Sister, Sister is an American television sitcom starring Tia and Tamera Mowry as identical twin sisters separated at birth who are reunited as adolescents. It aired on ABC from April 1, 1994, to April 28, 1995, as part of its TGIF comedy lineup, and later on The WB from September 6, 1995, to May 23, 1999, airing 119 episodes over six seasons. The cast consisted of the Mowry sisters with Jackée Harry and Tim Reid costarring as their respective adoptive parents, alongside Marques Houston as their annoying neighbor Roger. RonReaco Lee and Deon Richmond later joined the cast in the fifth season as the sisters' love interests.
The series was created by Kim Bass, Gary Gilbert, and Fred Shafferman, and a production of de Passe Entertainment in association with Paramount Television. The series was then picked up by The WB in 1995 after ABC canceled it that same year, as a replacement for Muscle on its Wednesday night lineup, where it aired for an additional four seasons until May 1999. In 2018, a potential revival of Sister, Sister was confirmed, but was not pursued due to a lack of interest and copyright issues.
Contents
Overview
In the pilot episode, Tia Landry (Tia Mowry) and Tamera Campbell (Tamera Mowry) break the fourth wall and explain that the two girls are twin sisters who were separated at birth after being adopted by different families and that they found each other by chance while they were shopping at the same clothing store at a mall in Detroit. To give the girls the opportunity to grow up together, Tamera's father Ray Campbell (Tim Reid), an affluent local businessman, invites Tia and her mother Lisa Landry (Jackée Harry), a struggling but hardworking seamstress, to leave their small inner city apartment and live with him and Tamera in their large home in the suburbs.
The girls make an effort to spend as much time as they can with one another, even choosing to share a bedroom and TV set, and quickly develop a deep bond. However, as time progresses, their differences begin to show. Tia is sensible, academic, and introverted while Tamera is frivolous, materialistic, and outgoing; Tia often urges Tamera to behave and take life more seriously while Tamera often urges Tia to break the rules and have more fun. Their personalities clash at times but they are always able to work through their disagreements, either on their own or with the help of their parents or friends. As the girls mature, they realize that being twins doesn't mean they have to be the same person or have the same life so they begin to embrace their individuality.
In addition to Reid and Harry in supporting roles as girls' adoptive parents, Marques Houston appeared on the show from 1994 to 1998 as Roger Evans, the Campbell-Landry family's well-meaning but annoying neighbor who is in love with both Tia and Tamera, and RonReaco Lee and Deon Richmond appeared as Tyreke Scott and Jordan Bennett, the girls' college boyfriends from 1997 to 1999.
Characters
Main
Tia Mowry as Tia Landry
Tamera Mowry as Tamera Campbell
Jackée Harry as Lisa Landry
Tim Reid as Ray Campbell
Marques Houston as Roger Evans (seasons 1–5; guest season 6)
RonReaco Lee as Tyreke Scott (season 6; recurring season 5)
Deon Richmond as Jordan Bennett (season 6; recurring season 5)
Supporting
Brittany Murphy as Sarah (first season only, left before she starred in Clueless)
Dorien Wilson as Terrence
Victor Togunde as Steve
Bianca Lawson as Rhonda
Anna Slotky as Denise Mondello
Steve Monroe as Steve
Arvie Lowe Jr. as Ernie
Sherman Hemsley as Jimmy "Soupy" Campbell
Fred Willard as Mr. Mitushka
David Strickland as Dave
Vernee Watson-Johnson as Patrice
Jamil Walker Smith as Mike
Aaron Lohr as Marlon
Christopher "Kid" Reid as Clark
Alexis Fields as Diavian Johnson
Senta Moses as Dot
Richard Lawson as Victor Sims
Rolonda Watts as Vivica Shaw
Chad Haywood as Steven
Gabrielle Union as Shawn
Rachael Harris as Simone Flosser
Greg Pitts as Chud McGraf
Tony Carreiro as Matt Sullivan
Production
For the first five seasons, the series often had Tia and Tamera, either together or separately, break the fourth wall by talking directly to the viewer.
