13 Modern TV Shows That Take Place in the 80s

Neon clothing, huge hair, and shoulder pads, the 80s were a fun (and might we add much simpler) time! With such a blissful era, it’s no wonder many of today’s TV shows take place during these times. Banana clips, heavy makeup and even shoulder pads are pushing their way into today’s fashion trends, and movies and TV shows filming around this era are now common.

With everything that’s already been filmed in modern times, it’s hard to come up with a new, creative story, so why not go back? Here are the best modern TV shows with an 80s setting.

Best Modern TV Shows that Take Place in the 80s

1. Stranger Things (2016)

With the first season starting in 1983, this sci-fi TV series revolves around the adventures of four young, geeky boys who only wanted to win the the science competition and play Dungeons and Dragons. But they soon meet an aggressive alien presence who entered their world through another dimension, a portal created by a federal government agency in collaboration with a team of scientists.

When the beings snag one of their best friends and hold him hostage, the friends rely on their knowledge of science as well as a mysterious, gifted young girl, Eleven (or El for short) whom they met shortly after their friend was kidnapped.

2. This is Us (2016)

This TV series mainly takes place in the present but uses many 80s flashbacks to portray the stories of Rebecca and Jack Pearson and their children. The couple had triplets, but only two of them survived. They then adopted a third child, thinking they were meant to have three. The show revolves around their lives growing up in the present while referring to their unique, shared pasttime.

3. Freaks and Geeks (1999)

This teen comedy-drama series revolves around the life of high-schooler Lindsay Weir in Chippewa, MI (a fictional Detroit suburb), who makes friends with a group of slacker “Freaks”, along with her younger brother, Sam, as they navigate high school.

Lindsay tries to transition from an academically advanced student, star “mathlete” and young girl into an edgy, rebellious teen who spends time with troubled slackers. The show’s other focus is on her younger brother and his geeky friends as they struggle to become accepted into other social groups.

4. Red Oaks (2015)

This comedy drama web TV series portrays the story of young, college student, David, who works at a Jewish country club in New Jersey during his summer break in 1985.

With various subplots with his family, coworkers and friends, the story revolves around the Red Oaks country club. It portrays multiple themes, including relationships, socioeconomic mobility, the pursuit of happiness, and adolescence in the 1980s New Jersey area.

5. Dead of Summer (2016)

This supernatural horror TV series takes place in the 1980s at Camp Stillwater, based somewhere in the Midwest. The story includes the stories of first kisses and first kills as the camp’s dark, ancient mythology awakens. And what was supposed to be summer turns into an a series of evil misadventures and scares.

6. The Americans (2013)

The Americans is a spy thriller series  that takes place during the Cold War, following Elizabeth (Keri Russell) and Philip Jennings (Matthew Rhys), who are Soviet KGB intelligence officers who act as an American married couple living in Fall Church, VA, along with their children Paige (Holly Taylor) and Henry (Keidrich Sellati).

The show also portrays the issues between the KGB Rezidentura and Washington’s FBI office that follow the perspectives of both sides. The series starts with the aftermath of the inauguration of President Ronald Reagan in January 1981 and end in December 1987, just before the United States leaders and the Soviet Union signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

7. The Goldbergs (2013 – Present)

The Goldbergs is an American period sitcom series that was based on the show creator’s (Adam F. Goldberg) childhood and family during the 1980s. Many of Goldberg’s videotaped events were reenacted throughout the series, with the original tapes shown before and after the credits. The shows also include much of the era’s pop culture in non-chronological order as each season shows different references throughout the decade.

References to realistic Philadelphia-area business are also made, including Gimbel’s department store, Willow Grove Park Mall, Wawa convenience store chain, and Kremp’s Florist in Willow Grove, PA.

8. Halt and Catch Fire (2014)

This period drama series portrays a fictionalized insider’s view of the personal computer revolution of the 90s as well as the growth of the internet during the early 90s. The name Halt and Catch Fire refers to the computer machine code instruction Halt and Catch Fire (HCF), which causes the computer’s processing unit to stop working.

The first season shows the company, Cardiff Electric, making its first foray into personal computing with its entrepreneur Joe MacMillan (Lee Pace) who runs a project to build an IBM PC clone. He also has the help of computer engineer Gordon Clark (Scoot McNairy) and prodigy computer programmer Cameron Howe (Mackenzie Davis). The series continues as the focus shifts to a startup company, Mutiny, an online community which is run by Gordon’s wife Donna (Kerry Bishe) and Cameron while Joe ventures off on his own.

9. Show Me a Hero (2015)

This American miniseries is based on the 1999 non-fiction book by former NY Times writer Lisa Belkin. Similar to the book, the stories are about a while middle-class neighborhood’s resistance to a government-mandated scattered-site public housing development in Yonkers, NY as well as how the issue’s tension affected the entire city.

10. GLOW (2017 – Present)

GLOW is a comedy-drama series that revolves around a group of fictional, characters and gimmicks during the 80s, specifically about the syndicated women’s professional wrestling circuit, the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLOW) which was founded by David McLane.

The first few episodes depict the struggles of aspiring actor in Los Angeles, Ruth Wilder, who auditions alongside numerous other women in a weak professional wrestling promotion (GLOW). As she throws out all her ideas, they’re quickly rejected by the show’s director, Sam Sylvia, because of his cynical attitude and often unconventional style. But he decides to give her a fair chance due to her endless energy and optimism.

11. Cobra Kai (2018 – Present)

Cobra Kai is an action comedy-drama series based on The Karate Kid film series. Set 34 years after the first release of The Karate Kid film series, it focuses on the life of Johnny Lawrence. He decided to reopen the karate dojo that leads him to the rekindling of his old rival, Daniel LaRusso.

While Johnny’s unfortunate life is the stereotype of the average loser, he was a part-time handyman (before he was fired) who lived in an apartment in Los Angeles with his son, whose mother also left them both when he was born. To make matters worse, his mother Laura died on that same day.

But after noticing his teenage neighbor, Miguel Diaz, getting tortured by a gang of bullies, he quickly takes them all out. The series goes on to show Johnny’s inspiration of teaching karate to social outcasts.

12. Snowfall (2017)

This crime drama series takes place in 1983 Los Angeles, focusing on the first crack epidemic and its impact on the city’s culture. It follows the lives of several characters, including Franklin Saint, a 20-year-old drug dealer, Gustavo “El OSo” Zapata, a Mexican luchador, Teddy MdDonald, CIA operative, and Lucia Villanueva, a Mexican crime boss’s niece.

The story shows how the characters come together when trying to push the illegal substance over the border for profit as the local authorities do everything they can to stop it.

13. Pose (2018 – Present)

This drama TV series is based on NYC’s African American and LGBTQ and non-conforming gender ballroom culture during the 1980s. Each of the characters are models and dancers who compete for recognition and trophies in the underground culture. They also support each other in a network of chosen families called Houses. The second season takes place in the early 90s.

Have You Seen These Shows?

Which one of these modern TV shows is your favorite? What do you like about it? We’d love to know! Please leave a comment below.