Is ‘Sister, Sister’ Streaming on Disney+?
As one of the most iconic sitcoms of its time, Sister, Sister, still remains beloved and adored by audiences. The series, starring Tamera Mowry and Tia Mowry, aired on Disney Channel at one point so many fans have wondered if the show is available on Disney+.
A short history of the show’s time on the air
The series first aired beginning in 1994 on ABC. Also starring Tim Reid, Jackée Harry, and Marques Houston, the show revolved around twins that were separated at birth who coincidentally find each other. With their parents, they become a blended family.
ABC canceled the series but The WB, which was new at the time, picked it up. The show went on to run for five additional seasons at The WB up until 1999.
The first four seasons chronicle the twins in high school, while they are in college for the last two seasons. Houston’s character, Roger, is written out at the end of season 5. The fifth season introduced two new characters, Tyreke and Jordan, portrayed by RonReaco Lee and Deon Richmond. They become main cast members in the sixth season.
‘Sister, Sister’ was not a Disney Channel show
Over the years, Sister, Sister has aired on many networks in syndication, including Fox and UPN. Reruns have also aired on The N (now known as TeenNick), Disney Channel, ABC Family (now known as Freeform), BET, WGN America, Up, Centric (now known as BET HER), and Fuse.
While on Disney Channel, the show aired very frequently, so much so that viewers thought that it was an original program. The Mowry twins also did custom marketing for the series, which led more people to believe that Sister, Sister had a home at Disney. The also twins starred in the Twitches original film franchise at Disney Channel around the same time Sister, Sister was airing on the network. Seventeen Again, a Showtime film that starred the twins and their brother Tahj, also aired on the network at one point.
Sister, Sister is not streaming on Disney+ because Disney does not own television or streaming rights to the series. A deal allowed the show to appear on Disney Channel during the years that it did. Walt Disney Television was not behind Sister, