“We Need to Talk About Cosby,” W. Kamau Bell’s four-part docuseries about comedian Bill Cosby, which will also screen at Sundance, has a television premiere date.
The series will premiere Sunday, Jan. 30 at 10 p.m. ET, with all episodes available for streaming on Showtime and VOD the same day, executive vice president of nonfiction programming for Showtime, Vinnie Malhotra, announced Monday.
The network also released a new teaser trailer for the series.
“As a child of Bill Cosby, I was a huge fan of all his shows and wanted to be a comedian because of him,” Bell said in a statement. “I never thought I’d ever wrestle with who we all thought Cosby was and who we now understand him to be. I’m not sure he would want me to do this work, but Cliff Huxtable definitely would,” she added, referring to the character he played on his NBC sitcom, “The Cosby Show.”
“Kamau has bravely ventured into a very complicated and nuanced area of the Bill Cosby story, which has yet to be explored in this depth. It’s an important and under-reported perspective on the legacy of one of history’s most iconic African American entertainers,” Malhotra added in his statement.
Here’s a logline for the series: “The series explores the complex story of Cosby’s life and work, weighing his actions against his indisputable global influence through interviews with comedians, cultural commentators, journalists and women who share their most personal, harrowing encounters with Cosby. Through archival footage, Cosby reveals who he may have been all along – the antithesis of the principled, public figure who became a hero, not only to African American people but to all people.”
The series also, “peels back complex layers, portraying the genius performer, philanthropist and role model, contrasted by the accused sexual predator that now defines him. It offers viewers the chance to reconsider Cosby’s mark in a society where rape culture, toxic masculinity, capitalism and white supremacy are shaping how we re-evaluate sex, power and agency,” per Showtime.
The docuseries will also screen at Sundance 2022 on Jan. 22.
