Top-rated United States television programs of 1980–81

This table displays the top-rated primetime television series of the 1980–81 season as measured by Nielsen Media Research.^[1]

Rank	Program	Network	Rating
1	Dallas	CBS	34.5
2	The Dukes of Hazzard		27.3
3	60 Minutes		27.0
4	MASH*		25.7
5	The Love Boat	ABC	24.3
6	The Jeffersons	CBS	23.5
7	Alice		22.9
8	House Calls		22.4
8	Three's Company	ABC	22.4
10	Little House on the Prairie	NBC	22.1
11	One Day at a Time	CBS	22.0
12	Real People	NBC	21.5
13	Archie Bunker's Place	CBS	21.4
14	Magnum, P.I.	CBS	21.0
15	Happy Days	ABC	20.8
15	Too Close for Comfort		20.8
17	Fantasy Island		20.7
	Trapper John, M.D.	CBS
	Diff'rent Strokes	NBC
20	Monday Night Football	ABC	20.6
20	Laverne & Shirley		20.6
22	That's Incredible!		20.5
23	Hart to Hart		19.9
24	ABC Sunday Night Movie		19.4
24	CHiPs	NBC	19.4
26	The Facts of Life	NBC	19.3
27	Lou Grant	CBS	19.1
28	Knots Landing	CBS	19.0
29	NBC Monday Night Movie	NBC	18.8
30	The Waltons	CBS	18.6

References

^ Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (Ninth Edition). Ballantine Books. p. 1689. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.

v t Top-rated United States television programs by season
Nielsen ratings
1950s	1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60
1960s	1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70
1970s	1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980s	1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990s	1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000
2000s	2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
2010s	2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19