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49 free The Cosby Show trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
44 free The Cosby Show trivia questions with answers. The Cosby Show topped the Nielsen ratings for five straight seasons and revived the sitcom in the 1980s. This quiz covers the Huxtables from top to bottom: obstetrician Cliff and lawyer Clair, the five children, Theo's dyslexia storyline, Cockroach, Elvin and the sweaters, plus the behind-the-scenes stories - Vanessa Williams and Whitney Houston nearly being cast, the New York shoot, the 'Kiss Me' theme and Bobby McFerrin, and the spin-off A Different World set at Hillman College. Easy questions ask where the family lives and what Cliff does for a living. The hard ones want the fictional street address, the original blue-collar jobs Cosby pitched and which future Oscar winner appeared in A Different World's first season. It suits a nostalgia quiz or a 1980s-TV round. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's articles on the series, its characters and its spin-off, and each question carries the sentence that backs it up.
30 of 49 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01The Cosby Show followed which family?
The Huxtables
They lived in a Brooklyn Heights brownstone.
Q 02On which network did The Cosby Show air?
NBC
ABC's president had passed on it first.
Q 03What is Cliff Huxtable's profession?
Obstetrician
He is the son of a prominent jazz trombonist.
Q 04What is Clair Huxtable's profession?
Lawyer
Cosby originally pitched her as an electrician before changing the family to well-off.
Q 05Who played Clair Huxtable?
Phylicia Rashad
Her portrayal sparked a wave of TV working mothers dubbed the 'Clair Huxtable effect'.
Q 06In which New York City borough is the Huxtable home set?
Brooklyn
The exterior, though, was a Greenwich Village brownstone in Manhattan.
Q 07How many children do Cliff and Clair have (after the pilot)?
Five
The pilot had four; eldest daughter Sondra was added later.
Q 08What are the Huxtable children's names?
Sondra, Denise, Theo, Vanessa and Rudy
Only Theo is a boy.
Q 09Which real-life issue did Theo's storyline explore, inspired by Cosby's son?
Dyslexia
Cosby's son Ennis was dyslexic.
Q 10Who played Theo Huxtable?
Malcolm-Jamal Warner
He later called the show's legacy 'tarnished'.
Q 11Who played Rudy, the youngest Huxtable?
Keshia Knight Pulliam
She was one of the youngest Emmy nominees in history.
Q 12Who played Vanessa Huxtable?
Tempestt Bledsoe
Raven-Symone joined later as the toddler Olivia.
Q 13Which future star played toddler Olivia Kendall from season six?
Raven-Symone
Olivia was the stepdaughter of Denise's husband Martin.
Q 14Who is Sondra's husband, father of twins Nelson and Winnie?
Q 21Which recently-crowned pageant winner did Cosby want to play Sondra?
Vanessa Williams
Pageant rules blocked her from taking the role.
Q 22Which singer was considered for a Huxtable daughter but chose a music career instead?
Whitney Houston
She wanted to be a full-time recording artist.
Q 23The Cosby Show's theme, 'Kiss Me', was co-written by Cosby and whom?
Stu Gardner
A jazz vocalist performed a later a cappella version.
Q 24Which 'Don't Worry, Be Happy' singer performed the season-four theme?
Elvin Tibideaux
Geoffrey Owens played him; Sondra and Elvin have twins Nelson and Winnie.
Q 15What is Theo's best friend nicknamed?
Cockroach
Chris Rock was considered for the role, which went to Carl Payne.
Q 16For how many consecutive seasons was The Cosby Show television's top-rated show?
Five
Only it and All in the Family have finished number one for five straight seasons.
Q 17The Cosby Show is the only scripted show with a predominantly Black cast to do what?
Top the Nielsen ratings
And it did so more than once.
Q 18Which production company, run by two ex-ABC executives, made the show?
Carsey-Werner
Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner had overseen Mork & Mindy and Three's Company at ABC.
Q 19What were Cosby's original blue-collar jobs for the parents before Camille Cosby changed them?
Limousine driver and electrician
His wife suggested making the family well-off instead.
Q 20Cosby insisted the show be taped in which place, unusually for the time?
New York
Most TV was taped in Los Angeles; Cosby wanted New York.
Bobby McFerrin
Seven versions of the theme were used across the run.
Q 25The spin-off A Different World was built around which Huxtable daughter?
Denise
She attends the fictional Hillman College.
Q 26What is the name of the fictional HBCU in A Different World?
Hillman College
Cliff, Clair and Cliff's father all graduated from it.
Q 27After Lisa Bonet left, A Different World centred on which two characters?
Whitley Gilbert and Dwayne Wayne
Jasmine Guy and Kadeem Hardison played them.
Q 28Who was hired to revamp A Different World, a sister of the actress who played Clair?
Debbie Allen
She is a Howard University alumna.
Q 29Which future Oscar winner had an early role in the spin-off's first season?
Marisa Tomei
She was released from the show after the first season.
Q 30Why was the lead written out of A Different World after season one?
The actress's real-life pregnancy
Producers felt viewers wouldn't accept the character as an unwed mother.