Most Aired TV Series
These are all the TV Series or mini-series that appeared on HBO in the 1980s, ranked by the amount of times aired.
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| No. | Most Aired | Movies | Times Aired | Description | Rating | Runtime | Words of Caution | Metadata |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1st | HBO's Fraggle Rock | 1775 | A Brand New Weekly Series From the Creators of the Muppets™ HBOnly!™ Flip over HBO’s first original weekly series! Funny, fuzzy little Fraggles are the newest family of puppets from Muppet master Jim Henson. Exclusively on HBO, the brand new fantasy series drops you into the wonderful, whimsical, musical world of Fraggle Rock (pop: 10,0000 lovable Fraggles: 40,000,000 diminutive Doozers; and 3 giant Gorgs). Find them singing and playing in a bustling underground world beneath the basement of an eccentric inventor, Tune in every week to make some irresistible new friends! |
:25 | Gerry Parkes Jerry Nelson Dave Goelz Steve Whitmire Kathryn Mullen Karen Prell | ||
| 2 | 2nd | Not Necessarily the News | 934 | “I laughed myself sick!” cried the producer's daughter. “The most hilarious show in decades,” said the show’s accountant. The good news about this new HBO comedy special is that it promises to be everything the current news isn’t. Lots of fun and very funny. See for yourself. | :30 | Anne Bloom Rich Hall Stuart Pankin Anne Bloom Rich Hall Danny Breen Mitchell Laurance Stuart Pankin Lucy Webb Audrie Neenan | ||
| 3 | 3rd | Inside The NFL | 862 | It’s the most complete analysis of pro football around. Each week Len Dawson and Nick Buoniconti analyze film clips of all the big games, the big plays and the upsets. How did that receiver break into the open? What did this linebacker detect that let him smear the runner? Get the answer from experts, along with interviews, special guests and predictions. | NFL Special | |||
| 4 | 4th | Video Jukebox | 785 | See and hear exciting new music videos. Among the sizzling pop artists heating up the month are Little Richard, Aretha Franklin and John Cougar Mellencamp. |
:30 | |||
| 5 | 5th | HBO Coming Attractions | 492 | Here's everything you need to know—and more!— about HBO's movies, sports and specials next month. Fast-paced, informative and highly entertaining. | ||||
| 6 | 6th | 1st & Ten | 336 | HBO COMEDY Her ex-husband got his freedom... but she got the team! Some divorcées take the house. Some take the car. Dianne took her husband's Bulls. A sexy socialite wins her husband's football team in a divorce settlement and pro sports will never be the same! For adults. [The pilot, which aired in December of 1984, was listed in the guide as "First and Ten", but when the series premiered in August of 1985, it was then referred to as "1st & Ten."-JS] |
No director credited Delta Burke O.J. Simpson Reid Shelton Geoffrey Scott Shannon Wilcox | |||
| 7 | 7th | The Survival Series | 307 | [Monthly nature documentary. -JS] | ||||
| 8 | 8th | The Hitchhiker | 275 | When he appears, strange things happen. A three-part adult anthology of tales of lust and greed that take you past the edge of reality. Follow the hitchhiker on journeys to the unexpected. [Description comes from the original 3-part pilot. -JS] |
Page Fletcher Nicholas Campbell | |||
| 9 | 9th | HBO Sneak Preview | 246 | Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, the country’s number one comedy couple, tell you what to expect on HBO in an entertaining combination of comic sketches and highlights from upcoming specials, sports and movies. [Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara were the hosts of HBO Sneak Preview until December of 1981. Leonard Harris became the new host in January of '82. The show ended with the Sneak Peak of September '82 and was replaced with HBO Coming Attractions, which ran until Dec of '89. In Dec. of '86 and '87, there's listings for an "HBO Sneak Preview" in the early A.M. hours of certain mornings, but the timeframe is the length of a movie, not a half-hour preview show, so those might just be last minute movies that weren't scheduled.-JS] |
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| 10 | 10th | The Adventures of Tom Sawyer | 234 | NEW FAMILY SERIES A new animated series, exclusively on HBO, based on the Mark Twain classic. |
Bruno-René Huchez Harald Legal Luc Perrot Ian Marshall Brigid Bazlen Buster Jones | |||
| 11 | 11th | Seabert | 231 | [No general show description provided. -JS] | ||||
