September 6, 1995 (1995-09-06) – May 23, 1999 (1999-05-23)
Sister, Sister is an American televisionsitcom starringTia andTamera Mowry as identical twin sisters separated at birth who are reunited as adolescents. It aired onABC from April 1, 1994, to April 28, 1995, as part of itsTGIF comedy lineup, and later onThe WB from September 6, 1995, to May 23, 1999, airing 119 episodes over six seasons.[1] The cast consisted of the Mowry sisters withJackée Harry andTim Reid costarring as their respective adoptive parents, alongsideMarques Houston as their annoying neighbor Roger.RonReaco Lee andDeon Richmond later joined the cast in the fifth season as the sisters' love interests.
The series was created byKim Bass, Gary Gilbert, and Fred Shafferman, and a production ofde Passe Entertainment in association withParamount Television. The series was then picked up by The WB in 1995 after ABC canceled it that same year, as a replacement forMuscle on its Wednesday night lineup, where it aired for an additional four seasons until May 1999. In 2018, a potential revival ofSister, Sister was confirmed, but was not pursued due to a lack of interest and copyright issues.[2][3]
In thepilot 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 inDetroit.[4][5] 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 smallinner city apartment and live with him and Tamera in their large home in thesuburbs.[6]
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, andRonReaco Lee andDeon Richmond appeared as Tyreke Scott and Jordan Bennett, the girls' college boyfriends from 1997 to 1999.[7]
The main original cast ofSister, Sister (from left to right), Tia Mowry, Jackée Harry, Tim Reid, and Tamera Mowry as Tia and Lisa Landry and Ray and Tamera Campbell
For the first five seasons, the series often had Tia and Tamera, either together or separately, break thefourth wall by talking directly to the viewer.[6]
The series' original theme song was written and composed by Tim Heintz, Randy Petersen and Kevin Quinn and performed by Carmen Carter.[8] Seasons five and season six feature a remix of the original featuring vocals by Tia and Tamera themselves.
In Australia and New Zealand, the series was aired onNetwork Ten andNickelodeon; in the United Kingdom,Sister, Sister was aired onNickelodeon, and onChannel 4 between 1996 and 2002[19] as the channel had the terrestrial rights to the show.
On October 5, 2020, the series began streaming onNetflix in a number of other countries.[20]
CBS DVD (distributed byParamount) released the first and second seasons ofSister, Sister on DVD in Region 1 in 2008 and 2009.[21][22] As of September 2014, these releases have been discontinued and are out of print.
On May 4, 2015, it was announced thatVisual Entertainment Inc. (VEI) had acquired the distribution rights to the series for Region 1 (encompassing the United States and Canada).[23][24] 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,[25] the release date was then pushed back to March 18, 2016.[26] The Mowry twins 2000 television filmSeventeen Again is also included as a bonus disc on theComplete Collection set. On May 26, 2017, VEI released separateSeasons 1–3 andSeasons 4–6 sets of the series. Due to music copyright issues, these releases are heavily edited.[27]
In June 2012 interview withTV 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.[30]
In 2017, rumors started developing about a potential continuation ofSister, Sister, both Tia and Tamera have confirmed that talks are ongoing and that a sequel series is very close to happening.[31][32]
In October 2017, Tia Mowry stated in an interview withEntertainment 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.[33]
On January 16, 2018, while appearing onSteve, Harry confirmed the revival, stating that "it's happening".[2]
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.[3][34]
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