The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show
Genre
Sitcom
Created by
Ed. Weinberger
Michael Leeson
Bill Cosby
Starring
Bill Cosby
Phylicia Rashad
Sabrina Le Beauf
Geoffrey Owens
Lisa Bonet
Joseph C. Phillips
Malcolm-Jamal Warner
Tempestt Bledsoe
Keshia Knight Pulliam
Raven Symoné
Erika Alexander
Theme music composer
Stu Gardner
Bill Cosby
Opening theme
"Kiss Me"; performed by:
Bobby McFerrin (season 4)
Oregon Symphony (season 5)
Craig Handy (seasons 6–7)
Lester Bowie (season 8)
Ending theme
"Kiss Me" (instrumental; various versions)
Country of origin
United States
Original language(s)
English
No. of seasons
8
No. of episodes
201 (plus outtakes special) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
Marcy Carsey
Tom Werner
Bernie Kukoff (season 7)
Janet Leahy (season 8)
Location(s)
Kaufman Astoria Studios
Astoria, New York, U.S.
Camera setup
Videotape; Multi-camera
Running time
23–25 minutes
Production company(s)
Carsey-Werner Productions
Bill Cosby Productions
Distributor
Carsey-Werner Distribution (1997–present) (US only)
Viacom Enterprises (1990–1995)
Paramount Television (1995–2006)
CBS Paramount Network Television (2006–2007)
CBS Television Distribution (2007–present)
Release
Original network
NBC
Picture format
480i (NTSC)
Original release
September 20, 1984 – April 30, 1992
Chronology
Preceded by
The Bill Cosby Show
Related shows
A Different World
The Cosby Show is an American television sitcom starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984, until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on the Huxtable family, an upper middle-class African-American family living in Brooklyn, New York.
The Cosby Show spent five consecutive seasons as the number-one rated show on television. The Cosby Show and All in the Family
are the only sitcoms in the history of the Nielsen ratings to be the
number-one show for five seasons. It spent all eight of its seasons in
the top 20.[1]
According to TV Guide, the show "was TV's biggest hit in the 1980s, and almost single handedly revived the sitcom genre and NBC's ratings fortunes."[2] TV Guide also ranked it 28th on their list of 50 Greatest Shows.[3] In addition, Cliff Huxtable was named as the "Greatest Television Dad".[4]
In May 1992, Entertainment Weekly stated that The Cosby Show helped to make possible a larger variety of shows with a predominantly African-American cast, from In Living Color to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.[5] The Cosby Show was based on comedy routines in Cosby's stand-up act, which in turn were based on his family life. The show led to the spinoff A Different World, which ran for six seasons from 1987 to 1993.
| The Cosby Show | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Ed. Weinberger Michael Leeson Bill Cosby |
| Starring | Bill Cosby Phylicia Rashad Sabrina Le Beauf Geoffrey Owens Lisa Bonet Joseph C. Phillips Malcolm-Jamal Warner Tempestt Bledsoe Keshia Knight Pulliam Raven Symoné Erika Alexander |
| Theme music composer | Stu Gardner Bill Cosby |
| Opening theme | "Kiss Me"; performed by: Bobby McFerrin (season 4) Oregon Symphony (season 5) Craig Handy (seasons 6–7) Lester Bowie (season 8) |
| Ending theme | "Kiss Me" (instrumental; various versions) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 8 |
| No. of episodes | 201 (plus outtakes special) (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Marcy Carsey Tom Werner Bernie Kukoff (season 7) Janet Leahy (season 8) |
| Location(s) | Kaufman Astoria Studios Astoria, New York, U.S. |
| Camera setup | Videotape; Multi-camera |
| Running time | 23–25 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Carsey-Werner Productions Bill Cosby Productions |
| Distributor | Carsey-Werner Distribution (1997–present) (US only) Viacom Enterprises (1990–1995) Paramount Television (1995–2006) CBS Paramount Network Television (2006–2007) CBS Television Distribution (2007–present) |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Picture format | 480i (NTSC) |
| Original release | September 20, 1984 – April 30, 1992 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Bill Cosby Show |
| Related shows | A Different World |
The Cosby Show spent five consecutive seasons as the number-one rated show on television. The Cosby Show and All in the Family are the only sitcoms in the history of the Nielsen ratings to be the number-one show for five seasons. It spent all eight of its seasons in the top 20.[1]
According to TV Guide, the show "was TV's biggest hit in the 1980s, and almost single handedly revived the sitcom genre and NBC's ratings fortunes."[2] TV Guide also ranked it 28th on their list of 50 Greatest Shows.[3] In addition, Cliff Huxtable was named as the "Greatest Television Dad".[4]
In May 1992, Entertainment Weekly stated that The Cosby Show helped to make possible a larger variety of shows with a predominantly African-American cast, from In Living Color to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.[5] The Cosby Show was based on comedy routines in Cosby's stand-up act, which in turn were based on his family life. The show led to the spinoff A Different World, which ran for six seasons from 1987 to 1993.
