5 Best Network TV Cop Shows Of The 80s (& The 5 Best Of The 70s)

Cop films, such as Lethal Weapon, 48 Hrs., and more, have always been big at the box office. But television networks have also received big ratings from shows involving the police. The 1970s and 80s seemed to be the decades that thrived on popular cop shows and featured many actors from the film world. Thespians such as Karl Malden, Angie Dickenson, Peter Falk, George Kennedy, and more all became TV stars thanks to their respective cop shows.

The popularity of police shows continues to succeed, but it was truly the 70s and 80s where the “badge and a gun” genre found ratings gold on network television. Here are the best network TV cop shows from the 70s and 80s.

10 The 70s: Kojack

Telly Savalas was already a popular film star after being in classics such as The Dirty Dozen and playing the villain in the James Bond film, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

With his lollipops, cool demeanor, and signature phrase, “Who loves ya, baby?” Savalas’ portrayal of Lt. Theo Kojack, and the well-written characters and plotlines, led the show to become a ratings champ and one of the most popular cop shows of its day.

9 The 80s: Taggart

Beginning in 1983 and lasting 27 seasons, the popular Scottish show, Taggart, presented critically acclaimed episodes about detectives working on solving murders in the bleak area of Glasgow.

Marc McManus played the title character until the actor’s death in 1994, but the series continued for another six years. The show was praised for its realistic depiction of the day to day procedurals of a squad of detectives in a crime-ridden area of Glasgow, Scotland.

8 The 70s: The Streets Of San Francisco

In the 1970s, it was rare for film actors to come to television. It would take great writing to lure someone from the big screen to the small. Academy Award winner Karl Malden starred in the extremely popular cop show, The Streets of San Francisco.

Michael Douglas became a star as Malden’s young partner who learned a lot from Malden’s veteran detective. The show ran from 1972-1977 and was a continuous hit with viewers and critics.

7 The 80s: Ohara

One of the true undervalued treasures of the 80s television cop show craze, Ohara starred Pat Morita as an L.A. cop who led a squad of detectives. Critics agreed the show was well written, but it never found an audience and was canceled after only two low-rated seasons.

Ohara was groundbreaking, as it was one of the first shows to feature a Japanese-American in a lead role. Morita, fresh off his Oscar nomination for The Karate Kid, struggled to keep the show on the air and fought with studio executives on the show’s tone. It was certainly a drama but, by the second season, the producers forced a “fun” partner onto Morita’s character and changed them from cops to P.I.s.

6 The 70s: Starsky And Hutch

The most popular TV cops of their era, Starsky and Hutch starred Paul Michael Glasser and David Soul as two streetwise and unorthodox cops who drive around in Starsky’s souped-up Gran Torino (dubbed the “Zebra 3” due to the white stripe down the sides) and bust the bad guys.

The show ran for four seasons and was a big hit with viewers. It made stars out of its two leads and was one of ABC’s most-watched shows during its run.

5 The 80s: Hill Street Blues

Hill Street Blues was an extremely popular critical and rating success. The show followed the lives and careers of a police precinct in an unnamed East Coast city.

The show held a wide array of characters that were well-drawn and cast to perfection. Created by Steven Bochco and Michael Kozol, Hill Street Blues won multiple Emmys and Golden Globes and is regarded as one of the finest cops shows in television history.

4 The 70s: Columbo

Columbo ran for 10 full seasons and begat 24 television films. The NBC show is one of the most well-received shows in the network’s history.

Peter Falk played Lt. Columbo and with his soft demeanor, he would confuse his suspects, making them think he didn’t have a clue, but he actually had the mind of Sherlock Holmes. Falk’s rumpled raincoat, cigar, and “Just one more thing” zinger as he would spring his psychological trap, helped to make the character a pop culture icon.

3 The 80s: Crime Story

Michael Mann was already on fire due to his hit show Miami Vice when he struck critical gold with his 1960s set detective show, Crime Story. 

Dennis Farina headed a tough-as-nails Chicago police squad that was trying to bring down ruthless mobster, Ray Luca. The scripts were sharp, the acting was great, and the direction was slick. The Emmy-nominated show ran for only two seasons, but gained a large cult following over the decades.

2 The 70s: Police Story

Police Story was a groundbreaking anthology series that dealt with the lives of police officers in the LAPD.

The show was praised for its realism and would last for six critically acclaimed seasons, drawing many film actors, such as Warren Oates, Tony LoBianco, Dean Stockell, and Robert Forster.

1 The 80s: Miami Vice

One of the most popular cop shows in the history of television was Michael Mann’s Miami Vice. The show was groundbreaking in its frank and hard-edged scripts, its use of music, and the stylistic manner in which the dangerous Miami drug war between cops and criminals was executed.

Don Johnson and Phillip Michael Thomas played Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs, two police officers who become partners and worked on undercover cases to bring down drug dealers. The pastel and neon-lit look of the show influenced the look of many 80s music videos and the fashion of the characters (especially Sonny Crockett) were popular in their time. Crockett and Tubbs became, along with Starsky and Hutch, the most popular partners in TV cop history.