The Cosby Show (TV series)
**Overview of The Cosby Show (TV Series)**
"The Cosby Show" is an influential American television sitcom that premiered on September 20, 1984, centered on the Huxtable family living in Brooklyn, New York. The show features an entirely African American cast, led by comedian Bill Cosby as Heathcliff "Cliff" Huxtable, an obstetrician, and Phylicia Rashad as his wife, Claire, a corporate attorney. With a total of 201 episodes over eight seasons, the series explores everyday family dynamics, parenting challenges, and the nuances of intergenerational relationships, often delivered with gentle humor and relatable themes.
While "The Cosby Show" achieved remarkable popularity and critically acclaimed success, winning numerous awards including six Emmys, it also faced criticism for its lack of engagement with broader racial issues and the portrayal of African American experiences. The show's positive depiction of a stable, middle-class African American family provided role models for many viewers and helped to reshape perceptions of Black families on television. Its success revitalized interest in the sitcom genre and paved the way for future successful shows on NBC, such as "Frasier" and "Friends." Additionally, it inspired a spin-off, "A Different World," which explored more socially relevant themes. Despite its cultural impact, subsequent controversies surrounding Bill Cosby have complicated the show's legacy.
The Cosby Show (TV series)
Identification Television comedy series
Producers Marcy Carsey, Tom Werner, and Bill Cosby
Date Aired from September 20, 1984, to April 30, 1992
The Cosby Show portrayed the daily lives of an upper-middle-class African American family. The show revitalized the television sitcom, rejuvenated the NBC network and Thursday night television, and created debate regarding its lack of discussion of racism.
Key Figures
Marcy Carsey (1944- ), television producerTom Werner (1950- ), television producerBill Cosby (1937- ), television producer and star ofThe Cosby Show
The initial idea to create The Cosby Show came after comedian Bill Cosby presented a monologue on child rearing on The Tonight Show. While the monologue was well received, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) hesitated to add the show to its program schedule. The program was then offered to, and rejected by, the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). The networks’ executives were reluctant to accept the show for a variety of reasons. They feared that the situation comedy was a dying genre and that American viewers would in any case not be interested in a show with a completely African American cast. Cosby’s prior career in television had met with mixed results, so he could not be counted on to produce a hit. At the eleventh hour, however, just in time to be added to the fall lineup, NBC decided to order a pilot and five additional episodes.
Story Line
On September 20, 1984, the first thirty-minute episode of The Cosby Show aired. The show, taped before a live audience, centered on the Huxtable family of 10 Stigwood Avenue, a brownstone in Brooklyn, New York. Its situations generally involved immediate household members: Heathcliff “Cliff” Huxtable, played by Cosby, an obstetrician/gynecologist; Claire, played by Phylicia Rashad, a corporate attorney; and their children Sondra (Sabrina Le Beauf), a college student and later a parent; Denise (Lisa Bonet), the renegade; Theo (Malcolm-Jamal Warner), the academically struggling only son; and little girls Vanessa (Tempestt Bledsoe) and Rudy (Keshia Knight Pulliam). Later episodes also included stepgranddaughter Olivia (Raven-Symoné) and her father, Lt. Martin Kendall (Joseph C. Phillips); son-in-law Elvin (Geoffrey Owens) and twins Winnie and Nelson; and grandparents Russell (Earl Hyman) and Anna (Clarice Taylor) Huxtable. Special guests included Stevie Wonder, Placido Domingo, Sammy Davis, Jr., and many other celebrities. The composition of the family, its socioeconomic status, the setting of the story, and many of the show’s themes paralleled the real lives of Cosby’s own family members.
The artwork, literature, and music in the background of the show reflected the family’s African American culture, but story lines generally focused on experiences that could be portrayed as universal. Central topics centered on interfamilial relationships, school, and dating. The concerned and caring Huxtable parents were portrayed raising well-bred children and tackling everyday family issues. They taught lessons about fiscal responsibility using Monopoly money, held a funeral for a dead goldfish, and dealt with Theo’s pierced ears and poor grades in school, as well as the danger that the older children would never leave home. Each situation was represented with a gentle humor that appealed to audiences of the 1980’s.
Cliff’s relationships with his son, daughters, wife, and parents engaged viewers. Their teasing, testing, back-and-forth sparring, and obvious affection allowed Cosby and the other performers effectively to blend wit, comic timing, and acting. The show’s humor was enhanced by believable characters with distinct personalities who sometimes made mistakes. While Cliff tried to be a perfect parent and spouse, one who was above reproach, he, too, was reminded that he was young once and that he was fallible.
Critical Reaction
The show was extremely popular, but it was not without its critics. Some people censured the show for its failure to depict racial tensions between African Americans and whites and its avoidance of other aspects of the African American struggle, including poverty and AIDS, as well as overt racism. Others felt that even the choice of characters portrayed the world through rose-colored glasses, because there were few affluent, double-income, professional African American families in the early 1980’s. While this criticism existed, however, proponents strongly supported the show for its positive depiction of an African American family. Advocates saw the benefits of portraying positive African American parental role models and a stable family in which the mother and father could banter and play with their children without ceding their authority.
The writers and actors of The Cosby Show produced 201 episodes, aired over eight seasons, that were nominated for multiple awards and won many of them. Their awards included six Emmys, three Golden Globes, several Image Awards from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), four Young Artist Awards, and a Peabody Award.
Impact
The Cosby Show, featuring an entirely African American cast, succeeded without slapstick clownery in becoming one of the most popular network television shows in history. The immediate popularity of the show astounded television executives, who had feared the imminent demise of the family sitcom. The Cosby Show revived interest in the genre, and it was later credited with leading the way for NBC’s later successful sitcoms, notably Frasier, Seinfeld, and Friends. The Cosby Show quickly reached the top of the Nielsen ratings: In its first year, it rocketed to third place, and for the next four years, 1985-1990, it was the number one program on television. Its large viewing audience helped NBC dominate the other networks, particularly on Thursday nights, which became home to the network’s most popular prime time lineup.
In 1987, The Cosby Show’s producers created a spin-off show, A Different World, featuring Denise as a student at Hillman, a fictional African American college. Bonet’s Denise remained a series regular for only one season, but the show ran for another five seasons after her departure. A Different World was more willing, and even eager, to address the sorts of social issues that The Cosby Show often eschewed. Meanwhile, after The Cosby Show ended its eight-year run, it was sold into syndication, where reruns earned NBC millions of dollars per episode.
Bibliography
Bogle, Donald. “The Cosby Show.” Blacks in American Films and Television: An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland, 1988. Good overview of the television show and its impact.
Dyson, Michael Eric. Is Bill Cosby Right? Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind? New York: Basic Civitas Books, 2005. Examines and questions Bill Cosby’s views on African Americans and his support of color-blind politics.
Fuller, Linda. The Cosby Show: Audiences, Impact, and Implications. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1992. A lengthy study of the show and its impact.
Hunt, Darnell. “Cosby Show, The.” In Encyclopedia of Television, edited by Horace Newcomb. 2d ed. New York: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2004. Summarizes the show and gives many further readings.
Inniss, Leslie B., and Joe R. Feagin. “The Cosby Show: The View from the Black Middle Class.” Journal of Black Studies 25, no. 6 (July, 1995): 692-711. Reviews the positive and negative African American responses to The Cosby Show.
Merritt, Bishetta, and Carolyn A. Stroman. “Black Family Imagery and Interactions on Television.” Journal of Black Studies 23, no. 4 (June, 1993): 492-499. Reviews African American life on television in 1985-1986.