Contents
Premise
The show focuses on the Huxtable family, an upper middle-class African-American family, living in a brownstone in Brooklyn Heights, New York, at 10 Stigwood Avenue.[6] The patriarch is Cliff Huxtable, an obstetrician and son of a prominent jazz trombonist. The matriarch is his wife, attorney Clair Huxtable.[7]
They have four daughters and one son: Sondra, Denise, Theo, Vanessa, and Rudy. Despite its comedic tone, the show sometimes involves serious subjects, like Theo's experiences dealing with dyslexia,[8] inspired by Cosby's dyslexic son, Ennis.[9] The show also deals with teen pregnancy when Denise's friend, Veronica (Lela Rochon), becomes pregnant.[10]
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | Nielsen ratings[11] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | Rank | Rating | ||||
| 1 | 24 | September 20, 1984 | May 9, 1985 | 3 | 24.2 | ||
| 2 | 25 | September 26, 1985 | May 15, 1986 | 1 | 33.7 | ||
| 3 | 25 | September 25, 1986 | May 7, 1987 | 1 | 34.9 | ||
| 4 | 24 | September 24, 1987 | April 28, 1988 | 1 | 27.8 | ||
| 5 | 26 | October 6, 1988 | May 11, 1989 | 1 | 25.6 | ||
| 6 | 26 + Special | September 21, 1989 | May 3, 1990 | 1 | 23.1 (Tied with Roseanne) |
||
| 7 | 26 | September 20, 1990 | May 2, 1991 | 5 | 17.1 | ||
| 8 | 25 | September 19, 1991 | April 30, 1992 | 18 | 15.0 | ||
Pilot
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 is notable for a number of differences from the
remainder of the series.
In the pilot, the Huxtables have only four children.[12] 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 (i.e., a college
graduate).[13]
Whitney Houston
was considered for the role of Sondra Huxtable. Houston, however, was
unable to commit to the full-time television production schedule in the
NBC contract, as she was intending to be a full-time music recording
artist.[14][15]
Most of the story in the pilot presentation is taken from Bill Cosby's classic comedy film, Bill Cosby: Himself.
Cosby's character is called "Clifford" in the early episodes of the
first season (as evidenced by his name plate on the exterior of the
Huxtable home). 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.
Background and production
Conception and development
The cast of The Cosby Show in 1989
In the early 1980s, Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner, two former executives at ABC, left the network to start their own production company.[16] At ABC, they had overseen sitcoms such as Mork & Mindy, Three's Company, and Welcome Back, Kotter.
The two decided that to get a sitcom to sell for their fledgling
company, they needed a big name behind it. Bill Cosby, who starred in
two failed sitcoms during the 1970s, produced award-winning stand-up
comedy albums, and had roles in several different films, was relatively
quiet during the early 1980s.
Outside of his work on his cartoon series Fat 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.[17]
Cosby originally proposed that the couple should both have blue-collar jobs, with the father a limousine driver,[18] who owned his own car, and the mother an electrician.[19] With advice from his wife Camille Cosby,
though, the concept was changed so that the family was well-off
financially, with the mother a lawyer and the father a physician.[20][21]
Cosby wanted the program to be educational, reflecting his own
background in education. He also insisted that the program be taped in New York City instead of Los Angeles, where most television programs were taped.[22] The Huxtable home exterior was filmed at 10 St. Luke's Place near 7th Avenue in Manhattan's Greenwich Village (although in the show, the residence was the fictional "10 Stigwood Avenue").[23]
The cast of The Cosby Show in 1989
Production notes
The brownstone used in The Cosby Show
The earliest episodes of the series were videotaped at NBC's Brooklyn studios (now owned by JC Studios).[24] The network later sold that building, and production moved to the Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens.[25]
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.[26]
The pilot was filmed in May 1984, with season one's production
commencing in July 1984, and the first taping on August 1, 1984 (Goodbye Mr. Goldfish).[27][28]
During its original run on NBC, it was one of five successful sitcoms
on the network that featured predominantly African-American casts. The
other sitcoms were 227 (1985–90), Amen (1986–91), Cosby Show spin-off A Different World (1987–93), and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990–96). Four other NBC sitcoms of that time also featured Black actors and actresses in lead starring or supporting roles--Nell Carter and Telma Hopkins on Gimme a Break (1981−87); Leonard Lightfoot, and later Franklyn Seales and Alfonso Ribeiro on Silver Spoons (1982−86); Kim Fields on The Facts of Life (1979−88), and Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges on Diff'rent Strokes (1978–85).
