The sitcom follows the lives of a 29-year-old San Francisco freelance photographer named Samantha "Sam" Russell and her 16-year-old sister Patti. Sam's life is turned upside down when Patti, who has been living with the sisters' Aunt Elsie and Uncle Bob in rural Oregonafter the death of the girls' parents, shows up on Sam's door step and announces that she is going to live with Sam. The supporting cast includes Sam's neurotic agent Jordan Dylan "J.D." Lucas, Sam's sarcastic assistant Dixie Randazzo and Jack Kincaid, Sam's womanizing photojournalist neighbor who frequently stops by Sam's apartment.
The series was created by Stephen Fischer and was developed by Pam Dawber's production company, Pony Productions. Dawber and her Manager, Mimi Weber, spent three years searching for the most ideal television series project for their company to co-produce, but after screening several of them, Dawber had not found one that truly spoke to her. In the midst of this search, she and Weber produced a few TV movies under the Pony Productions nameplate, in which Dawber played lead roles. By late 1985, Stephen Fischer and Diane English submitted their screenplay to Dawber and Weber, one centering on the life and times of a young photographer on the fast track who takes in her teenage sister, titled Taking the Town. At last, Dawber found a fulfilling script, and the creative team had the pilot successfully pitched to CBS. The network gave it a berth on its successful Monday night sitcom lineup for its 1986-87 fall schedule, originally as Taking the Town, with the title changing to My Sister Sam as summer pre-promotions ramped up. The series was initially intended to be a starring vehicle for Dawber, who found success on television opposite Robin Williams in the ABC sitcom Mork & Mindy. Dawber later said that she wanted the focus of the show to be on the cast as a whole, stating, "I am not a comedian. I'm a reactor to all the zany people who revolve around me." My Sister Sam was executive produced by Diane English and Mimi Weber and shot at The Burbank Studio.
Theme song
The series' 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.
Reception and cancellation
My Sister Sam premiered on October 6, 1986, scheduled between Kate & Allie and Newhart, both hit shows for CBS. The series earned solid ratings and was ranked #21 by the end of its first season. Due to its success, CBS renewed the series for a second season. CBS then moved My Sister Sam to Saturday nights opposite The Facts of Life, which was a part of NBC's successful Saturday night comedy lineup. By the end of October 1987, the show's audience had dwindled to one of the lowest on network TV ranking at #71. The series was put on hiatus in November 1987 but remained in production while the network decided its fate. CBS brought the series back to the air on March 15, 1988 due in part to letters from fans and the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike which affected the production of other television series for CBS and the other two major television networks. CBS chose to move My Sister Sam yet again to Tuesday nights. By April, ratings had failed to improve and the series was again pulled from the lineup. CBS announced the series' cancellation in May 1988, leaving 12 episodes of the second season unaired.
After the series was canceled by CBS, the USA Network picked up syndication rights and eventually aired all 44 episodes, including those never shown on CBS.
The show's pilot episode appeared on the bonus disc Warner Bros. 50 Years of TV Commemorative: Volume 2. It was packaged with some releases of Murphy Brown Season 1 DVD set.
