The Carsey-Werner Company/Summary

Background: The Carsey-Werner Company (also known as "Carsey-Werner Television") is an independent production company that was established in 1981 by Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner to produce what became to be popular television shows such as The Cosby Show, Roseanne, 3rd Rock From the Sun, That 70's Show, A Different World (a spin-off of The Cosby Show), Cybill, Grace Under Fire, That '80s Show (a spin-off of That '70s Show), and other shows. In the company's earlier years, distribution was handled by bigger companies (such as Viacom Enterprises, who only distributed 1980s and early-to-mid 1990s reruns of Roseanne and The Cosby Show, and later by Paramount Domestic Television, now "CBS Television Distribution"), but because of the most successful programs produced by the company (such as Roseanne and The Cosby Show), Carsey-Werner in 1997, "grew" into a larger company into where they were able to distribute their own programs. Caryn Mandabach later joined to the company in 1984 (then-known as Caryn Snyder until 1986 and credited as "Caryn Snyder-Mandabach" from 1985-1986) as the supervising executive and was made a partner in 2001, until she left the company in 2004 to begin her own company.

1st Logo (1982)

Logo: Just an in-credit notice that reads "A Carsey/Werner Company Production" with the copyright text below: "©1982 The Carsey/Werner Co. All Rights Reserved".

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The closing theme to the program.

Availability: Extinct. Appears at the end of Callahan, a 1982 ABC pilot starring Hart Bochner and Jamie Lee Curtis.

2nd Logo (September 23, 1983-March 13, 1984)

Logo: On a gray background is the text:

The Carsey-Werner Company

in a pink Cooper Black font. There is black etchings on the letters. Below is the copyright text "©(YEAR) THE CARSEY-WERNER COMPANY All Rights Reserved" in white.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: A majestic and flourishing four-note theme or the closing theme to the program.

Availability: Extinct. Was seen on the 1983-84 ABC sitcom Oh Madeline.

3rd Logo (September 20, 1984-1987)

Logo: On a blue background, we see the text:

A CARSEY-WERNER PRODUCTION

in a typewriter-like font, also used in The Cosby Show closing credits. The copyright stamp is seen above. After this text is shown, we see this text:

In Association With BILL COSBY

Variants:
 * On The Cosby Show pilot episode, the text is scrolling up in the end credits, then the credit to Bill Cosby would appear on a blue background.
 * On early season 4 episodes of The Cosby Show and the remainder of the 1st season of A Different World, the text "SUPERVISING EXECUTIVE, CARYN MANDABACH" appears above the text.
 * On the 2nd episode of A Different World (which was actually the pilot episode itself), the font was even smaller.

FX/SFX: None except for the scrolling up on The Cosby Show pilot variant.

Music/Sounds: Plays over the end theme.

Availability: Uncommon. Can be seen on season 1-early season 4 episodes of The Cosby Show on DVD. It remained intact on TV Land's reruns of the show until late 2014, when the sex scandal involving Bill Cosby forced them to pull it. This version was also used on the 1st season of A Different World on TV One, except it uses the font from its closing credits.

4th Logo (1987-1997)

Logo: On a blue background, we see the text:

A CARSEY-WERNER PRODUCTION

in a Serif font. Sometimes, "CARYN MANDABACH Supervising Producer" or "CARYN MANDABACH Supervising Executive" is seen under the company's name. Under it is the copyright stamp.

Variants:
 * At the end of 1987-92 episodes of The Cosby Show, 1987-93 episodes of A Different World, and the short-lived 1992-93 revival of the game show You Bet Your Life, the in-credit for Bill Cosby's production company (known as just "Bill Cosby" in the logo) follows after the Carsey-Werner logo, reading "In Association With BILL COSBY" in the same font as the Carsey-Werner title.
 * From 1989-91 on The Cosby Show, the copyright stamp mistakenly said "© [YEAR] The Carsey-Werner Show. All Rights Reserved." instead of "The Carsey-Werner Company".
 * For Roseanne in 1994, an "IN ASSOCIATION WITH" title would appear (with the IAW being in the same font as the font used in Carsey-Werner), with the same blue background, but in a yellow font. Then, the logo would appear as usual with a slight difference: the name was slightly changed. The words "A" and "Production" are replaced by the words "THE" and "COMPANY", and it was referred to as "THE CARSEY-WERNER COMPANY". This was due to the fact that Roseanne Barr's then-new production company "Full Moon and High Tide Productions" was seen before the C-W logo. This was only seen on seasons 7-9 of Roseanne. The copyright stamp wasn't shown on the final season of the mentioned show. It is unknown if other Carsey-Werner shows (such as Grace Under Fire) use this variant.
 * On very early episodes of Roseanne, the logo appears in the same font as on the 1st Wind Dancer Productions logo.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: Plays over the end theme.

Availability: Common. Seen intact on later episodes of The Cosby Show on DVD, and as with the previous logo, it was also retained in reruns. Can also be seen on A Different World on TV One, Roseanne on TV Land and local syndication, the first two seasons of Grace Under Fire, and the 1992 revival of You Bet Your Life. On Hulu's prints of Davis Rules, this logo is not shown due to the program fading out beforehand except on the episodes "Twisted Sister" and "Sign of the Times."

5th Logo

(1995-2000)

Nicknames: "The Carsey-Werner TV Set", "Carsey-Werner on TV", "Carsey-Werner Television"

Logo: On a white background, we see a teal green TV set and on the screen is:

CARSEY WERNER

The screen has one half teal green where "CARSEY" reads, while the other half is blue where "WERNER" reads.