Although the cast and characters were predominantly African American,[29]
the program was unusual in that issues of race were rarely mentioned
when compared to other situation comedies of the time, such as The Jeffersons.[30] However, The Cosby Show had African-American themes, such as the Civil Rights Movement, and it frequently promoted African-American and African culture represented by artists and musicians such as Jacob Lawrence, Miles Davis, James Brown, B.B. King, Stevie Wonder, Sammy Davis, Jr., Lena Horne, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, and Miriam Makeba.[31]
The show's spin off, A Different World, dealt with issues of race more often.[32] The series finale (taped on March 6, 1992)[33] aired during the 1992 Los Angeles riots, with Cosby quoted in media at the time pleading for peace.[34][35]
During the third season of the show, actress Phylicia Rashad was pregnant with her daughter Condola Rashād.
Rather than write this pregnancy into the character of Claire Huxtable,
the producers simply greatly reduced Rashad's scenes or filmed in such a
way that her pregnancy was not noticeable.[36]
Another pregnancy of one of the main stars, that of Lisa Bonet, almost caused the actress to be fired, especially coming in the wake of appearing in the film Angel Heart, which contained graphic sexual scenes with actor Mickey Rourke. Bill Cosby strongly disapproved of Bonet appearing in the film, but she was allowed to retain her role on A Different World until returning to The Cosby Show after her pregnancy. Tensions remained, however, and Bonet was eventually fired from the show in April 1991.[37]
The brownstone used in The Cosby Show
Theme song and opening sequence
The show's theme music, "Kiss Me", was composed by Stu Gardner and Bill Cosby.[38]
Seven versions of this theme were used during the run of the series,
making it one of the few television series to use multiple versions of
the same theme song over the course of a series. For season four, the
theme song music was performed by musician Bobby McFerrin.[39]
Due to legal complications regarding the background mural, the
opening for season seven (filmed in August 1990) was replaced with the
one from the previous season.[40][41][42] The original season-seven opening, with slight modifications, returned to use in the beginning of season eight.
Cast and characters
| Actor | Character | Seasons | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | ||
| Bill Cosby | Dr. Heathcliff "Cliff" Huxtable | Main | |||||||
| Phylicia Rashad* | Clair Olivia Hanks Huxtable | Main | |||||||
| Lisa Bonet | Denise Huxtable–Kendall | Main | Recurring | Main | |||||
| Malcolm-Jamal Warner | Theodore "Theo" Huxtable | Main | |||||||
| Tempestt Bledsoe | Vanessa Huxtable | Main | |||||||
| Keshia Knight Pulliam | Rudith "Rudy" Lilian Huxtable | Main | |||||||
| Sabrina Le Beauf | Sondra Huxtable–Tibideaux | Recurring | Main | ||||||
| Geoffrey Owens | Elvin Tibideaux | Recurring | Main | ||||||
| Joseph C. Phillips+ | Lt. Martin Kendall | Main | Recurring | ||||||
| Raven-Symoné | Olivia Kendall | Main | |||||||
| Erika Alexander | Pamela "Pam" Tucker | Main | |||||||
+Prior to joining the cast as a regular, Joseph C. Phillips appears as Daryl, a potential boyfriend for Sondra in season two (episode: "Cliff in Love")
| The Cosby Show | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Ed. Weinberger Michael Leeson Bill Cosby |
| Starring | Bill Cosby Phylicia Rashad Sabrina Le Beauf Geoffrey Owens Lisa Bonet Joseph C. Phillips Malcolm-Jamal Warner Tempestt Bledsoe Keshia Knight Pulliam Raven Symoné Erika Alexander |
| Theme music composer | Stu Gardner Bill Cosby |
| Opening theme | "Kiss Me"; performed by: Bobby McFerrin (season 4) Oregon Symphony (season 5) Craig Handy (seasons 6–7) Lester Bowie (season 8) |
| Ending theme | "Kiss Me" (instrumental; various versions) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 8 |
