My Sister Sam

My Sister Sam
Title screen
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Stephen Fischer
Written by	Lisa Albert Dennis Danzinger Diane English Stephen Fischer Karyl Miller Danny Jacobson Gary Murphy Tom Palmer Ellen Sandler Ramona Schindelheim Korby Siamis Larry Strawther
Directed by	Peter Bonerz Zane Buzby Matthew Diamond James Gardner Ellen Gittelsohn Barnet Kellman Steve Zuckerman
Starring	Pam Dawber Rebecca Schaeffer
Theme music composer	John Bettis Steve Dorff
Opening theme	"Room Enough for Two" performed by Kim Carnes
Composer(s)	Steve Dorff
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	44 (12 unaired)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Diane English
Producer(s)	Danny Jacobson Karyl Miller Korby Siamis
Editor(s)	Dann Cahn Tucker Wiard
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	22–24 min
Production company(s)	Pony Productions Warner Bros. Television
Broadcast
Original channel	CBS
Original run	October 6, 1986 (1986-10-06) – April 12, 1988 (1988-04-12)

My Sister Sam is an American situation comedy series that aired on CBS from 1986 to 1988. It was created by Stephen Fischer and executive produced by Diane English.

Synopsis

The sitcom tells the story of a San Francisco photographer named Sam Russell (Pam Dawber), whose life is disrupted when her teenage sister Patti (Rebecca Schaeffer) comes to live with her.

Production

The series premiered in 1986. After it achieved success on Monday nights, CBS changed its schedule and moved My Sister Sam to Saturday night opposite NBC's successful comedy lineup. The show's audience dwindled to one of the lowest on network TV, and CBS cancelled My Sister Sam in mid-1988 after only half of the second season had aired.

Rebecca Schaeffer's death

Series cast member Rebecca Schaeffer was murdered July 18, 1989, more than a year after the show had been canceled and had left the air.

Dawber, Brooks, Naughton and O'Hara reunited to film a public service announcement about violence prevention.

Cast

• Pam Dawber as Samantha "Sam" Russell
• Rebecca Schaeffer as Patricia "Patti" Russell
• Joel Brooks as Jordan Dylan "J.D." Lucas
• Jenny O'Hara as Dixie Randazzo
• David Naughton as Jack Kincaid

Guest stars

Notable guest stars in the series included Scott Bakula (episode 1.7), JoAnn Willette (episode 1.18), Rob Estes (episode 2.18), Ed Marinaro (episode 2.19), and Cristine Rose (episode 2.20).

Theme song

The theme song "Room Enough for Two" was written by Steve Dorff and John Bettis and performed by Kim Carnes. Dorff won a BMI TV Music Award in 1987 for his work on the series.

Syndication

USA Network picked up syndication rights to the series, eventually running all 44 episodes, including those never shown on CBS.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Result	Category	Recipient
1987	BMI Film & TV Awards	Won	BMI TV Music Award	Steve Dorff
1987	Primetime Emmy Award	Nominated	Outstanding Costume Design for a Series	Bill Hargate (costume designer) (For episode "Jingle Bell Rock Bottom")

External links

• My Sister Sam at the Internet Movie Database
• My Sister Sam at TV.com
• My Sister Sam at epguides.com