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Shows Like Cosby

If you loved Cosby's Comedy and Family storytelling, these series deliver a similar experience — chosen for tone, narrative quality, and viewer satisfaction. Each includes where to stream it now.

Top Picks

The Cosby Show
7.0

The Cosby Show

1984

The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on the Huxtable family, an upper middle-class African-American family living in Brooklyn, New York.

The Jeffersons
7.3

The Jeffersons

1975

Sitcom following a successful African-American couple, George and Louise “Weezyö Jefferson as they “move on up” from working-class Queens to a ritzy Manhattan apartment. A spin-off of All in the Family.

Father Knows Best
6.7

Father Knows Best

1954

Family man Jim Anderson copes with the everyday problems among his wife Margaret and their three children as they experience day-to-day changes.

Family Matters
6.8

Family Matters

1989

A long-running dramedy centering on the Winslow family, a middle-class African American family living in Chicago, and their pesky next-door neighbor, ultra-nerd Steve Urkel. A spin-off of Perfect Strangers.

Major Dad
6.4

Major Dad

1989

Major Dad is an American sitcom created by Richard C. Okie and John G. Stephens, developed by Earl Pomerantz, that originally ran from 1989 to 1993 on CBS, starring Gerald McRaney as Major John D. MacGillis and Shanna Reed as his wife Polly. The cast also includes Beverly Archer, Matt Mulhern, Jon Cypher, Marisa Ryan, Nicole Dubuc and Chelsea Hertford.

American Housewife
7.7

American Housewife

2016

A family comedy narrated by Katie, a strong-willed mother, raising her flawed family in a wealthy town filled with perfect wives and their perfect offspring.

The Hogan Family
6.8

The Hogan Family

1986

The Hogan Family is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from March 1, 1986 to May 7, 1990, and on CBS from September 15, 1990 until July 20, 1991. It was produced by Miller-Boyett Productions, along with Tal Productions, Inc., and in association with Lorimar Productions, Lorimar-Telepictures and Lorimar Television. The show was originally titled Valerie and starred Valerie Harper as a mother trying to juggle her career with raising her three sons by her often-absent airline-pilot husband. Harper was written out of the series after the second season because of a dispute with the show's producers. Sandy Duncan joined the cast as the boys' aunt, who moved in and became their surrogate mom. During the show's third season, the series was known as Valerie's Family: The Hogans, then simply as The Hogan Family.

A Different World
7.0

A Different World

1987

A Different World is a spin-off series from The Cosby Show and originally centered on Denise Huxtable and the life of students at Hillman College, a fictional mixed but historically black college in the state of Virginia. After Bonet's departure in the first season, the remainder of the series primarily focused more on Southern belle Whitley Gilbert and mathematics whiz Dwayne Wayne. The series frequently depicted members of the major historically black fraternities and sororities.

More Shows Like Cosby

Life with Derek
6.9

Life with Derek

2005

Life with Derek is a Canadian television sitcom that aired on Family and VRAK.TV in Canada and on Disney Channel in the United States. The series premiered on Family on September 18, 2005, and ran for four seasons, ending its run on March 25, 2009. The series starred Michael Seater and Ashley Leggat as the two oldest children in a stepfamily. It ended with 70 episodes and one spin-off television film, entitled Vacation with Derek.

The Honeymooners
7.4

The Honeymooners

1955

A bus driver and his sewer worker friend struggle to strike it rich while their wives look on with weary patience. One of the most influential situation comedy television series in American history.

Step by Step
7.7

Step by Step

1991

Step by Step is an American television sitcom with two single parents, who spontaneously get married after meeting one another during a vacation, resulting in them becoming the heads of a large blended family

Green Acres
7.3

Green Acres

1965

Green Acres is an American sitcom starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a rural country farm. Produced by Filmways as a sister show to Petticoat Junction, the series was first broadcast on CBS, from September 15, 1965 to April 27, 1971. Receiving solid ratings during its six-year run, Green Acres was cancelled in 1971 as part of the "rural purge" by CBS. The sitcom has been in syndication and is available in DVD and VHS releases. In 1997, the two-part episode "A Star Named Arnold is Born" was ranked #59 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.

Gimme a Break!
6.6

Gimme a Break!

1981

Gimme a Break! is an American sitcom which aired on NBC for six seasons, October 29, 1981, until May 12, 1987. The series stars Nell Carter as the housekeeper for a widowed police chief and his three daughters.

Yes, Dear
6.7

Yes, Dear

2000

A comedy about two young couples and their outrageously contrasting views on parenting. Greg and Kim Warner struggle on a daily basis to become perfect at the job. Kim is a neurotic, stay-at-home mother, and although her husband, Greg, is a success in his career, his more difficult job is keeping his wife calm as they raise their two young children. While Kim is determined to be the perfect mother and perfect wife and to raise the perfect children, her sister, Christine Hughes, a very down-to-earth mother of two, continually reminds her that life will never be perfect. Christine's husband, Jimmy, often feels compelled to share with his brother-in-law his philosophy about being a husband and a parent while still remaining a man.

The Dick Van Dyke Show
7.5

The Dick Van Dyke Show

1961

The Dick Van Dyke Show centers around the work and home life of television comedy writer Rob Petrie. The plots generally revolve around problems at work, where Rob got into various comedic jams with fellow writers Buddy Sorrell, Sally Rogers and producer Mel Cooley.

My Three Sons
6.5

My Three Sons

1960

A widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas raises three sons with the help of his father-in-law, and later the boys' great-uncle. An adopted son, a stepdaughter, wives, and another generation of sons join the loving family in later seasons.

Stuck in the Middle
7.7

Stuck in the Middle

2016

Harley is an engineering whiz who uses her inventions to navigate life as the middle child in a large family of seven kids.

Laverne & Shirley
7.1

Laverne & Shirley

1976

Best friends, roommates, and polar opposites, Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney work together at the Shotz Brewery in Milwaukee and keep each other's spirits up at home.

Sanford and Son
7.4

Sanford and Son

1972

The misadventures of a cantankerous junk dealer and his frustrated son.

iCarly
8.0

iCarly

2007

Watch Carly, Sam, and Freddie, as they try to balance their everyday 8th grade lives with their newfound fame managing and starring in the most awesome show on the web.

Why These Shows Are Similar

These recommendations share core qualities with Cosby (1996): Comedy and Family themes, similar pacing, and comparable production quality. NoBadPicks uses TMDB collaborative filtering, genre matching, and AI analysis to surface series most likely to resonate with fans of Cosby.

See full details for Cosby (1996)

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