NBC: We will never work with Bill Cosby again
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At the Television Critics Association conference in July 2014, NBC unveiled plans for a new sitcom starring Bill Cosby as the patriarch of a family, " dispensing his classic wisdom on relationships and parenthood."
What a difference six months makes. Following widespread allegations of sexual assault against Cosby, NBC scrapped plans for the sitcom in November — and at the current Television Critics Association conference, held biannually in California, NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt said "it's safe to say" the network will never work with Bill Cosby again.
"We heard some of those accusations and we heard there were some settlements. It didn't seem to be the kind of thing that was critical mass," said Greenblatt. "When we realized that there seemed to be so much more of it... He hasn't been proven guilty of anything. I don't want to be the one who says guilty until proven innocent, [but] ... when that many people come out and have complaints, and it became such a tainted situation, there was no way we could move forward."
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Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.
