''The Cosby Mysteries'' is an American

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

television series starring

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and media personality. He made significant contributions to American and African-American culture, and is well known in the United States for his eccentric ...

that aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

from September 21, 1994, to April 12, 1995. 19 episodes were made. It was the first television series to star Cosby since ''

The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom co-created by and starring Bill Cosby, which aired Thursday nights for eight seasons on NBC between September 20, 1984, until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on an upper middle-class African- ...

'' (which ended in the spring of 1992) and lasted one season (1994–1995). Actor/rapper

Mos Def Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...

appeared in several episodes (credited as Dante Smith).

Plot

Cosby played Guy Hanks, a

New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

criminalist Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and criminal ...

, who retired from the force after winning $44 million in the lottery. His peaceful retirement was frequently interrupted by his former colleagues, Detective Adam Sully (

James Naughton James Naughton (born December 6, 1945) is an American actor and director. He is best known as Michael Bower on '' Who's the Boss?'' (1984-1992) and was also notable for his earlier role as the astronaut Pete Burke in the 1974 single-season telev ...

) and Medical Examiner John Chapman ( Robert Stanton), who asked him to consult on tough cases. As Hanks used his wits and his forensics knowledge to solve crimes, he dealt with his holistic housekeeper Angie (

Rita Moreno Rita Moreno (born Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano; December 11, 1931) is a Puerto Rican actress, dancer, and singer. Noted for her work across different areas of the entertainment industry, she has appeared in numerous film, television, and thea ...

) and his girlfriend Barbara Lorenz (

Lynn Whitfield Lynn Whitfield ('' née'' Smith; born February 15, 1953) is an American actress. She began her acting career in television and theatre before progressing to supporting roles in film. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a ...

Production History

The show was created by David Black and

William Link William Theodore Link (December 15, 1933 – December 27, 2020) was an American film and television screenwriter and producer who often worked in collaboration with Richard Levinson. Biography Early life Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ...

. Link's previous series included ''

Columbo ''Columbo'' () is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC f ...

'' on NBC and ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...

'' on CBS. Link developed the series at Cosby's request, as Cosby wanted to make an intelligent, character-driven mystery series that did not rely on graphic violence. The show began on January 31, 1994, as a two hour movie, and 18 regular episodes began airing on NBC on September 21, 1994. Its NBC premiere ranked 54th among the season's network prime time series. Executive producer William Link criticized NBC for not effectively advertising the show before its premiere launch. NBC Entertainment president

Warren Littlefield Warren W. Littlefield (born May 11, 1952) is an American television executive. Born in Montclair, New Jersey, Littlefield attended Montclair High School and graduated from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York, where he was award ...

blamed Bill Cosby for not using his personal fame to promote the show. At the beginning of 1995, William Link and David Black were dropped from the production team by NBC. On April 12, 1995, ''The Cosby Mysteries'' ceased operations for good. Critics expressed hope that ''The Cosby Mysteries'' would fare better than Cosby's previous two ventures, '' Here and Now'' and the game show remake, ''

You Bet Your Life ''You Bet Your Life'' is an American comedy quiz series that has aired on both radio and television. The original and best-known version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. The show deb ...

''. ''The Cosby Mysteries'' only lasted 18 episodes, and was cancelled in February 1995. ''The Cosby Mysteries'' has been rerun in the United Kingdom, on digital channel

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...

, and in the US on A&E, STARZ! Mystery and TV One. ''The Cosby Mysteries'' was shot in New York City by SAH Enterprises.

Cast

as Guy Hanks *

as Angie * Robert Stanton as Medical Examiner John Chapman *

as Det. Adam Scully *

as Dante Beze *

as Barbara Lorenz

Series Overview

*Pilot: 31 January 1994 (1 Episode) *Season 1: 21 September 1994 to 12 April 1995 (18 Episodes)

Episodes

Pilot (1994)

Season 1 (1994-95)

In popular culture

*In an episode of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'', " Guess Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner?",

Homer Simpson Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared, along with the rest of his family, in ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' short "G ...

laments the cancellation of ''The Cosby Mysteries'', saying "That show had limitless possibilities!" * An episode of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' hosted by

Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actor ...

on February 5, 1994, did a parody sketch of ''The Cosby Mysteries''.

Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer and singer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1990 to 1995, before going on to star in numerous Hollywood films, those of wh ...

played Cosby as a buffoonish character, who rambles on incoherently with dialog full of made up nonsense words.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cosby Mysteries, The Bill Cosby 1990s American drama television series 1994 American television series debuts 1995 American television series endings 1990s American mystery television series English-language television shows Fictional portrayals of the New York City Police Department Forensic science in popular culture NBC original programming Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television shows set in New York City American detective television series Television series created by William Link