On this day in comedy on April 1, 1994, Sister, Sister premiered on ABC
Starring the Mowry Twins (Tia & Tamera), this sitcom also lived two lives. Starting out as a mid-season replacement on ABC it was cancelled by the network when the show didn’t perform up to its ratings standards in the second season. The fact the network changed its time slot might’ve had something to do with it, but it didn’t matter. The newly founded WB stepped in and slotted it on their schedule. There it caught its stride.
The show was about identical twins separated at birth and adopted into two very different situations. After 14 years they discover each other and reunite. They’re now one big happy family with one twin’s father (Tim Reid) and the other’s mother (Jackee Harry) under the same roof. Naturally, there’s an annoying neighbor who stops by unannounced; this time it’s in the form of Marques Houston. The boyfriends who come along later are played by RonReaco Lee and Deon Richmond. Other characters included Tahj Mowry as cousin, Tahj, Brittany Murphy as their best friend, Dorien Wilson as a boyfriend to Jackee Harry and Sherman Hemsley as Tim Reid’s daddy.
Sister, Sister was created by Kim Bass, Fred Shafferman and Gary Gilbert. A device used early on had the girls breaking the fourth wall often and talking to the audience. That was tapered down once the show moved to the WB and was eliminated altogether by the series final season. Sister, Sister won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lighting Direction (Electronic) for a Comedy Series for George Spiro Dibie; four acting Image Awards for The Mowrys and Jackee Harry; three Kids’ Choice Awards for acting for the Mowrys and a Young Artist Award for Marques Houston. It aired its final episode May 23, 1999.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
Check out this clip:
