New York, NY, September 15, 2008 – Comedic genius Bill Cosby’s groundbreaking and memorable comedy series “The Cosby Show” joins TV Land’s line-up with a week-long marathon of fan favorite episodes beginning Monday, September 22. Join Heathcliff and Clair Huxtable as they raise their family with warmth, honesty, and most importantly – a lot of humor. The marathon – which airs Monday, September 22 – Friday, September 26 from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m,. and Saturday, September 27 – Sunday, September 28 from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. (all times ET/PT), includes memorable episodes such as when the family holds a funeral for Rudy’s goldfish, Denise tries to make a copycat of an expensive designer shirt for Theo and Cliff and Clair have their first grandchildren. “The Cosby Show” will then air with back-to-back episodes in its regularly scheduled timeslot of 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., as well as 12 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Friday.
“The Cosby Show” is by far one of the funniest and most memorable comedies ever to air on television,” states Larry W. Jones, president, TV Land. “It has such positive messaging on family life and approaches everything with honesty – covering topics from sibling rivalry to teenage lifestyles to stereotypes to celebrating one another’s accomplishments. TV Land is thrilled that it has joined the network.”
“The Cosby Show” aired on NBC from 1984-92 and centered around the lives of Dr. Heathcliff (Cliff) Huxtable (Bill Cosby), an obstetrician, his wife Clair (Phylicia Rashad), a successful lawyer, and his family in New York’s Brooklyn Heights. The comedy reflects the increasing ways in which families struggle to balance professional and personal lives and focuses on the efforts to raise five kids – Sondra (Sabrina LaBeauf), Denise (Lisa Bonet), Theo (Malcolm Jamal-Warner), Vanessa (Tempestt Bledsoe) and Rudy (Keshia Knight Pulliam) in a dual-career household. The show garnered five Emmy awards including “Outstanding Comedy Series” in 1985 and remained a top-five hit throughout its wildly successful run. Throughout the show’s eight years on the air, viewers laughed and rejoiced as the Huxtable children grew up, went to college, got married, grandchildren were born…all as Cliff and Clair still managed to stay madly in love.
Other notable characters include: Elvin (Geoffrey Owens), the once-chauvinistic male who marries Sondra and fathers twins Winnie and Nelson; Martin (Joseph C. Kendall), Denise’s naval lieutenant husband whom she weds during her excursion to Africa; Olivia (Raven-Symonè), Martin’s daughter from a previous marriage who steals the heart of Cliff and the rest of the family; and Pam (Erika Alexander), Clair’s under-privileged cousin who comes to live with the family in 1990.
Fans can log onto tvland.com for a marathon schedule, trivia game, series guide, video clips and a photo gallery of “The Cosby Show.”