| We Need to Talk About Cosby | |
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| Genre | Documentary |
| Directed by | W. Kamau Bell |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 4 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Running time | 58-60 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | Showtime |
| Release | January 30 (2022-01-30) – February 20, 2022 (2022-02-20) |
We Need to Talk About Cosby is an American documentary miniseries directed and produced by W. Kamau Bell. It explores the life and career of Bill Cosby up to his sexual assault cases, through conversations with comedians, journalists, and survivors. It premiered on January 30, 2022, on Showtime.[1] The miniseries won several awards, including the Peabody Awards.
| No. | Title | Directed by | Original air date [2] | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Part 1" | W. Kamau Bell | January 30, 2022 (2022-01-30) | 0.166[3] |
| 2 | "Part 2" | W. Kamau Bell | February 6, 2022 (2022-02-06)[a] | 0.184[5] |
| 3 | "Part 3" | W. Kamau Bell | February 13, 2022 (2022-02-13)[b] | 0.126[6] |
| 4 | "Part 4" | W. Kamau Bell | February 20, 2022 (2022-02-20)[c] | 0.145[7] |
The series had its world premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2022.[8][9] It was released on January 30, 2022, on Showtime.[10]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 98% of 58 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "W. Kamau Bell deftly unpacks the Cosby scandal by allowing the conversation to be uncomfortable, yielding a robust examination of the disgraced entertainer and the culture that enabled him."[11] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the series a score of 83 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[12]
A representative for Bill Cosby issued a statement days prior to the series's premiere, stating: "Mr. Cosby has spent more than 50 years standing with the excluded; made it possible for some to be included; standing with the disenfranchised; and standing with those women and men who were denied respectful work because of race and gender within the expanses of the entertainment industries, continues to be the target of numerous media that have, for too many years, distorted and omitted truths... intentionally. Mr. Cosby vehemently denies all allegations waged against him. Let's talk about Bill Cosby. He wants our nation to be what it proclaims itself to be: a democracy."[13][14]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2022
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Peabody Awards | Documentary honoree | We Need to Talk About Cosby | Won | [15] |
| Black Reel Awards for Television | Outstanding Television Documentary or Special | We Need to Talk About Cosby | Won | [16] | |
| Cinema Eye Honours | Outstanding Nonfiction Series | Nominated | [17][18] | ||
| Outstanding Broadcast Editing | Meg Ramsay | Won | |||
| Critics' Choice Documentary Awards | Best Limited Documentary Series | We Need to Talk About Cosby | Nominated | [19] | |
| Gotham Independent Film Awards | Breakthrough Nonfiction Series | Won | [20] | ||
| Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards | Best Streaming Docuseries or Non-Fiction Series | Won | [21] | ||
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series | W. Kamau Bell, Andrew Fried, Katie A King, Vinnie Malhotra, Dane Lillegard, Sarina Roma, Jordan Wynn, Geraldine L. Porras, and Erik Adolphson | Nominated | [22] | |
| Outstanding Narrator | W. Kamau Bell (for "Part 1") | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program | Nominated | ||||
| Outstanding Picture Editing for a Nonfiction Program | Meg Ramsay and Jennifer Brooks (for "Part 1") | Nominated | |||
| Television Critics Association Awards | Outstanding Achievement in News and Information | We Need to Talk About Cosby | Nominated | [23][24] |
Awards for We Need to Talk About Cosby
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