BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. >> NBC says Bill Cosby could be returning to the network with a new comedy as soon as next summer.

The series, described as a "classic, extended-family sitcom" with Cosby as the patriarch, is currently in the writing stage, NBC executives said at Sunday’s session of the summer TV critics’ tour. It was first announced in January.

Cosby, 77, has a long history with NBC, including his seminal "The Cosby Show," which became a smash hit 30 years ago and helped rescue a network then at the bottom of the ratings. It ran for eight seasons.

After that, Cosby headlined a sitcom at CBS, among other series.

If the new project isn’t ready for next summer, it could be a contender for fall 2015, executives said.