| The Cosby Show | |
|---|---|
_logo.svg){kind=logo} | |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | |
| Directed by | |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | |
| Opening theme |
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| Ending theme | "Kiss Me"(instrumental; various versions) |
| Composers |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 8 |
| No. of episodes | 201 (and outtakes special)(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | |
| Production locations |
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| Camera setup | Videotape;Multi-camera |
| Running time | 23–24 minutes |
| Production company | Carsey-Werner Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | September 20, 1984 (1984-09-20) – April 30, 1992 (1992-04-30) |
| Related | |
| A Different World | |
The Cosby Show is an American televisionsitcom created by (along withEd. Weinberger andMichael J. Leeson) and starringBill Cosby that originally aired onNBC from September 20, 1984, to April 30, 1992, with a total of 201 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons, including an outtakes special. The show focuses on the Huxtables, an upper middle-class Black American family living inBrooklyn, New York; the series was based on routines in Cosby'sstand-up comedy act, which in turn were based on his family life. The series spawned aspin-off, titledA Different World, which ran from September 24, 1987, to July 9, 1993, with a total of six seasons consisting of144 episodes.
TV Guide listed the series as "TV's biggest hit in the 1980s", adding it "almost single-handedly revived thesitcom genre and NBC's ratings fortunes",[1] while also ranking it 28th on their list of 50 Greatest Shows;[2] with this list,Cliff Huxtable was named as the "Greatest Television Dad" in 2014.[3] In May 1992,Entertainment Weekly stated thatThe Cosby Show helped to make possible a larger variety of shows with a predominantly black cast, fromIn Living Color toThe Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.[4]
The Cosby Show spent five consecutive seasons as the number-one rated show on television and, along withAll in the Family, is the only sitcom in the history of theNielsen ratings as the number-one show for five seasons, having spent the series in the top 20 ratings. It also remains the only scripted TV show with a predominantly African-American cast to top the Nielsen ratings, and to do so more than once. Its spinoff,A Different World, also became a ratings hit, featuring in the top 5 of the ratings for four of its six seasons. It launched the extended cast into stardom and Cosby, having already had a successful career on television, films and stand-up, became the highest paid actor on television.[5]
It was also an international hit, garnering a following from across the world being a regular fixture in markets previously considered unattainable for African-American leads, such as Europe, where the show became a ratings and commercial hit and cemented itself as an international icon of 1980s pop culture. Its effects on Black American portrayal and gender politics on television were a major part of its success. The portrayal ofClair Huxtable, the matriarch of the Huxtable family, byPhylicia Rashad sparked an international wave of working mothers on television dubbed the "Clair Huxtable effect", and Bill Cosby was nicknamed "America's Dad" for his highly celebrated portrayal of Cliff Huxtable. The colorful sweaters he wore as Cliff became a fashion trend for a time which was temporarily revived in the early 2010s. Another sitcom starring Cosby and Rashad,Cosby, aired on CBS from 1996 to 2000, notable for its differences toThe Cosby Show, garnering positive reviews.[6] Since 2014, reruns ofThe Cosby Show have been pulled from several networks and venues as a result of theBill Cosby sexual assault cases.
The show focuses on the Huxtable family, anuppermiddle class African-American family, living in abrownstone inBrooklyn Heights, New York, at 10 Stigwood Avenue.[7] The father isCliff Huxtable, anobstetrician and son of a prominent jazz trombonist. The mother is his wife,lawyerClair Huxtable.[8]
They have four daughters and one son:Sondra,Denise,Theo,Vanessa, andRudy. Despite its comedic tone, the show sometimes involves serious subjects, like Theo's experiences dealing withdyslexia,[9] inspired by Cosby's dyslexic son Ennis,[10] andteenage pregnancy when Denise's friend Veronica (Lela Rochon) becomes pregnant.[11]
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | HH rating rank[12] | Avg. HH rating[12] | Avg. viewers (millions) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | ||||||
| 1 | 24 | September 20, 1984 (1984-09-20) | May 9, 1985 (1985-05-09) | 3 | 24.2 | — | |
| 2 | 25 | September 26, 1985 (1985-09-26) | May 15, 1986 (1986-05-15) | 1 | 33.7 | — | |
| 3 | 25 | September 25, 1986 (1986-09-25) | May 7, 1987 (1987-05-07) | 1 | 34.9 | — | |
| 4 | 24 | September 24, 1987 (1987-09-24) | April 28, 1988 (1988-04-28) | 1 | 27.8 | — | |
| 5 | 26 | October 6, 1988 (1988-10-06) | May 11, 1989 (1989-05-11) | 1 | 25.6 | 40.3 | |
| 6 | 26 (+ special) | September 21, 1989 (1989-09-21) | May 3, 1990 (1990-05-03) | 1 (tied withRoseanne) | 23.1 | 36.6 | |
| 7 | 26 | September 20, 1990 (1990-09-20) | May 2, 1991 (1991-05-02) | 5 | 17.1 | 26.7 | |
| 8 | 25 | September 19, 1991 (1991-09-19) | April 30, 1992 (1992-04-30) | 18 | 15.0 | 24.2 | |
The Cosby Show pilot episode uses the same title sequence as the rest of the first season, and is widely regarded as the first episode. However, it contains a number of differences from the remainder of the series.