| 12 | 12th | Encyclopedia (HBO Series) | 197 | NEW FAMILY SERIES An HBO and Children's Television Workshop presentation. Volumes of Entertainment from A to Z! Here's a new family series that’s fastpaced, informative and fun! Encyclopedia uses comedy skits, original songs and state-of-the-art special effects to teach and entertain. This month, see Volumes A and B, covering such topics as archeology, alligators, armor, Attila the Hun, the atom, ballet, boomerangs, bagpipes, the brain and bones. Exclusively on HBO. A new episode every Monday night starting September 19! [1987] A Distinguised Productions, Inc. Series. |
:28 | |||
| 13 | 13th | Tales of Little Women | 195 | The girls of the March family. | :30 | |||
| 14 | 14th | Babar | 169 | Spend a special evening with Babar on Monday, April 3. A surefire winner with family audiences everywhere(Variety.) |
Raymond Jafelice Gordon Pinsent Gavin Magrath Sarah Polley Elizabeth Hanna Chris Wiggins | |||
| 15 | 15th | HBO's Remember When | 160 | [Historical documentary of key moments in American History hosted by Dick Cavett. -JS] | Dick Cavett | |||
| 16 | 16th | HBO Sneak Preview with Stiller and Meara | 146 | Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, the country’s number one comedy couple, tell you what to expect on HBO in an entertaining combination of comic sketches and highlights from upcoming specials, sports and movies. | ||||
| 17 | 17th | Race For The Pennant | 137 | The home runs you missed, the dazzling pitching you read about, the close plays and big rhubarbs you heard about—see them all, each week, on these action-filled shows. This up-to-the-minute series is a season ticket to the best in baseball, no matter where it’s played. Len Berman and Maury Wills add their expert commentary. | ||||
| 18 | 18th | Philip Marlowe, Private Eye | 136 | Five One-Hour Raymond Chandler Classics Shadowy, seamy, violent back-alley Los Angeles of the 1930s comes vividly to life in crackling new, original mystery dramas. Emmy Award-winner Powers Boothe plays the ace detective created by the writer who turned gumshoe fiction into literature. A tough but innocent eye in a corrupt world, Marlowe himself is the focus of this limited series exclusively on HBO. |
1:00 | Powers Boothe William Kearns Leigh McCloskey Gayle Hunnicutt Kathryn Leigh Scott | ||
| 19 | 19th | BrainGames | 128 | HBO’s exclusive, funny new half-hour of family entertainment is the show you don’t watch—it’s the show you play! The series of mind-teasing segments is a truly original HBO concept that will keep the entire family guessing and gasping. Endorsed by the National Education Association. | :30 | Educational Kids Show | ||
| 20 | 20th | HBO Magazine Starring Dick Cavett | 119 | An all-new, inside look at Home Box Office—the shows and the stars, on camera and behind the scenes. Join host Dick Cavett for a lively magazine show that features probing celebrity interviews, highlights of upcoming programs, backstage visits and special information for HBO viewers. | Dick Cavett Interview News Special | |||
| 21 | 21st | Yesteryear | 118 | [HBO series that looks back at pivotal years in history. Hosted by Dick Cavett. -JS] | ||||
| 22 | 22nd | Flashback | 115 | [HBO Series looking back at disasters. -JS] | ||||
| 23 | 23rd | Nature Watch | 110 | This new, exclusive wildlife documentary series takes an up-close look at nature's most fascinating creatures, from Antarctica to the Aleutian Islands. Narrated by Richard Kiley. A new episode every Monday night! |
:24 | |||
| 24 | 24th | Life on Earth | 97 | A 13-part series. Life in all its myriad forms is the fascinating subject. Narrated by David Attenborough. | ||||
| 25 | 25th | Vietnam War Story | 89 | HBO's award-winning anthology of drams based on real-life experiences of Vietnam combat veterans. The series is "...powerful, profane and superbly acted" (New York Daily News). | ||||
| 26 | 26th | Tanner '88 For President | 85 | Starring Michael Murphy HBO's own Presidential candidate hits the primary campaign trail in this realistic, two-part comedy, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Garry Trudeau teams up with director Robert Altman (M*A*S*H) to tell the story of former Congressman Jack Tanner's plunge into the primaries. [You'll see that in the first few episdoes, they changed the episode's names after they aired. I believe I've correctly labeled each episode with every version of their respective name. -JS] |
Robert Altman Michael Murphy Pamela Reed Cynthia Nixon Daniel Jenkins Matt Malloy | |||
| 27 | 27th (tie) | HBO Sneak Preview with Leonard Harris | 83 | Welcome the new year with a new host who's taken a lease on the screening room to preview upcoming sports, specials and movies. Along with February highlights, additional features include a rundown of HBO's new 24-hour schedule and some HBO behind-the-scenes information. It's fun, full of surprises—and all new! | ||||
