15 of the Best Shows Set In The 1970s

There are many shows that are set in the past, either distant or recent, using what we know of that era to shape their stories. It can be used as a colorful background, or as a key aspect of the story due to historical events or limitations of the era. If your audience has nostalgia about it, all the better, and a great deal of nostalgia is saved for the 1970s.

The best examples don’t simply throw some bell-bottoms and shag carpeting onto a modern script, they make it part of their identity. From fictional families and ambitious musicians to real-life criminals and historical scandals, these shows offer very different windows into a fascinating decade.

That ’70s Show

Eric Forman and his friends navigate adolescence in Point Place, Wisconsin, beginning in 1976 and eventually reaching New Year’s Eve 1979. The sitcom uses teenage misadventures to explore the decade’s music, fashion, drugs, relationships, and generational conflicts.

The Deuce

Set primarily in 1970s New York, The Deuce follows the interconnected worlds of prostitution, organized crime, and the emerging pornography industry around Times Square. Its first season begins in 1971, offering a gritty portrait of the city’s changing sexual economy.

Mindhunter

Netflix’s Mindhunter begins in 1977, following FBI agents Holden Ford and Bill Tench as they interview imprisoned murderers to develop a new approach to criminal psychology. The series blends fictionalized investigations with real serial killers and late-1970s atmosphere.

Vinyl

Vinyl drops viewers into New York’s music industry in 1973, following record executive Richie Finestra as he struggles to keep his company alive. Created by Mick Jagger, Martin Scorsese, Rich Cohen, and Terence Winter, the series captures rock’s chaotic business culture.

Daisy Jones & The Six

Daisy Jones & The Six chronicles a fictional rock band’s rise during the 1970s, following its journey from Los Angeles clubs to international stardom. The story moves through years including 1975, 1976, and 1977, immersing viewers in rock’s golden age.

Mrs. America

Mrs. America dramatizes the battle over the Equal Rights Amendment during the 1970s, focusing on conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly and the feminist movement opposing her. The miniseries turns a major political and cultural conflict into an intimate ensemble drama.

Gaslit

Gaslit revisits the Watergate scandal beginning in 1972, but approaches the familiar story through figures surrounding Richard Nixon rather than concentrating exclusively on the president. Martha Mitchell becomes central to the drama, giving the political scandal a distinctly personal perspective.

The Offer

The Offer recreates the turbulent production of The Godfather, taking viewers into 1970s Hollywood as producer Albert S. Ruddy battles studio executives, political pressure, and organized-crime concerns. The series provides a behind-the-scenes look at one of cinema’s landmark productions.

Minx

Set in 1970s Los Angeles, Minx follows earnest feminist Joyce Prigger as she teams with unconventional publisher Doug Renetti to create an erotic magazine aimed at women. The comedy uses the magazine business to explore changing attitudes toward sexuality and feminism.

The Serpent

The Serpent dramatizes the crimes of Charles Sobhraj across Asia’s hippie trail during 1975 and 1976. The limited series follows Sobhraj, his accomplices, and diplomat Herman Knippenberg as investigators attempt to connect a string of murders involving young Western travelers.

The Get Down

Set in New York’s South Bronx, The Get Down begins in 1977 and follows teenagers witnessing the emergence of hip-hop and disco. Baz Luhrmann’s musical drama combines fictional characters with real historical footage and recreates the city’s rapidly changing music culture.

Endeavour

Endeavour spent most of its run in the 1960s, but its seventh season deliberately crosses into the 1970s. The season opens in 1970, with young Detective Constable Morse investigating murders while Oxford experiences political tensions and social change.

A Friend of the Family

This true-crime miniseries takes place during the 1970s and dramatizes the Broberg family’s horrifying encounters with Robert Berchtold, who repeatedly kidnapped their daughter Jan. The series explores how manipulation and misplaced trust allowed the abuse to continue.

Good Girls Revolt

Good Girls Revolt begins in 1969 and continues into the early 1970s, following young female researchers at a fictional news magazine who challenge workplace discrimination. The series explores the professional inequalities that helped fuel the women’s liberation movement.

Life on Mars

In Life on Mars, modern police detective Sam Tyler wakes after an accident and finds himself apparently transported to 1973 Manchester. The series uses its strange premise to combine police procedural storytelling with a sharply contrasting vision of early-1970s policing.