In the pilot, the Huxtables have only four children.[13] Following the pilot, the Huxtables have five children, with the addition of their eldest daughter, Sondra (Sabrina Le Beauf), who is mentioned in episode four and appears first in episode 11. The character was created when Bill Cosby wanted the show to express the accomplishment of successfully raising a child who had graduated from college.[14]
Bill Cosby originally wantedVanessa Williams to play the part of Sondra due to her college education and background in theater arts. However, Williams had recently been crowned the first BlackMiss America and pageant officials would not permit her to play the role while she was representing the Miss America pageant.Whitney Houston was also considered for the role of Denise Huxtable, but was unable to commit to the full-time television production schedule in the NBC contract, as she intended to become a full-time music recording artist.[15][16]
Most of the story in the pilot presentation is taken from Bill Cosby's 1983 comedy filmBill Cosby: Himself. Cosby's character is called "Clifford" in the early episodes of the first season, but his name was later switched to "Heathcliff".
Additionally, Vanessa refers to Theo as "Teddy" twice in the dining room scene. The interior of the Huxtables' home features an entirely different living room from subsequent episodes, and different color schemes in the dining room and the master bedroom. Throughout the remainder of the series, the dining room is reserved for more formal occasions.
In the early 1980s,Marcy Carsey andTom Werner, two former executives atABC, left the network to start their own production company:Carsey-Werner.[17] At ABC, they had overseen sitcoms such asMork & Mindy,Three's Company, andWelcome Back, Kotter. The two partners decided that to get a sitcom to sell for their fledgling company, they needed a big name behind it. Bill Cosby had performed stand-up comedy with award-winning albums and starred in several genres in TV and film in the 1960s and 70s, but his career had become more static by the early 1980s. According to aChicago Tribune article from July 1985, despite Carsey and Werner's connection to the network, Lewis Erlicht, president ofABC Entertainment, passed on the show, prompting a pitch to rival network,NBC.[citation needed]
Outside of his work on his cartoon seriesFat Albert and the Cosby Kids, Cosby was doing little in film or television, but Carsey and Werner were fans of Cosby's stand-up comedy and thought it would be the perfect material for a family sitcom.[18]
Cosby originally proposed that the couple should both haveblue-collar jobs, with the father alimousine driver,[19] who owned his own car, and the mother an electrician.[20] With advice from his wifeCamille Cosby, though, the concept was changed so that the family was well-off financially, with the mother a lawyer and the father a physician.[21][22]
Cosby wanted the program to be educational, reflecting his own background in education. He also insisted that the program be taped inNew York City instead ofLos Angeles, where most television programs were taped.[23] The Huxtable home exterior was filmed at 10 St. Luke's Place near 7th Avenue inManhattan'sGreenwich Village (although in the show, the residence was the fictional "10 Stigwood Avenue").[24]
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Early episodes were videotaped at NBC'sBrooklyn studios (subsequentlyJC Studios).[25] The network later sold that building, and production moved to theKaufman Astoria Studios inQueens.[26] Even though the show was set to take place in Brooklyn, the exterior façade was actually of a brownstone townhouse located in Manhattan's Greenwich Village at 10 Leroy Street/ 10 St. Luke's Place.[27] The pilot was filmed in May 1984, with season one's production commencing that July, and the first taping on August 1 (Goodbye Mr. Goldfish).[28][29]