| No. of episodes | 201 (plus outtakes special) (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Marcy Carsey Tom Werner Bernie Kukoff (season 7) Janet Leahy (season 8) |
| Location(s) | Kaufman Astoria Studios Astoria, New York, U.S. |
| Camera setup | Videotape; Multi-camera |
| Running time | 23–25 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Carsey-Werner Productions Bill Cosby Productions |
| Distributor | Carsey-Werner Distribution (1997–present) (US only) Viacom Enterprises (1990–1995) Paramount Television (1995–2006) CBS Paramount Network Television (2006–2007) CBS Television Distribution (2007–present) |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Picture format | 480i (NTSC) |
| Original release | September 20, 1984 – April 30, 1992 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Bill Cosby Show |
| Related shows | A Different World |
The Cosby Show spent five consecutive seasons as the number-one rated show on television. The Cosby Show and All in the Family are the only sitcoms in the history of the Nielsen ratings to be the number-one show for five seasons. It spent all eight of its seasons in the top 20.[1]
According to TV Guide, the show "was TV's biggest hit in the 1980s, and almost single handedly revived the sitcom genre and NBC's ratings fortunes."[2] TV Guide also ranked it 28th on their list of 50 Greatest Shows.[3] In addition, Cliff Huxtable was named as the "Greatest Television Dad".[4]
In May 1992, Entertainment Weekly stated that The Cosby Show helped to make possible a larger variety of shows with a predominantly African-American cast, from In Living Color to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.[5] The Cosby Show was based on comedy routines in Cosby's stand-up act, which in turn were based on his family life. The show led to the spinoff A Different World, which ran for six seasons from 1987 to 1993.
Contents
Premise
The show focuses on the Huxtable family, an upper middle-class African-American family, living in a brownstone in Brooklyn Heights, New York, at 10 Stigwood Avenue.[6] The patriarch is Cliff Huxtable, an obstetrician and son of a prominent jazz trombonist. The matriarch is his wife, attorney Clair Huxtable.[7]They have four daughters and one son: Sondra, Denise, Theo, Vanessa, and Rudy. Despite its comedic tone, the show sometimes involves serious subjects, like Theo's experiences dealing with dyslexia,[8] inspired by Cosby's dyslexic son, Ennis.[9] The show also deals with teen pregnancy when Denise's friend, Veronica (Lela Rochon), becomes pregnant.[10]
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | Nielsen ratings[11] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | Rank | Rating | ||||
| 1 | 24 | September 20, 1984 | May 9, 1985 | 3 | 24.2 | ||
| 2 | 25 | September 26, 1985 | May 15, 1986 | 1 | 33.7 | ||
| 3 | 25 | September 25, 1986 | May 7, 1987 | 1 | 34.9 | ||
| 4 | 24 | September 24, 1987 | April 28, 1988 | 1 | 27.8 | ||
| 5 | 26 | October 6, 1988 | May 11, 1989 | 1 | 25.6 | ||
| 6 | 26 + Special | September 21, 1989 | May 3, 1990 | 1 | 23.1 (Tied with Roseanne) |
||
| 7 | 26 | September 20, 1990 | May 2, 1991 | 5 | 17.1 | ||
| 8 | 25 | September 19, 1991 | April 30, 1992 | 18 | 15.0 | ||
Pilot
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 is notable for a number of differences from the remainder of the series.In the pilot, the Huxtables have only four children.[12] 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 (i.e., a college graduate).[13]
Whitney Houston was considered for the role of Sondra Huxtable. Houston, however, was unable to commit to the full-time television production schedule in the NBC contract, as she was intending to be a full-time music recording artist.[14][15]
Most of the story in the pilot presentation is taken from Bill Cosby's classic comedy film, Bill Cosby: Himself. Cosby's character is called "Clifford" in the early episodes of the first season (as evidenced by his name plate on the exterior of the Huxtable home). 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.
