Best Old Cop Shows From The 70s And 80s

Old cop shows from the 70s And 80s are Sarge, The Partners, Chopper One, Ohara, Hill Street Blues and others. These were released in 1970-1980.

Crime Drama used to be limited during the 60s, 70s or even 80s but as we move forward, there are lots of modern crime dramas fans love to watch.

This type of television show has proven to be one of the most entertaining and successful in the show business.

As we now have various options to choose cops-based crime drama shows, let’s quickly look into some old cop shows from where the craze of crime shows began.

Old Cop Shows From The 70s And 80s

Old Cop Shows From The 70s

Old cop shows from the 70s are Sarge, The Partners, Chopper One, Joe Forrester ad Nashville 99. These are the most loves shows in the 70s.

1. Sarge

• IMDB: 7.3/10
• Cast Members: George Kennedy, Ramon Bieri, Sallie Shockley, Harold Sakata, Tom Middleton, and Dana Elcar.
• Director: David Ley
• Release Date: September 21, 1971
• Season: 1

Sarge is an American crime drama television series of the 70s starring George Kennedy in the lead role.

The main character Samuel is a San Diego police detective sergeant who later decides to retire as his wife is murdered.

2. The Partners

• IMDB: 7.2/10
• Cast Members: Don Adams, Rupert Crosse, John Doucette, Dick Van Patten, and Robert Karvelas.
• Director: Don Adams
• Release Date: September 18, 1971
• Season: 1

Lennie Crooke and George Robinson are the character of the 70s hit series The Partners. They are the reel life detectives.

They teamed up to solve the crime cases that arise in their neighborhood and managed to solve each of them with a confession from the criminals.

3. Chopper One

• IMDB: 7.2/10
• Cast Members: Jim McMullan, Dirk Benedict, Lou Frizzell, Ted Hartley, France Nuyen, and Nick Nolte.
• Director: E.W. Swackhamer
• Release Date: January 17, 1974
• Season: 1

The ABC television show Chopper One is a short-lived action-crime series. It showcases the activities of a fictional California police helicopter team.

The audience loved the character of two fighting police officers. It has a total of 13 episodes and the runtime of the series was 30 minutes.

4. Joe Forrester

• IMDB: 7.3/10
• Cast Members: Lloyd Bridges, Dwan Smith, Eddie Egan, Pat Crowley, Taylor Lacher, and Barbara Rhoades.
• Director: Mark Rodgers
• Release Date: September 9, 1975
• Season: 1

Joe Forrester is a veteran cop in Los Angeles, America who is assigned to a foot beat. He is a highly respected officer in the community as well as the state.

The titular character protects his neighborhood, controls the crime rates, deal with the culprits and murderers, and builds trust and empathy.

5. Nashville 99

• IMDB: 8.4/10
• Cast Members: Claude Akins, Jerry Reed, Lucille Benson, Dianne Sherrill, Charley Pride, and Ray Stevens.
• Created by: Ernest Frankel
• Release Date: April 1, 1977
• Season: 1

The story of the series Nashville 99 revolves around the country cop named Stoney Huff played by Claude Akins. He is strong fearless and makes his own rule.

He likes to treat everyone equally and make sure the culprits get their share of punishment. The Nashville 99 series only contains four episodes.

Old Cop Shows From The 80s

Old Cop shows from the 80s are Magnum P.I., Hill Street Blues, Ohara, 21 Jump Street, and Miami Vice.

Cop shows in the 80s were getting popular at that time as almost everyone owned a Tv in their house and the makers renewed the show according to the demand.

Here are some of the renowned 80s Cop television series:

1. Magnum, P.I.

• IMDB: 7.5/10
• Cast Members: Tom Selleck, John Hillerman, Roger E.Mosley, Larry Manetti, Gillian Dobb, and Kwan Hi Lim
• Created by: Donald P. Bellisario and Glen A. Larson
• Release Date: December 11, 1980
• Season: 8

The Plot of the American Crime drama series Magnum, P.I. follows private investigator Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV who lives a luxurious life.

He operates as a P.I. on cases that suit him and does work in his own way. He has proved every time why he is the best detective in Hawaii.

2. Hill Street Blues

• IMDB: 8.2/10
• Cast Members: Daniel J. Travanti, Bruce Weitz, Michael Warren, James Sikking, Joe Spano, and Taurean Blacque
• Created by: Steven Bochco, and Michael Kozoll
• Release Date: January 15, 1981
• Season: 7

The American serial police procedural television show Hill Street Blues showcases the lives of the staff of a single police station.

The show received critical acclaim, recognition, and awards in various categories. One of them was Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series.

3. Miami Vice

• IMDB: 7.5/10
• Cast Members: Don Johnson, Philip Michael Thomas, Saundra Santiago, Olivia Brown, Michael Talbott, and John Diehl.
• Created by: Anthony Yerkovich
• Release Date: September 16, 1984
• Season: 5

The television series Miami Vice is different than other typical cop show. This show showcases the 1980s new wave culture.

The show focuses mainly on the increasing number of ‘drug trafficking’, firearms trafficking, burglaries, and trending crimes committed in Miami.

4. 21 Jump Street

• IMDB: 7.2/10
• Cast Members: Johnny Depp, Dustin Nguyen, Peter DeLuise, Holly Robinson, Steven Williams, and Sal Jenco.
• Created by: Stephen J. Cannell and Patrick Hasburgh
• Release Date: April 12, 1987
• Season: 5

The American Crime Drama series 21 Jump Street revolves around a squad of youthful-looking undercover police officers.

Those young police officers were assigned to investigate crimes in high schools, colleges, and other teenage venues where they do illegal stuff.

5. Ohara

• IMDB: 6.9/10
• Cast Members: Pat Morita, Robert Clohessy, Rachel Ticotin, Meagan Fay, Kevin Conroy, Jon Polito, and Madge Sinclair.
• Created by: Hal Sitowitz, Ronald M. Cohen, Michael Braverman
• Release Date: January 17, 1987
• Season: 2

The television show Ohara focuses on an unconventional Los Angeles-based Japanese American Police named Ohara played by Pat Morita.

He uses spiritual methods to solve the crime without using a gun or a partner but occasionally uses his martial arts skills.

Later, Ohara paired with a partner named Lt. George who believes in the traditional way of solving crimes.

Cop Shows From The 90s

Cop Shows From The 90s are Law and Order, Homicide, Diagnose Murder, Renegade, The Commish, Nash Bridge, and more.

• Law and Order
• Homicide: Life on the Street
• Diagnose Murder
• Renegade
• The Commish
• Nash Bridge
• Law and Order: Special Victims Unit

• The Sopranos
• NYPD Blue
• The X-Files
• Diagnosis: Murder
• Oz
• Walker Texas Ranger
• Third Watch
• Profiler
• Silk Stalkings
• Dalziel and Pascoe
• The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries
• Silent Witness
• The Cops