During its original NBC run, it was one of five successful sitcoms on the network that featured predominantly African-American casts. The others were227 (1985–90),Amen (1986–91),Cosby Show spin-offA Different World (1987–93) andThe Fresh Prince of Bel-Air[30]Although the cast and characters were predominantly African-American,[31] the program was unusual in that issues of race were rarely mentioned when compared to other situation comedies of the time with predominantly African-American casts, such asThe Jeffersons.[32] However,The Cosby Show had African-American themes, such as theCivil rights movement, and it frequently promotedAfrican-American culture andculture of Africa represented by artists and musicians such asJacob Lawrence,Miles Davis,James Brown,B. B. King,Stevie Wonder,Sammy Davis Jr.,Lena Horne,Duke Ellington,Dizzy Gillespie andMiriam Makeba.[33]
Chris Rock was considered for the role of Theo's best friend Cockroach, which eventually went to Payne.[34]
The spin-off,A Different World, dealt with racial issues more often.[35]The Cosby Show's series finale, taped March 6, 1992,[36] aired during the1992 Los Angeles riots, with Cosby quoted in media at the time pleading for peace.[37][38]
During the third season, Rashad was pregnant with her daughterCondola. Rather than write this pregnancy in, the producers simply greatly reduced Rashad's scenes or filmed in such a way that her pregnancy was not noticeable.[39]
Another main cast member pregnancy, that of Bonet, almost caused the actress to be fired, especially coming in the wake of appearing in the filmAngel Heart, which contained explicit sexual scenes with actorMickey Rourke. Cosby strongly disapproved of Bonet's role, but allowed her to continue onWorld until returning toCosby after her pregnancy. Tensions remained, however, and Bonet was eventually fired in April 1991.[40]
The show's theme music, "Kiss Me", was composed byStu Gardner and Bill Cosby.[41] Seven versions of this theme were used during the run of the series, all variations of Cosby's 1974 song by the same name,[42] from his albumAt Last Bill Cosby Really Sings. For season four, the theme song music was performed by musicianBobby McFerrin.[43][44]
Due to legal complications regarding the background mural, the opening for season seven (filmed on August 17, 1990 atKaufman Astoria Studios inNew York City,New York), was replaced with the one from the previous season.[45][46][47] The original season seven opening, with slight modifications, returned to use in the beginning of season eight.
| Actor | Character | Seasons | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | ||
| Bill Cosby | Cliff Huxtable | Main | |||||||
| Phylicia Rashad[a] | Clair Huxtable | Main | |||||||
| Lisa Bonet | Denise Huxtable Kendall | Main | Recurring | Main | |||||
| Malcolm-Jamal Warner | Theodore Huxtable | Main | |||||||
| Tempestt Bledsoe | Vanessa Huxtable | Main | |||||||
| Keshia Knight Pulliam | Rudy Huxtable | Main | |||||||
| Sabrina Le Beauf | Sondra Huxtable Tibideaux | Recurring | Main | ||||||
| Geoffrey Owens | Elvin Tibideaux | Recurring | Main | ||||||
| Joseph C. Phillips[b] | Lt. Martin Kendall | Main | Recurring | ||||||
| Raven-Symoné | Olivia Kendall | Main | |||||||
| Erika Alexander | Pamela "Pam" Tucker | Main | |||||||