| 28 | 27th (tie) | The Kids in the Hall | 83 | Don't panic...they just want to CRUSH your head! NEW WEEKLY COMEDY SERIES A five-man troupe of comedy subversives is being turned loose in an exclusive new series! These creative kids might change the face of comedy(Rolling Stone). |
:30 | AH | (no director credited) Dave Foley Bruce McCulloch Kevin McDonald Mark McKinney Scott Thompson | |
| 29 | 28th | Time was... | 74 | Step back in time with the debut of HBO's nostalgic, entertaining and enlightening six-part series highlighting the decades 1920-1970. This exclusive retrospective contains rare, original newsreel and movie clips—some never seen before on TV. Host Dick Cavett moves in and out of time with an innovative film technique. | ||||
| 30 | 29th | World Championship Boxing | 67 | [The complete list of all the World Championship Boxing matches aired on HBO in the '80s. -JS] | ||||
| 31 | 30th | What on Earth? | 60 | Science is in the spotlight and HBO is there with this informative look at the world around us. | *(No director credited - educational special)* | |||
| 32 | 31st | Ray Bradbury Theater | 57 | Tales beyond imagination from the master storyteller. | ||||
| 33 | 32nd | The Talk Show | 56 | [Monthly show where performers from upcoming HBO programs are interviewed.-JS] | ||||
| 34 | 33rd (tie) | Hunter's Gold | 52 | FAMILY SERIAL HBO presents its first family adventure serial—and you'll want to catch each of the 13 episodes! En route to New Zealand's goldfields to find his missing father, young Scott Hunter encounters robbers, a band of Chinese and a magician. Like the old-time serials, each part ends in a suspenseful cliff-hanger. See schedule for individual episodes |
:30 | New Zealand Adventure Family Serial | ||
| 35 | 33rd (tie) | The Investigators Crusading Reporters of the Air | 52 | This ace reporting team stops at nothing to uncover the big stories, zeroing in on the truth (or almost) as they see it. | ||||
| 36 | 34th (tie) | HBO Premiere Films:™ All the Rivers Run | 51 | A four-part mini-series from HBO Premiere Films A turbulent saga of turn-of-the-century Australia Sigrid Thornton John Waters HBO's first mini-series, a powerful adventure filmed in rugged down under locations, tells of Philadelphia Gordon, a spirited woman determined to forge a place for herself in a man’s world. The hazards she faces on untamed rivers, an affair with an elegant man of the world, her tempestuous marriage to a rakish riverboat captain—all contribute to the series’ epic sweep. Sigrid Thornton (The Man From Snowy River) stars as the rebellious heroine; John Waters (Breaker Morant) is the dashing man she loves. The full saga will be shown in four parts on four successive evenings and then completely repeated as noted at right. HBOnly!™ |
5:00 | Adult situations and language, mild violence. | ||
| 37 | 34th (tie) | Race for the Pennant (1982) | 51 | Packed with dazzling pitching, home runs, clutch hits and big rhubarbs, this action-filled series keeps you up to date on the week in baseball. Hosts Barry Tompkins and Tim McCarver start 13 straight weeks of highlights, interviews and special features leading right up to the WorldSeries. | MLB Baseball Preview Special | |||
| 38 | 35th (tie) | Emma and Grandpa | 47 | Travel through the seasons with six-year-old Emma and her grandfather as he helps her discover the joys of the country woods and fields. | 2:00 | Joy Whitby Stars Emma HelmerAlan MansonShelley Winters | ||
| 39 | 35th (tie) | Money Matters | 47 | In these inflationary times, money is no easy matter. But help is on the way in HBO's exclusive special, produced in association with MONEY magazine, and loaded with tips for all income brackets. Features: Money Makers—a profile of someone who's made it big; how to save on taxes; investing in the stock market; is the junk in the attic really hidden treasure? Entertaining information for all. | Financial Literacy Special | |||
| 40 | 35th (tie) | The Candid Candid Camera | 47 | Allen Funt’s camera goes naughty but nutty in this new adult version of his long-running favorite. See what you've always wanted to see on this very Candid Candid Camera—and never could until now. An HBO exclusive, not to be missed. | ||||
| 41 | 36th (tie) | HBO Cinema Workshop | 45 | Who will be the movie directors of tomorrow? HBO presents short films by graduate film students from Columbia University and New York University. | :30 | |||
| 42 | 36th (tie) | The Movie Makers | 45 | Meet the people behind the scenes who contribute to what you see on screen. | :28 | |||
| 43 | 37th (tie) | Behind the Scenes (HBO Show) | 39 | [Monthly TV show that gives you a peek Behind the Scenes -JS] | :30 | |||
| 44 | 37th (tie) | Brendon Chase | 39 | Three English brothers run away from home to lead an outlaw life in a vast forest. Catch all 13 installments of the live-action adventure—each with a wealth of wildlife lore plus a cliff-hanger ending. See schedule for individual episodes. | :27 | Adventure Family Series UK | ||
