Ten Signs the 1980s are Hotter Than Ever–in 2026! 

February 4, 2026

By Lori Majewski 

Happy New Year! The calendar now reads 2026–40 years on since we paid $2.50 to hit movie theaters to watch Top Gun, Stand By Me, Short Circuit, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and um, Howard the Duck. 

In 1986, Whitney Houston asked “How Will I Know?” Gladys Knight, Elton John, Dionne Warwick and Stevie Wonder sang “That’s What Friends Are For,” And, inexplicably, Eddie Murphy (with Rick James!) scored the seventh biggest song of the year– Billboard doesn’t lie!–with “Party All the Time.” 

Also, four decades ago: Six million people (myself included) joined Hands Across America, and the New York Mets last won the World Series (I cut high school to hit their ticker-tape parade). Meanwhile, on television, MTV rocked, the Golden Girls ruled, and The Love Boat sailed its final voyage. 

If any or all of these memories make you yearn for a more colorful, less-tech-y time–when reality TV wasn’t a thing and all you needed to get by was a bike and a quarter for some Fun Dip– you’re not alone. In fact, 2026 is turning out to be a retread of 1986 in many wonderful ways. Here are 10: 

Timothée Chalamet was born five years after the eighties ended. And the movie that may win him his first Oscar–Marty Supreme–takes place in the 1950s. Yet the soundtrack takes us back to the future, thanks to awesome cold-war-era ear-worms from New Order, Public Image Limited, Alphaville, Peter Gabriel, and Tears For Fears.  

For two weekends this April, 80s Cruise alumni DEVO will bring their subversive tunes to the California desert and play alongside…Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber and Karol G?! Yep! Don your red energy dome and yellow Hazmat suit, then show your kids you can still party! 

On January 1st and 2nd, my husband welcomed the new year in Vegas with these 80s superheroes. If only we’d seen them while sipping cocktails on a boat in the Caribbean–now there’s an idea! Speaking of sailing: In 2026: last year’s Cruise headliner, Christopher Cross, will tour with Toto and the Romantics. 

So, Pantone played it safe by choosing–yawn!–Cloud Dancer as its Color of the Year. Fashionistas are forecasting teal as the go-to shade for oversized blazers and workout wear, while interior designers are paging the eighties for the greenish-blue shade, saying it feels fresh for furniture, accent walks, and kitchen cabinets. 

In the wake of Netflix dropping those final Stranger Things episodes–which features “I Think We’re Alone Now”–the former teen queen (and 80s alumna) is back in the U.K. Top 30 with the single that hit number one there in 1988. This happened just weeks after Wham!, The Pogues/Kirsty MacColl, and Kylie Minogue battled for the country’s coveted Christmas Number One. (Kylie prevailed.) 

Among the many twenty-something TikTokers, YouTubers, and Instagrammers embracing all things 80s is my fave new follow, @malloryheartsyou. With a name-nod to Family Ties, Mallory has me nostalgic for hair-crimping and taking a Bic lighter to blue eyeliner. In one rad pic, she’s even reading a copy of Creem! 

Aside from The 80s Cruise–which is going on vacation!–seeing your favorite band live in midlife usually entails leaving the house and (maybe) changing out of sweatpants. No bueno. That’s why it’s so great that, after opening in theaters late last year, Depeche Mode: M (on Netflix) and The Cure: Songs of A Lost World Live @ Troxy 2024 (I found it at archive.org), are newly stream-able within walking distance of our own snacks. 

Following the success of Fuller House and Cobra Kai, reboots are now in the works for Knight Rider and LA Law. And beginning next month, KeKe Palmer stars in Peacock’s series adaptation of 1989’s The ‘Burbs with Tom Hanks. And coming to a theater near you: Masters of the Universe (June). And The Goonies 2 and Gremlins 3 are reportedly on their way too. 

Vinyl records sales continued to soar in 2025, thanks to its 18th consecutive year of growth. And cassettes are back too (soon Gens Alpha, Z and Millennials will know the struggle of trying to get the tape back into that plastic thingamajig). Meanwhile, my 6-year-old recently asked for his own camera–“Not one that’s inside of a phone.” 

Was this show the tipping point? Ever since this set-in-the-80s sci-fi series appeared on Netflix in 2016, our fave decade stopped being joked about for its movies, music, fashion and hair, and started being celebrated for its movies, music, fashion, and hair.