The show's portrayal of a successful, stable black family was praised by some for breaking racial stereotypes and showing another part of the African-American experience.[48][49] However, it was criticized by others, includingHenry Louis Gates Jr., for allowing white audiences to think that racism and poverty were problems of the past. Phylicia Rashad claimed that when she metNelson Mandela, he told her that he "is eternally grateful for the show and its influence onApartheid and us Black people. [The inmates in prison] watched the show while in prison."[50] As a result of theBill Cosby sexual assault cases,Malcolm-Jamal Warner has stated that the show's legacy is "tarnished".[51]
The Cosby Show had generated$2.5 billion in television revenue, including$1 billion fromtelevision advertisement,[52] and$1.5 billion fromsyndication.[53]
The Cosby Show aired on Thursdays at 8:00 pm for all eight seasons.[54] In its first season, the show was the beginning of a Thursday NBC schedule that was followed byFamily Ties,Cheers,Night Court, andHill Street Blues.[55]
The Cosby Show is one of three television programs (All in the Family andAmerican Idol being the others) that were number one in theNielsen ratings for five consecutive seasons.[56][57][58]
| Season | Time slot (ET) | Episodes | First aired | Last aired | TV season | Rank | Avg. HH rating | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | HH rating | Viewers (millions) | Date | HH rating | Viewers (millions) | ||||||
| 1 | Thursday 8:00 pm | 24 | September 20, 1984 | 21.6[59] | — | May 9, 1985 | 24.1[60] | — | 1984–85 | 3[12] | 24.2[12] |
| 2 | 25 | September 26, 1985 | 31.6[61] | — | May 15, 1986 | 31.8[62] | — | 1985–86 | 1[12] | 33.7[12] | |
| 3 | 25 | September 25, 1986 | 33.5[63] | — | May 7, 1987 | 26.4[64] | — | 1986–87 | 1[12] | 34.9[12] | |
| 4 | 24 | September 24, 1987 | 31.5[65] | — | April 28, 1988 | 23.2[66] | — | 1987–88 | 1[12] | 27.8[12] | |
| 5 | 26 | October 6, 1988 | 24.2[67] | 37.6[67] | May 11, 1989 | 20.4[68] | 31.5[68] | 1988–89 | 1[12] | 25.6[12] | |
| 6 | 26 | September 21, 1989 | 26.1[69] | 39.3[69] | May 3, 1990 | 18.5[70] | 28.3[70] | 1989–90 | 1[12][a] | 23.1[12] | |
| 7 | 26 | September 20, 1990 | 19.8[71] | 30.5[71] | May 2, 1991 | 15.2[72] | 22.1[72] | 1990–91 | 5[12] | 17.1[12] | |
| 8 | 25 | September 19, 1991 | 18.6[73] | 28.1[73] | April 30, 1992 | 28.0[74] | 44.4[74] | 1991–92 | 18[12] | 15.0[12] | |
The Carsey-Werner Company handles domestic distribution, whileParamount Global's unitCBS Media Ventures handles international distribution of the series, and has done so since 1997. In the United States,The Cosby Show began its television syndication run in September 1988 in broadcast syndication, shortly before the show's fifth-season premiere, and was at the time distributed by Viacom; many stations that carried the series wereBig Three television networks affiliates. As time went on, this moved to lower-profile timeslots,independent station and minor network affiliates.[citation needed]
Fort Worth, Texas–based independent stationKTVT carried the series until 1995, when it ceased operating as a regional cablesuperstation and became an affiliate ofCBS.TBS, then a national cable superstation, carried the series for nearly a decade beginning in 1999. Fellow superstationWGN America began carrying the series shortly thereafter, and continued to until September 2010.Viacom'sNick at Nite began airing reruns of the series in March 2002, and its sister networkTV Land began airing reruns in 2004, makingThe Cosby Show one of the few series that were shown on both Nick at Nite and TV Land at the same time. The series was also available to stream onHulu.[75]
The French version just calledCosby Show aired on M6 in 1988.
In the Italian version of the show, the family name is not Huxtable but Robinson. The whole show is namedI Robinson (The Robinsons) airing onCanale 5 from 1986 until 1993.