Theme song
The series' original theme song was written and composed by Tim Heintz, Randy Petersen and Kevin Quinn and performed by Carmen Carter. Seasons five and season six feature a remix of the original featuring vocals by Tia and Tamera themselves.
Syndication
American broadcast and cable syndication
The series formerly aired reruns on BET, Disney Channel, ABC Family, WGN America, Up (formerly GMC TV), Centric, Hub Network, Logo TV, VH1 (In early 2021), MTV2, and Fuse. The series currently airs on Dabl.
As of 2021, the series is available to stream on Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV and Paramount+ in the United States.
International syndication
In Australia and New Zealand, the series was aired on Network Ten and Nickelodeon; in the United Kingdom, Sister, Sister was aired on Nickelodeon, and on Channel 4 between 1996 and 2002 as the channel had the terrestrial rights to the show.
On October 5, 2020, the series began streaming on Netflix in a number of other countries.
Home media
CBS DVD (distributed by Paramount) released the first and second seasons of Sister, Sister on DVD in Region 1 in 2008 and 2009. As of September 2014, these releases have been discontinued and are out of print.
On May 4, 2015, it was announced that Visual Entertainment Inc. (VEI) had acquired the distribution rights to the series for Region 1 (encompassing the United States and Canada). It was subsequently announced on December 28, 2015, that VEI (through its deal with CBS Television Distribution) would release a complete DVD set of the series, Sister, Sister: The Complete Collection (which includes all six seasons), in Region 1 on January 19, 2016, the release date was then pushed back to March 18, 2016. The Mowry twins 2000 television film Seventeen Again is also included as a bonus disc on the Complete Collection set. On May 26, 2017, VEI released separate Seasons 1–3 and Seasons 4–6 sets of the series. Due to music copyright issues, these releases are heavily edited.
Reception
Awards and nominations
Emmy Awards
1998 – Outstanding Lighting Direction (Electronic) for a Comedy Series – George Spiro Dibie (for "Mo' Credit, Mo' Problems") (Nominated)
1997 – Outstanding Lighting Direction (Electronic) for a Comedy Series – George Spiro Dibie (for "The Ski Squad") (Nominated)
1996 – Outstanding Individual Achievement in Lighting Direction (Electronic) for a Comedy Series – George Spiro Dibie ("for "Thanksgiving In Hawaii: Part 2") (Nominated)
1995 – Outstanding Individual Achievement in Lighting Direction (Electronic) for a Comedy Series – George Spiro Dibie (for "It's A Love Thang") (Won)
Image Awards
2000 – Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series – Tia & Tamera Mowry (Won)
2000 – Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series – Jackée Harry (Won)
2000 – Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series – Tim Reid (Nominated)
1999 – Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series – Tia & Tamera Mowry (Won)
1999 – Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series – Jackée Harry (Won)
1999 – Outstanding Comedy Series (Nominated)
1998 – Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series – Tim Reid (Nominated)
1996 – Outstanding Comedy Series (Nominated)
Potential revival
In June 2012 interview with TV Guide, both Tia Mowry and Tamera Mowry have said they would like to reunite the cast for a reunion film. They were thinking of doing a "Twins in the city" plot, like the twins in New York City.
In 2017, rumors started developing about a potential continuation of Sister, Sister, both Tia and Tamera have confirmed that talks are ongoing and that a sequel series is very close to happening.
In October 2017, Tia Mowry stated in an interview with Entertainment Tonight that a revival of the series was "definitely closer than ever" and that she is "getting excited" about the possibility. She also said that she believed Jackée Harry and Tim Reid would be a part of the revival if it were to take place.
On January 16, 2018, while appearing on Steve, Harry confirmed the revival, stating that "it's happening".
In 2019, the reboot was put on hold indefinitely. Tia commented, "To be honest with you, I hate to pop the balloon. [A revival of] Sister, Sister kind of looks dead right now," and cited rights issues as part of the reason for the reboot not moving forward.