Showtime will chronicle the rise and fall of "America's Dad" in the four-part docuseries We Need to Talk About Cosby. Once known for his wholesome comedy and family values as seen on The Cosby Show, Bill Cosby was infamously accused of sexual assault and misconduct by dozens of women with the alleged crimes dating back decades. In 2018, the Ghost Dad star was sentenced to serve three to ten years in prison after he was found guilty of aggravated indecent assault against Andrea Constand. His conviction was overturned in July and Cosby is now a free man, legally speaking.

Emmy-award winning director W. Kamau Bell (United Shades of America, Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell) is taking a deeper dive into the Bill Cosby story with We Need to Talk About Cosby. The project will first premiere at Sundance in January before becoming widely available on Showtime. As someone who grew up as a big fan of Cosby, Bell noted how difficult it was to tell this story.

"As a child of Bill Cosby, I was a huge fan of all his shows and wanted to be a comedian because of him," Bell said in a statement, per Slash Film. "I never thought I'd ever wrestle with who we all thought Cosby was and who we now understand him to be. I'm not sure he would want me to do this work, but Cliff Huxtable definitely would."

Per the official synopsis, the docuseries "wrestles with the conversations of the #MeToo movement, focusing on Bill Cosby’s descent from 'America’s Dad' to alleged sexual predator. The series explores the complex story of Cosby’s life and work, weighing his actions against his indisputable global influence through interviews with comedians, cultural commentators, journalists and women who share their most personal, harrowing encounters with Cosby.

Through archival footage, Cosby reveals who he may have been all along – the antithesis of the principled, public figure who became a hero, not only to African American people but to all people. Peeling back complex layers of the African American icon, We Need to Talk About Cosby offers viewers the chance to reconsider his mark in a society where rape culture, toxic masculinity, capitalism and white supremacy is shaping how we re-evaluate sex, power and agency."

This docuseries is separate from another documentary about Bill Cosby that was in development at Lionsgate. That project was different as it had been in the works for years with Cosby's cooperation. Upon Cosby's release from prison, Lionsgate officially shelved the doc, potentially putting it up for sale to be distributed elsewhere. The current status of this documentary is unclear.

Bill Cosby served nearly three years in prison, but he maintained his innocence all throughout. When he was denied parole, the parole board had even noted that this was in part due to his refusal to admit his guilt and participate in sexual offender rehabilitation programs. Cosby had referred to himself as a political prisoner while behind bars. There have been rumors of the comedian looking to go back on tour with his comedy act, but that remains to be seen.

We Need to Talk About Cosby will debut on Showtime on Jan. 30, 2022.