TV theme songs have come and gone over the decades. Sometimes, few are used, and other times, every show has had a unique theme song. Sometimes, they’re fairly short, and sometimes, they last a long time.
Sometimes, just hearing the tune of your favorite TV show can put you in a good mood and bring back some great memories. That sound evokes something in us and reminds us of why we love the shows we love.
Which ones are the best? There are a lot of great songs to choose from over the years. Here are some of the best and most recognizable TV theme songs.
The Greatest American Hero
This was a short-lived show from the 80s that had a killer theme song. The show was about a bumbling superhero with a powerful suit, and the song was called “Believe It or Not.”
Cheers
Cheers had a great song that everyone knew in the 80s. It was a soft song that used a lilting piano for its soft, calm notes. The song was called, rightly, “Cheers Theme.”
The Golden Girls
Today, the show about the rowdy older ladies is almost synonymous with this song. As soon as you sing it, everyone knows where it came from. It was called “Thank You for Being a Friend.”
True Blood
This steamy tale of vampire mayhem had an amazing opening song and a great opening sequence that went on to win awards. The name of the song was called “Bad Things.”
Sanford and Son
Everyone of a certain age knows this funky tune. It was an instrumental that somehow sounded both energetic and lazy at the same time. The song was called “The Streetbeater.”
Game of Thrones
Everyone remembers the thundering sound of this theme song. It was an instrumental that always grabbed attention along with its clockwork-style opening sequence. The song was called “Game of Thrones Theme.”
Bewitched
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Whether you saw the show when it was on or got to know it in reruns, it had a great instrumental theme. It was light and airy and perfect for a show about magic. It was called “Bewitched” or “Bewitched Theme.”
The X-Files
Another instrumental theme song, this one sounded nearly as spooky as the show. The song drew people into the supernatural story every week. The song was called “The X-FIles Theme (Main Title).”
Green Acres
This ballad was a song that gave plenty of exposition to the show. If you didn’t know what it was about before, you know after hearing the lyrics to the song. The name was “Green Acres Theme.”
The Beverly Hillbillies
This is another theme song that was a ballad explaining the pilot of the show. It was super catchy and always fun to sing along to. The song was called “The Ballad of Jed Clampett.”
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
This song was an empowering tune that was high energy and impossible not to sing along to. It played over an opening sequence of strong girls and women doing their things. The song was called “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Theme Song.”
Star Trek: The Next Generation
This series of the 80s and 90s had a great instrumental theme that had some spoken word at the beginning of it. It was much different from the Theremin tune from the original series. It was called “Star Trek: The Next Generation Main Title.”
The Jeffersons
This is a song that’s all energy. This upbeat tune had uplifting lyrics and was certainly an earworm for many who watched the show. The song was called “Movin’ On Up (The Jeffersons Theme Song).”
Firefly
If you haven’t heard this song- go and play it. It’s a gentle song that has some power behind the lyrics. It’s a song that none of the show’s legions of fans has forgotten. It was called “The Ballad of Serenity.”
Doctor Who
The theme song has changed for many decades on the air, and each iteration has been great. This instrumental is an unmistakable tune filled with whimsy. The song was called “Doctor Who.”
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If you’re critical (like I am), it can be hard to narrow down the list, so I pulled some fantastic fan suggestions for this one instead.
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