diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/category.py b/lib/matplotlib/category.py
index 2fe39425224e..55af459fd575 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/category.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/category.py
@@ -179,7 +179,8 @@ def _str_is_convertible(val):
         except ValueError:
             try:
                 dateutil.parser.parse(val)
-            except ValueError:
+            except (ValueError, TypeError):
+                # TypeError if dateutil >= 2.8.1 else ValueError
                 return False
         return True