteries. The show was a consistent audience favorite, particularly in the first five years of its eight-season run, and it also featured John Hillerman, Roger E. Mosley, and Larry Manetti in main cast roles.
Easily one of Tom Selleck’s most iconic parts, Magnum is a charismatic and laid-back everyman — a resourceful “beach bum” known for his loyalty, resourcefulness, Aloha shirts, and red Ferrari. The character effectively redefined the image of TV detectives and created a new ideal of coolness that proved highly influential with ’80s audiences. His work on the show also won Selleck an Emmy and a Golden Globe for Best Actor.
6
Jessica Fletcher
‘Murder, She Wrote’ (1984–1996)
Created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson, and William Link, Murder, She Wrote is a landmark mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as author and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The show follows Jessica as she stumbles upon and solves various murders that baffle official investigators, both in her own coastal community of Cabot Cove, Maine, and in places all over the world. Both the series and the lead character were heavily inspired by Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple, whom Lansbury had previously portrayed in 1980’s The Mirror Crack’d.
Arguably one of the most legendary cozy mystery heroines of all time, Jessica Fletcher is really the greatest American equivalent to Christie’s Marple, a warm yet tenacious woman with a sharp intellect and eye for detail hidden behind her seemingly unassuming demeanor. The character has had a significant influence on the development of TV mysteries in the US, and made the series a 12-season hit that was a staple of CBS’s Sunday programming for over a decade. It also earned Lansbury record numbers of accolades, including four Golden Globes out of 10 nominations and 12 Emmy Award nominations.
5
Angus MacGyver
‘MacGyver’ (1985–1992)
Created by Lee David Zlotoff, MacGyver is an iconic action-adventure show that first premiered on ABC in 1985. Richard Dean Anderson stars as the titular character, who works for an independent think tank called the Phoenix Foundation and uses his scientific knowledge and remarkable resourcefulness to save the day using only the materials he has at hand. A major ratings hit in its day, the show ran for seven seasons and developed a sizable fan following that’s still going strong today.
MacGyver’s signature improvisations have been wildly influential, both in the ’80s and later, leading to the phrase “to MacGyver it” entering the popular lexicon. A career-defining role for Richard Dean Anderson, the character made him a star and a household name, and he reprised the role in two 1994 TV movies. A reboot series, starring Lucas Till as a modern MacGyver, premiered on CBS in 2016 and ran for five seasons, ending in 2021.
4
ALF
‘ALF’ (1986–1990)
Arguably the greatest sitcom of the 1980s, ALF was created by Tom Patchett and puppeteer Paul Fusco, who also performed as the title character. Short for Alien Life Form, ALF is an alien named Gordon Shumway who survives the extinction of his planet and crash-lands into the garage of a middle-class Californian family, the Tanners. The series was a hit both in the US and internationally, airing four seasons on NBC and inspiring multiple animated spin-offs.
Sarcastic, mischievous, and often a loose canon, ALF was easily one of the most entertaining TV characters of the ’80s, even winning a 1989 Kids’ Choice Award for Favorite TV Actor. His struggles to adapt to life on Earth (especially his overwhelming desire to eat cats) lead to numerous hilariously chaotic situations, and the character is still regarded as a pop culture icon. The character has also been widely referenced and parodied in other popular shows like The Simpsons, Family Guy, and Robot Chicken.
3
Sam Malone
‘Cheers’ (1982–1993)
Created by Glen Charles, Les Charles, and James Burrows, Cheers is an iconic NBC sitcom set in the titular Boston bar, following the lives of the regulars who meet there on a daily basis. Though it wasn’t very popular when it first premiered in 1982, the series eventually grew into a widely loved national favorite, airing 275 episodes across 11 seasons on NBC. Sam Malone (Ted Danson) is the show’s central character, the womanizing head bartender and owner who is a former Red Sox pitcher.
The character was a pop culture icon in the 1980s, and it became Danson’s breakout role, launching him to TV stardom and winning him two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globes. Sam is the heart of Cheers, the glue that holds the whole thing together, and without Danson’s goofy, charming portrayal, the show simply could not have survived, let alone become such a beloved cultural landmark. Of course, the character’s no saint, and contemporary viewers might find his inappropriate behavior towards women a bit off-putting, but that’s still part of what makes him such an effective satire of ’80s masculine ideals. And inappropriate or not, his relationships with Diane Chambers (Shelley Long) and Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley) were as hotly discussed in the ’80s as any real-life celebrity’s.
2
Dorothy Zbornak
‘The Golden Girls’ (1985–1992)
Created by Susan Harris, The Golden Girls is a sitcom that revolves around four older women who share a home in Miami, Florida: Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthur), her mother Sophia Petrillo (Estelle Getty), Rose Nylund (Betty White), and Blanche Devereaux (Rue McClanahan). Highly acclaimed and awarded, the series aired 180 episodes across seven seasons on NBC, becoming one of the most celebrated shows of the late 1980s.
Like Cheers, The Golden Girls is also an ensemble show, but Bea Arthur’s Dorothy is the show’s rock — the rational, sarcastic, and moral heart of the show. Quick-witted, compassionate, and fiercely loyal towards those she loves, the character played a big part in making The Golden Girls such a big success. Her performance as Dorothy also earned Bea Arthur a Primetime Emmy Award, and her departure from the series is what marked the end of the show: it simply wasn’t The Golden Girls without Dorothy.
1
J. R. Ewing
‘Dallas’ (1978–1991)
A long-running CBS prime-time soap opera, Dallas was created by David Jacobs and revolves around the wealthy and dysfunctional Ewing family, who own an oil company and ranching land in Texas. Initially, the series followed a Romeo and Juliet-esque story centered on Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) and his new wife, Pam (Victoria Principal), who is the daughter of a rival family. However, later seasons shifted the focus to Bobby’s scheming older brother: Larry Hagman’s J. R. Ewing.
Though Dallas began airing in 1978, the show hit its peak with 1980’s “Who Shot J.R.?” storyline, which became a pop culture landmark and rocketed the character to global fame. Ratings may have declined in subsequent seasons, but Hagman’s greedy archvillain remains a popular TV figure and has been widely referenced and emulated by many later shows. Hagman also reprised the role in the show’s 2012 revival, playing the character until his death in 2012.
