We Need to Talk About Cosby

Name: We Need to Talk About Cosby
Genre: Drama, Movie/Mini-Series, Documentary, Events & Specials
Released: January 30, 2022
Rating: 83

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 25 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 6 Ratings

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6.3

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6.3	Your Score
6.3	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 6 Ratings

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Series Details & Credits

SHOWTIME | Release Date: January 30, 2022

Summary: W. Kamau Bell's four-part documentary series looks into Bill Cosby’s career and his eventual disgrace in light of accusations from over 60 women of sexual assault.

Genre(s): Drama, Movie/Mini-Series, Documentary, Events & Specials

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Recent Episodes

tbd
S1:E4. Part 4
Air Date: February 20, 2022
tbd
S1:E3. Part 3
Air Date: February 13, 2022
tbd
S1:E2. Part 2
Air Date: February 6, 2022

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

James Poniewozik

Feb 7, 2022

Season 1 Review: The series is outstanding enough for how it contextualizes Cosby’s legacy, especially for Black America, and the charges against him, which Cosby denies. ... But [W. Kamau Bell] also has a sharp critic’s eye as a performer himself. ... It’s in bringing the two sides together that “We Need to Talk About Cosby” does something too rare in cases like this. It holds Cosby’s achievements and his wrongs close, and it recognizes that there may be unresolvable dissonance between the two. Read full review

Collider Ross Bonaime

Jan 24, 2022

Season 1 Review: We Need to Talk About Cosby is a fascinating look at the life of Cosby, the duality of his career, and the immense letdown of being disappointed by “American’s dad.” But it’s also an integral series in terms of allowing the survivors to tell their own stories, coming to grips with how to explore art from individuals with horrendous pasts, and how it’s important to walk the walk, instead of just talking the talk. Read full review

The Daily Beast Kevin Fallon

Jan 24, 2022

Season 1 Review: The series is a comprehensive, harrowing, and exhaustive look at Cosby’s rise in the entertainment industry, his strategic self-branding throughout the decades of his career, and the unimpeachable impact he had in changing Black culture and how Black Americans are viewed in this country. ... The series also painstakingly builds the other pillar of Cosby’s legacy, brick by haunting brick: the graphic detail of the dozens of assaults alleged by his survivors. Read full review

Lorraine Ali

Jan 24, 2022

Season 1 Review: Nothing is tied up in a neat bow, and that’s largely what’s so engrossing about this series. It struggles, like the rest of us, with where to put Cosby. Read full review

The Times Carol Midgley

Mar 7, 2023

Season 1 Review: This was no cut-and-paste runthrough of the rise and fall of a former national treasure. It was a serious attempt to understand why and how it happened, how one of the country's darlings landed in court accused of serially drugging and raping women. Read full review

Joel Keller

Jan 31, 2022

Season 1 Review: We Need To Talk About Cosby is definitely hard to watch, and that’s the point. It brings up many of the same feelings Bell himself is working through via his direction. But that discomfort is a big indication that Bell is doing his job. Read full review

The Telegraph Ed Power

Jan 27, 2022

Season 1 Review: We Need To Talk About Cosby deserves praise for holding the comedian to account. But that credit must in the first instance go to the women who spoke out and who are interviewed on camera. Bell, however, wants to tell a story that is bigger than Cosby. And the film he has made feels at once excessive and lacking focus. Read full review

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TVJerry

Feb 14, 2022

This 4-part doc considers Bill Cosby's career from the early days as the most successful Black comic/actor in Hollywood history to his disgrace after the numerous accusations of sexual assault. Director W. Kamau Bell interviews a variety of people (most aren't big names) including scholars,This 4-part doc considers Bill Cosby's career from the early days as the most successful Black comic/actor in Hollywood history to his disgrace after the numerous accusations of sexual assault. Director W. Kamau Bell interviews a variety of people (most aren't big names) including scholars, journalists, actors and most notably, several survivors who recount their experiences with Cosby. He fully examines the contradictory conflicts of Cosby's considerable positive influence on our culture, while being negatively affected by the later allegations. While the issues are explored with depth, some of the repetition could have been trimmed, resulting in a tighter series. Even so, Bell presents an unquestionably thorough and well-presented case. (Four one-hour episodes)… Expand

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Seasons & Episodes

83

Series Overview
Season 1

83
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: January 30, 2022
- tbd
  S1:E4. Part 4
  Air Date: February 20, 2022
- tbd
  S1:E3. Part 3
  Air Date: February 13, 2022
- tbd
  S1:E2. Part 2
  Air Date: February 6, 2022
- tbd
  S1:E1. Part 1
  Air Date: January 30, 2022