Variants:
 * On S1 and early S2 episodes of Cybill, there is a copyright stamp for YBYL Productions reading "© [YEAR] YBYL Productions, Inc. – All Rights Reserved" underneath this logo.
 * Original ABC broadcasts of the Roseanne episodes "Happy Trailers" through "Sherwood Schwartz: A Loving Tribute" had this logo, with an IAW screen, but with a tan-colored background, and then switched to the logo, with Caryn Mandabach's name, and "Supervising Executive" at the bottom of the logo. This did not last too long before switching back to the previous logo above (with the 1994 variant) within the April-May 1995 episodes. This can be seen on syndicated episodes as well.
 * In syndication, the text "DISTRIBUTION LLC" is seen below the TV set. Under that is the copyright stamp.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The end theme, a generic theme on NBC, CBS and ABC or none. On some shows, the Paramount TV theme is heard, probably due to sloppy editing.

Availability: Fairly common. Still intact on syndicated prints of Roseanne, as well as Cosby whenever reran. Also seen on Grace Under Fire and Cybill.

6th Logo (January 9, 1996-May 22, 2001)

Nickname: "The 3rd Rock Logo"

Logo: We see a planet base (all in a blue tint) in space with a planet seen in the background, as a rock flies throughout. The text "THE CARSEY-WERNER CO." is seen at the bottom.

Variant: On syndication airings, the text "CARSEY-WERNER DISTRIBUTION, LLC" is seen instead the "standard" text with the URL "www.3rdrock.com" below the text.

FX/SFX: The rock flying throughout.

Music/Sounds: A whoosh is heard when the rock flies by. Sometimes, the sounds of an episode from 3rd Rock from the Sun (whenever it uses blooper reel footage) is heard. Original NBC airings used a generic theme and voiceover.

Availability: Rare. Remains intact on 3rd Rock from the Sun whenever reran, as well as on DVD.

7th Logo (August 23, 1998-May 18, 2006)

Nicknames: "That '70s Show Logo", "The Carsey-Werner License Plate", "America's Dairyland"

Logo: We see a dark yellow license plate on a car. On the top of the license plate reads "AMERICA'S DAIRYLAND", which is Wisconsin's motto, thus the state for dairy, and under it is "CARSEY-WERNER". Under the name is "WISCONSIN". To the left of "WISCONSIN" is the abbreviation of the month that the license plate expires ("DEC" for December). To the right is a license plate sticker with a small outline of the state of Wisconsin, and an expiration date for a year in the 1970s (for example, "79" for 1979 in the photo above). This date varies depending when the episode takes place.

FX/SFX: Just the car moving up and down.

Music/Sounds: The show's end theme.

Availability: Uncommon. Seen on That '70s Show whenever reran, as well as on DVD.

8th Logo (1998- )

Nickname: "The Diamond"

Logo: On a white background, we see two lines, with "CARSEY-WERNER" (used in a capitalized Trajan Pro font until the early 2000s, currently used in a lowercase Trebuchet MS font) is shown with a pyramidal diamond which takes place of the hyphen, shown between the two lines. Under it is "COMPANY, LLC".

Variants:
 * Sometimes, it had "MANDABACH" under "CARSEY-WERNER".
 * In syndication, it would be read as "DISTRIBUTION, LLC".
 * On Cosby, the same would happen as the standard syndicated version, but with "IN ASSOCIATION WITH" above it, and the Carsey-Werner website under it.
 * On Days Like These, the UK remake of That '70s Show, it has the "CARSEY-WERNER" with diamond and lines moved upwards and appears smaller. Below that is a coat of arms shield with a smiling yellow drama mask (representing comedy) on the upper left on a silver background, on the upper right is a yellow lion (facing left) on a blue background, and the the bottom of the shield is the lion from before, this time facing right and the right has a crying drama mask (representing tragedy), but the same concept as the other drama mask. Below the shield is "BY APPOINTMENT" and below that is "Purveyors of Fine Comedy" which is sandwiched between two lines. Below that is a small Roman numeral year. And finally at the bottom is a copyright notice "© That 70s Company Limited 1999". All the text is in blue. This version is called "The Shield".
 * On the unsold pilot of the U.S. version of Peep Show, only "CARSEY-WERNER" and the diamond in the middle of it is seen with no words above or below it.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None, NBC's generic theme or the closing theme of the show.

Availability: Common. It's seen on newer prints of The Cosby Show, A Different World, and Cosby, among others, and if you have luck, on the short-lived cartoon God, the Devil & Bob. Appears on the first season of Grounded for Life, while later seasons have the "Mandabach" variant. The shield logo is extinct outside of old recordings. Don't expect to see it on Normal, Ohio, because a custom version was made for the show.

9th Logo

(January 23-May 29, 2002)

Nicknames: "That '80s Show Logo", "The Carsey-Werner Pinball"

Logo: We see in what appears to be a record store, a vinyl record in its sleeve on a middle shelf. The cover has a gray pinball sitting on a black and white tile floor with two windows on either side each with a cloud background. At the top of the cover are the words, "CARSEY*WERNER" and a small diamond in between the two words, and "MANDABACH" below.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The ending theme of the show. When originally shown on Fox, the Fox fanfare was heard over it.

Availability: Extinct. It was seen on the short-lived That '80s Show.

10th Logo (2004-?)

Nicknames: "The Diamond II", "3D Diamond"

Logo: On a blue background, the 3D words "Carsey-Werner" sandwiched in-between two lines (and in the same lowercase Trebuchet MS font as the 6th logo), with a pyramidal diamond taking place of the hyphen flips in on-screen. After it finishes, the background becomes white and the logo shines. Everything is in CGI.

FX/SFX: The words flipping. Not bad for 2004!

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Common. It's seen on DVDs of That '70s Show and Roseanne.