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Miniseries – We Need to Talk About Cosby

Play trailer 2:05 Poster for Miniseries – We Need to Talk About Cosby Jan 2022 Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
99% Tomatometer 69 Reviews 77% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Comic-director W. Kamau Bell explores Bill Cosby's life and work, weighing his actions against his indisputable influence through interviews with comedians, cultural commentators, journalists and women who share their personal encounters with him.
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We Need to Talk About Cosby — Miniseries

We Need to Talk About Cosby — Miniseries

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Critics Consensus

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.

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Critics Reviews

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Hugo Rifkind The Times (UK) 03/10/2023
W Kamau Bell played a very smart hand. Go to Full Review
Anita Singh Daily Telegraph (UK) 03/09/2023
4/5
... It is a fine piece of work, with film-maker Walter Kamau Bell refusing to take the easy route. Go to Full Review
Carol Midgley The Times (UK) 03/08/2023
4/5
A serious, meticulous 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. Go to Full Review
Greg Carlson Vague Visages 08/01/2023
Bell includes potent on-camera interviews with a variety of stakeholders, none of whom are more impactful than the women who share in detail their painful and personal stories... Go to Full Review
Eilis O'Hanlon Sunday Independent (Ireland) 03/15/2023
This nasty saga was brilliantly told by fellow stand-up, W Kamau Bell, who grew up idolising Cosby. Go to Full Review
Ann Marie Hourihane Irish Independent 03/15/2023
Excellent. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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J M @jeffmarshallmovieblogger 02/06/2024 I could spend hours and paragraphs writing about this 4-part documentary - or more specifically about how I was impacted by it. Let's get the "review" part out of the way - this is insightful, passionate, transfixing and often nothing less than mesmerizing. I will be shocked if this doesn't appear on my best list of 2022. With that out of the way, I need to describe how it impacted me on a personal level. This is the first time I have ever questioned my staunch belief that one should separate the art from the artist. I've always thought that one can always gleam inspiration and beauty and hope from even the most vile and repugnant of sources. I've always felt that good can be found in the worst of situations. I still believe that - I think. Let me put it this way... if you had asked me prior to watching this if I could watch an episode of THE COSBY SHOW, I'd say "yes" without heistitation. Now, I'm not so sure. My mind was reeling with so many questions afterwards that I couldn't sleep. Like most things in life, I think it comes down to our own personal moral perogatives. I've always been one to give somebody the benefit of the doubt and believe that he who is without sin can cast the first stone. But this got me thinking... if I watch and enjoy the works of Cosby, am I negating the pain and anguish of the dozens of people devastated by his actions? Are those who witnessed what was going on but remained silent implicit in allowing an obvious narcissist to believe that what he was doing wasn't wrong? Where do we draw the line between forgiveness and isolation? I hate the idea of cancel culture because I have always believed that redemption is possible in even the most hardened of hearts... but is it? I don't want to come across hyperbolic to call this show life-changing, but it has already given me hours of thought and contemplation about my own life and where I draw my own lines in the sand. Please take the time to watch this if you have the opportunity - it's painful to watch at times, and I squirmed on a number of occasions, but these are topics we NEED to discuss! - Jeff Marshall, Movie Blogger (Facebook) See more Marc Z @TKDLife 08/29/2022 This thoughtful and intelligent look at the complexity of the legacy of Bill Cosby is a must see. While the creator, W. Kamu Bell, makes it clear about his opinion of the guilt of Cosby, that does not stop him from doing two important things. The first is to provide a platform for a wide variety of opinions on Cosby and his legacy. The second is highlight the positive and negative impacts in a societal and personal way. There are a tons of interviews of people who have first hand accounts, were influenced by Cosby, and experts in the industry. The footage of Cosby on television, in standup, and in movies, makes this worth seeing alone. It is an archive of great film and television. One of the complexities of this project is that as it was completed there was a dramatic change in the legal proceedings against Cosby-which extended the project. I have seen Bill Cosby several times live. He was amazing. His impact on the world was amazing. That doesn't change by my belief that he did terrible things. It is complex. I don't have an opinion more than that people are more than any one thing they do, or don't do. See more david f @dfulmer 05/30/2022 Excellent documentary about the career and crimes of this famous comedian. See more 03/14/2022 WKB, once again, sheds good light on a difficult and complex subject about Cosby as a man, who challenges both my views of what is God-like versus Ego behavior. As I recommend it, before AND after watching it, the Holy Spirit is telling me to suggest reflecting on Luke 6:37 / "Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:" King James Version (KJV) See more 02/08/2022 One-sided hit piece. This documentary needed to be made, but it was nearly unwatchable because it had an enormous agenda. See more 02/04/2022 Great documentary. Maybe leftists, like the director, will one day wake up and realize that the soft-on-crime politicians they elect help put serial rapists like Pill Cosby back on the streets. See more Read all reviews
We Need to Talk About Cosby — Miniseries

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Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Jan 30, 2022 Part 1 As Bill Cosby collects accolades for his comedy, breaks barriers for Black stunt performers and takes part in the nation's sexual liberation and civil rights movements in the 1960s, some say he also began using his influence for other things. Details Episode 2 Aired Feb 6, 2022 Part 2 During the '70s, Bill Cosby takes a circuitous path to becoming an on-screen educator and moral authority, whether by telling kids to say "no" to drugs or allegedly slipping them to young women, reaching massive acclaim with the special "Himself." Details Episode 3 Aired Feb 13, 2022 Part 3 Cosby strikes gold with "The Cosby Show" and leverages his growing power inside the entertainment industry to allegedly commit and conceal a multitude of sins; as the sitcom ends, Cosby evolves from America's dad into America's angry grandpa. Details Episode 4 Aired Feb 20, 2022 Part 4 Cosby falls from grace; Hannibal Burress tells a joke, survivors speak out and society begins to listen; Cosby receives trials, incarceration and an overturned verdict, and debate begins about the larger problems his story reveals. Details
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Season Info

Director
W. Kamau Bell
Executive Producer
W. Kamau Bell, Andrew Fried, Katie A. King, Dane Lillegard, Jordan Wynn, Sarina Roma
Network
Showtime
Rating
TV-MA
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date
Jan 30, 2022