Reruns ofThe Cosby Show have been pulled from several networks and venues as a result of theBill Cosby sexual assault cases. In November 2014, TV Land pulled the series from its lineup.[76][77] "Episodes have been pulled immediately for the foreseeable future ... TV Land even removed references toThe Cosby Show from its website on Wednesday afternoon as the scandal accelerated." In December 2014, theMagic Johnson–owned networkAspire removed the show from its lineup.[78]
BET'sCentric (anotherViacom unit), along withBounce TV, ceased airing reruns ofThe Cosby Show. At the same time, barter syndicatorThe Program Exchange ceased distributing the show.[79] Bounce TV resumed airing the series in December 2016[80] but pulled the show on April 26, 2018 — the day Cosby was convicted of sexual assault.[81][82]TV One began airing reruns of the show in May 2017.[83] It is the only American network to offer the series. The series is available onAmazon Prime Video andPhilo.[citation needed]
The Cosby Show's producers created aspin-off series calledA Different World that was built around the "Denise" character (portrayed by actressLisa Bonet), the second of the Huxtables' four daughters.[84] Initially, the new program dealt with Denise's life at Hillman College,[85] the fictionalhistorically black college from which her father, mother, and paternal grandfather had graduated.[citation needed]
Denise was written out ofA Different World after its inaugural season, due to Bonet's pregnancy, and the following season was revamped, with the addition of directorDebbie Allen (Phylicia Rashad's sister) and new characters.[86] Denise later became a recurring character onThe Cosby Show for seasons four and five, and a regular again in seasons six and seven.[citation needed]
Peabody Award (1986)
People's Choice Awards[citation needed]
Emmy Awards[87]
Golden Globe Awards
Two albums were produced that included various theme and background music from the show. The albums were presented by longtime Cosby collaboratorStu Gardner. They were:
All eight seasons ofThe Cosby Show have been released on DVD inRegion 1. Seasons one and two were released by UrbanWorks which was subsequently acquired byFirst Look Studios, who then released the remaining six seasons. Seasons One and Two contain special features, including the ninety minute retrospective documentary entitledThe Cosby Show: A Look Back, which aired on NBC in May 2002.
It contains interviews with cast members, bloopers, deleted scenes and audition footage. In December 2010, First Look Studios filed bankruptcy, and all its assets were subsequently acquired byMillennium Entertainment, who also took over distribution ofThe Cosby Show DVD releases. As of 2013, these releases have been discontinued, and are now out of print.
In 2013, Mill Creek Entertainment acquired the rights to the series. They subsequently re-released all eight seasons on DVD.[107][108][109][110] On September 1, 2015, Mill Creek released a sixteen disc complete series set entitledThe Cosby Show – The Complete Series.[111]
In Region 4,Magna Pacific has released all eight seasons on DVD inAustralia andNew Zealand. The first two seasons have similar artwork to the North American copies, although season two is red rather than blue. Each Australian cover also features the tagline "In a house full of love, there is always room for more".
Universal Studios Home Entertainment has released Seasons 1 to 4 in Region 2 (United Kingdom).
| DVD title | Ep # | Release dates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | ||
| Season 1 | 24 | August 2, 2005 January 21, 2014 (re release) | May 19, 2008 | October 4, 2006 |
| Season 2 | 25 | March 7, 2006 January 21, 2014 (re release) | August 25, 2008 | February 7, 2007 |
| Season 3 | 25 | June 5, 2007 April 15, 2014 (re release) | October 13, 2008 | April 4, 2007 |
| Season 4 | 24 | June 5, 2007 April 15, 2014 (re release) | February 9, 2009 | November 7, 2007 |
| Season 5 | 26 | November 6, 2007 January 6, 2015 (re release) | March 5, 2008 | |
| Season 6 | 26 | November 6, 2007 January 6, 2015 (re release) | July 9, 2008 | |
| Season 7 | 26 | April 8, 2008 June 16, 2015 (re release) | January 13, 2010 | |
| Season 8 | 25 | April 8, 2008 June 16, 2015 (re release) | January 13, 2010 | |
| 25th Anniversary Commemorative Edition | 201 | November 11, 2008 September 1, 2015 (re release) | ||
| Collector's Edition | 201 | August 6, 2014 | ||
Note: The Millennium Entertainment release of season one contains the edited versions of the episodes aired in syndication. However, all subsequent DVD releases (including the complete series set) contain the original, uncut broadcast versions. In 2011, Millennium quietly released season one uncut in Region 1, which featured the special features fromThe Complete Series set.
The show that changed forever the way black families are portrayed on television, the show that paved the way for a rainbow of black sensibilities on TV from In Living Color to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is getting razzed these days by The Simpsons.
I won't deal with the foolishness of racial undertones on the show.
McFerrin also earned mainstream exposure through his unique performance of the theme song to the television hit The Cosby Show
28. The Cosby Show (NBC)
8. The Cosby Show (1984) This sitcom-savior sparked 20 years of "Must See TV" dominance while spreading a gentle yet powerful message about inclusion, diversity and the universality of real family values.
"Cosby sweater" entered the country's vernacular and came to mean a garment so loud and nauseating that those encountering it would be tempted to reach for earplugs and Dramamine.