Background and production
Conception and development
The cast of The Cosby Show in 1989
Outside of his work on his cartoon series Fat 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.[17]
Cosby originally proposed that the couple should both have blue-collar jobs, with the father a limousine driver,[18] who owned his own car, and the mother an electrician.[19] With advice from his wife Camille Cosby, though, the concept was changed so that the family was well-off financially, with the mother a lawyer and the father a physician.[20][21]
Cosby wanted the program to be educational, reflecting his own background in education. He also insisted that the program be taped in New York City instead of Los Angeles, where most television programs were taped.[22] The Huxtable home exterior was filmed at 10 St. Luke's Place near 7th Avenue in Manhattan's Greenwich Village (although in the show, the residence was the fictional "10 Stigwood Avenue").[23]
Production notes
The brownstone used in The Cosby Show
During its original run on NBC, it was one of five successful sitcoms on the network that featured predominantly African-American casts. The other sitcoms were 227 (1985–90), Amen (1986–91), Cosby Show spin-off A Different World (1987–93), and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990–96). Four other NBC sitcoms of that time also featured Black actors and actresses in lead starring or supporting roles--Nell Carter and Telma Hopkins on Gimme a Break (1981−87); Leonard Lightfoot, and later Franklyn Seales and Alfonso Ribeiro on Silver Spoons (1982−86); Kim Fields on The Facts of Life (1979−88), and Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges on Diff'rent Strokes (1978–85).
Although the cast and characters were predominantly African American,[29] the program was unusual in that issues of race were rarely mentioned when compared to other situation comedies of the time, such as The Jeffersons.[30] However, The Cosby Show had African-American themes, such as the Civil Rights Movement, and it frequently promoted African-American and African culture represented by artists and musicians such as Jacob Lawrence, Miles Davis, James Brown, B.B. King, Stevie Wonder, Sammy Davis, Jr., Lena Horne, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, and Miriam Makeba.[31]
The show's spin off, A Different World, dealt with issues of race more often.[32] The series finale (taped on March 6, 1992)[33] aired during the 1992 Los Angeles riots, with Cosby quoted in media at the time pleading for peace.[34][35]
During the third season of the show, actress Phylicia Rashad was pregnant with her daughter Condola Rashād. Rather than write this pregnancy into the character of Claire Huxtable, the producers simply greatly reduced Rashad's scenes or filmed in such a way that her pregnancy was not noticeable.[36]
Another pregnancy of one of the main stars, that of Lisa Bonet, almost caused the actress to be fired, especially coming in the wake of appearing in the film Angel Heart, which contained graphic sexual scenes with actor Mickey Rourke. Bill Cosby strongly disapproved of Bonet appearing in the film, but she was allowed to retain her role on A Different World until returning to The Cosby Show after her pregnancy. Tensions remained, however, and Bonet was eventually fired from the show in April 1991.[37]
Theme song and opening sequence
The show's theme music, "Kiss Me", was composed by Stu Gardner and Bill Cosby.[38] Seven versions of this theme were used during the run of the series, making it one of the few television series to use multiple versions of the same theme song over the course of a series. For season four, the theme song music was performed by musician Bobby McFerrin.[39]Due to legal complications regarding the background mural, the opening for season seven (filmed in August 1990) was replaced with the one from the previous season.[40][41][42] The original season-seven opening, with slight modifications, returned to use in the beginning of season eight.
Cast and characters
| Actor | Character | Seasons | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | ||
| Bill Cosby | Dr. Heathcliff "Cliff" Huxtable | Main | |||||||
| Phylicia Rashad* | Clair Olivia Hanks Huxtable | Main | |||||||
| Lisa Bonet | Denise Huxtable–Kendall | Main | Recurring | Main | |||||
| Malcolm-Jamal Warner | Theodore "Theo" Huxtable | Main | |||||||
| Tempestt Bledsoe | Vanessa Huxtable | Main | |||||||
| Keshia Knight Pulliam | Rudith "Rudy" Lilian Huxtable | Main | |||||||
| Sabrina Le Beauf | Sondra Huxtable–Tibideaux | Recurring | Main | ||||||
| Geoffrey Owens | Elvin Tibideaux | Recurring | Main | ||||||
| Joseph C. Phillips+ | Lt. Martin Kendall | Main | Recurring | ||||||
| Raven-Symoné | Olivia Kendall | Main | |||||||
| Erika Alexander | Pamela "Pam" Tucker | Main | |||||||
+Prior to joining the cast as a regular, Joseph C. Phillips appears as Daryl, a potential boyfriend for Sondra in season two (episode: "Cliff in Love")
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