The first part of the fourth season of Stranger Things is breaking records on Netflix. With 287 million hours watched in its opening weekend, the series has become the most-watched series on the platform. The success is due to the plot full of mysteries and many references to the 1980s. But this is not the only production that explores the decade. See more movies and series available on streaming services.
11 Movies And Series Set In The 80s List
Dark
When it was released in 2017, the German series Dark was associated with Stranger Things for referring to the 1980s and for dealing with the disappearance of children.
The difference from the European production, however, is that not the entire plot takes place at the time. The mystery, at first, is in an “interconnection” between the years 1953, 1986 and 2019.
The series ended in 2020 and all three seasons are available on the Netflix streaming service.
GLOW (3 seasons)
Ruth Wilder is an unemployed actress in Los Angeles in 1985. As a last-ditch effort to become a star, she ventures into a professional wrestling show with only female competitors. When her ex-best friend Debbie Eagan enters the ring, the clash between the two could bring fame to the production or destroy it forever.
Watch: GLOW
Everybody hates Chris (4 Seasons)
The classic 2000s sitcom created by comedian Chris Rock is also full of 1980s references. The series explores Chris’ youth when he lived with his family in the borough of Brooklyn, New York.
In addition to being part of Comedy Central’s programming schedule, the series is also available on HBO Max and Prime Video.
IT (2017)
In 1989, the sleepy town of Derry, Maine, is rocked by the mysterious disappearance of children. A group of teenagers decide to investigate the cases and discover that the culprit is Pennywise, a cruel clown who feeds on the victims’ fears and whose violence originated several centuries ago.
Available on Prime Video.
Kung Fury (2015)
A Miami Police Department detective and martial artist travels from the 1980s to World War II. His goal is to kill Adolf Hitler and exterminate the Nazis in a video game style war. This short film was so successful that it won a movie. The premiere is scheduled for this year and stars Michael Fassbender and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Available on Prime Video.
Summer 1984 (2018)
A group of teenagers suspect the local police officer to be a serial killer and decide to spend the summer investigating and collecting evidence. Although adults don’t believe in crazy theories, the more they investigate their neighbor’s life, the more they expose themselves to possible mortal danger.
Call Me By Your Name (2017)
Summer 1983. Elio Perlman is going to spend another boring vacation in Italy, where his parents have a house. But everything changes when Oliver arrives, an academic who has come to help in the investigation of the boy’s father. This is because it will awaken in the young feelings still unknown.
Pose (3 Season)
Set in 1987 New York, this series sensitively explores the experiences of LGBTQIA+ people at the time. It is a story about underground dance culture, the violent AIDS crisis and the decline of capitalism. All this with Blanca, a participant in the dances that welcomes people marginalized by society, as a central character.
Red Oaks (3 Seasons)
New Jersey suburb, 1980. David Meyers is a young college student who takes a job as a professional tennis assistant at the Red Oaks Country Club. His goal is to enjoy his last summer off while trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life.
Sing Street (2016)
Dublin, Ireland, 1985. Conor is a disillusioned young man who receives a ray of hope when he meets Raphina. Determined to win her over, he says he has a rock band and invites her to star in the music video. With the invitation accepted, the boy now needs to make the group really exist.
The Americans (6 Seasons)
Phillip and Elizabeth Jennings are a typical American couple living in a Washington suburb during the 1980’s with two children. This would be quite common, were it not for a detail: they are actually agents of the KGB, Russian intelligence, living under false identities, in an arranged marriage, in order to obtain information for the Fatherland.