MUMBAI: Once a household name in the 1980s, Bill Cosby is believed to be returning with a half-hour family comedy. According to recent reports NBC has signed on the 1984, The Cosby Show star in an effort to revive the sitcom genre and pump in some much needed ratings for the network.

Cosby will be looking to bring some of the old magic back to NBC, which has been going through a rough time with comedies. The deal brings the 76-year-old entertainer together with a writing staff to create a script for a comedy that casts Cosby as the patriarch of a multigenerational family and, like the comedian’s previous family sitcoms - Cosby Show and Cosby on CBS - will see him giving his take on marriage and parenting.

Cosby’s latest TV venture is Bill Cosby: Far From Finished, a stand-up comedy special that premiered on Comedy Central in November.