Bill Cosby insisted from the inception that his show be taped in New York City so that "I could be closer to home when it got cancelled."
Markus joined the series after a seventeen-minute presentation had been produced for NBC.
Earl Pomerantz, the show's original head writer, gave Markus a junior staffwriting job based on his "Taxi" episode, then together they worked to fill out the pilot episode and began writing the series.
After six episodes and a promotion to Supervising Producer, Markus became show runner, remaining with the series for six years.
He wrote or co-wrote sixty-seven episodes earning an Emmy, a Peabody, and two Humanitas Prizes. When it was all over, he was tired for two years.