parents 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 fam-
ily, 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 back-
ground 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 relation-
ships, 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 Mo-
nopoly 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 chil-
dren 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 al-
lowed Cosby and the other performers effectively to
blend wit, comic timing, and acting. The show’s hu-
mor was enhanced by believable characters with dis-
tinct 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 cen-
sured the show for its failure to depict racial tensions
between African Americans and whites and its avoid-
ance of other aspects of the African American strug-
gle, including poverty and AIDS, as well as overt rac-
ism. 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, propo-
nents strongly supported the show for its positive de-
piction of an African American family. Advocates
saw the benefits of portraying positive African Amer-
ican 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 ofThe Cosby Showproduced
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 Na-
tional Association for the Advancement of Colored
People (NAACP), four Young Artist Awards, and a
Peabody Award.
Impact The Cosby Show, featuring an entirely Afri-
can American cast, succeeded without slapstick
clownery in becoming one of the most popular net-
work television shows in history. The immediate
popularity of the show astounded television execu-
tives, who had feared the imminent demise of the
family sitcom.The Cosby Showrevived interest in the
genre, and it was later credited with leading the way
for NBC’s later successful sitcoms, notablyFrasier,
Seinfeld, andFriends.The Cosby Showquickly reached252 Cosby Show, The The Eighties in America
The cast ofThe Cosby Showposes during the 1984-1985 televi-
sion season. Back row, from left: Tempestt Bledsoe, Malcolm-
Jamal Warner, and Phylicia Rashad. Front row: Lisa Bonet,
Keshia Knight Pulliam, Bill Cosby, and Sabrina Le Beauf.
(Hulton Archive/Getty Images)