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Cosby is a situation comedy television series broadcast on CBS from September 16, 1996 to April 28, 2000. The television program starred Bill Cosby, Phylicia Rashād (who previously worked with Cosby in the 1984–1992 sitcom The Cosby Show). Madeline Kahn portrayed their neighbor, Pauline, until her death in 1999.

Synopsis

Cosby portrays grumpy Hilton Lucas, a man forced into early (and unwanted) retirement. His wife Ruth is played by Phylicia Rashād. Initially, Telma Hopkins was cast as Ruth Lucas; however, she was recast after she didn't react well to Cosby's tendency to ad lib.^[1][2] The couple had one daughter, Erica Lucas, portrayed by T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh. Doug E. Doug played Griffin Vesey, a friend of the Lucas family who tried occasionally to win Erica's affections, but they decided just to remain friends when in the fourth and final season, Darien Sills-Evans portrayed Darien Evans, Erica's fiancé/husband. Jurnee Smollett also joined the cast as 11-year-old Jurnee, who Hilton adored.

The show was based on the concept from the BBC series One Foot in the Grave, starring Richard Wilson and Annette Crosbie.^[3] David Renwick, the creator and writer of One Foot in the Grave, was listed as a consultant of Cosby. One Foot in the Grave was notable for containing dark humor for a mainstream sitcom, and was therefore a surprising choice for adaptation to American TV^{[citation needed]}. The tone was significantly lightened for Cosby, although certain controversial scenes such as a scene in which the lead character incinerates a live tortoise, were recreated (albeit with a turtle in this case).

Cosby premiered to an audience of more than 24.7 million viewers^[4], but averaged 16 million viewers^[5] during the course of the season. As the series progressed, ratings shrank and CBS, fresh with new hit comedies in Everybody Loves Raymond and The King of Queens, decided to move the series from Monday to Wednesday and eventually Friday^{[citation needed]}. The moves led to a drop in ratings and, frustrated by declining ratings and the move, Cosby and CBS executive Leslie Moonves reportedly decided to mutually end the series.^[6] The last episode, "The Song Remains the Same," aired on April 28, 2000, and was the 95th episode to be produced and broadcast, drawing just over 7 million viewers.

Cast

• Bill Cosby — Hilton Lucas
• Phylicia Rashad — Ruth Lucas (née Bolling)
• T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh — Erica Lucas
• Doug E. Doug — Griffin Vesey
• Madeline Kahn — Pauline Fox (1996–1999)

Nielsen Ratings

Cosby was considered to be a ratings success for CBS, winnings it time slot of Monday, 8:00 PM in households and viewers for the first three seasons.^[5]

Reruns/Syndication

The series was distributed by Carsey-Werner Distribution for broadcast syndication for the 2000–2001 television season, where it ran until the fall of 2003. TBS shortly thereafter ran reruns of the series for about two years. On February 1, 2010, the Gospel Music Channel began running the series after a four year absence from television.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Official website
• Cosby at the Internet Movie Database
• Cosby at TV.com
• Cosby at Jump the Shark