| 45 | 37th (tie) | Inside Boxing | 39 | HBOnly!™ HBO's new behind-the-scenes series brings you all the news of the boxing world. |
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| 46 | 38th | (1st & Ten) Training Camp: The Bulls are Back | 35 | Delta Burke O.J. Simpson What could get O.J. Simpson back into uniform? Only this realistic comedic new look at the gritty world of pro football. |
:30 | AS, AL, AH, BN | Stan Lathan Delta Burke O.J. Simpson Reid Shelton Geoffrey Scott Shannon Wilcox | |
| 47 | 39th | Race for the Pennant (1981) | 34 | Here’s a season ticket to the best in baseball. Barry Tompkins and Tim McCarver host 12 consecutive weeks of coverage leading right to the World Series. They’ll recap the clutch hits, nifty pitching and rhubarbs that keep the season bubbling along. Besides the week’s action highlights, they’ll zero in on outstanding players and dissect key games in all four divisional races. | Baseball Special | |||
| 48 | 40th | HBO Premiere Films:™ The Far Pavilions | 29 | Ben Cross Amy Irving John Gielgud Omar Sharif A three-part mini-series from HBO Premiere Films™. An exotic love story set against the epic sweep of battle and the splendor of 19th-century colonial India. In HBO Premiere Films’ most lavish miniseries to date, Ben Cross (Chariots of Fire) stars as a British officer, born in India, who is torn between his military duties and his love for an Indian princess. Amy Irving (Yentl) plays the woman he loves in the forbidden affair. Based on M.M. Kaye's bestseller, the strikingly photographed blend of action, romance and history was filmed on location in India. The large all-star cast includes John Gielgud, Omar Sharif, Rossano Brazzi and Christopher Lee. The full drama will unfold on three successive evenings and will be repeated completely as noted below. |
5:30 | Adult situations, mild violence. | ||
| 49 | 41st | Tales From the Crypt | 28 | Murder, madness and mayhem—and that's just the fun part! NEW WEEKLY SERIES SPECIAL PREMIERE—SATURDAY JUNE 10 [1989] Three horrifying episodes back-to-back! SEE IT WEDNESDAY NIGHTS Pllus an extra late-night Friday showing. |
Strong content. Parental discretion advised. | |||
| 50 | 42nd | Glory Years | 27 | A five-part comedy adventure series. Tuesdays in June. [1987] TIM THOMERSON What was your high school reunion like? Meet Jack, Gerald and John. It may be 20 years since they graduated, but they still haven't grown up—or lost the friendship they share, no matter how much trouble comes up. And plenty of trouble is what the three buddies get when they borrow the school scholarship fund to finance a weekend fling in Las Vegas! |
Arthur Allan Seidelman George Dzundza Tim Thomerson Tawny Kitaen Don Swayze Robert Prescott | |||
| 51 | 43rd | Really Weird Tales | 21 | HBO COMEDY John Candy Catherine O'Hara Joe Flaherty Martin Short SPECIAL TRIPLE FEATURE OCTOBER 4 [1986] Get set for really amazing stories—three fantasy/sci-fi spoofs starring four SCTV veterans. |
AS, AL | Paul Lynch Joe Flaherty John Wildman Catherine O'Hara Martin Short Dave Thomas | ||
| 52 | 44th | HBO's Hollywood | 17 | Another chance to enjoy HBO's exciting series about the screen world! Host David Sheehan helps you keep a finger on filmdom's pulse. | behind the scenes | |||
| 53 | 45th | A Dangerous Life | 15 | MARCOS TAUGHT THEM FEAR. AQUINO TAUGHT THEM COURAGE. A SIX-HOUR MINI-SERIES EVENT SOME THINGS ARE WORTH DYING FOR. This epic mini-series takes you into the center of a pivotal world event—the 1986 Four-Day Revolution in the Philippines— and into the lives of the men and women who helped create it. Gary Busey stars in a drama that combines actual news-reel footage with the fictionalized story of an American newsman stationed in Manila at the time of Benigno Aquino's assassination, the fall of Ferdinand Marcos and the rise to power of the indomitable Corazon Aquino. Bristling with political controversy, high adventure and deep-felt human emotion. |
6:00 | AS | Robert Markowitz Gary Busey Rebecca Gilling Tessie Tomas Ruben Rustia | |
| 54 | 46th | Jim Hensen's Ghost of Faffner Hall™ | 13 | NEW FAMILY SERIES! Every Monday night starting September 1 Join the music-loving ghost Fughetta Faffner and a whole new crew of loveable MUPPET™ characters. |
:30 | |||
| 55 | 47th | The Edge (1989) | 12 | PRAY YOU DON'T CROSS IT An original adult anthology series featuring tales of ordinary people facing their physical or mental breaking point. |
Warning: Strong content. Parental discretion advised. | |||
| 56 | 48th | HBO Interview | 8 | This new show talks with the biggest names in show biz to find out what they're doing and thinking. | :30 |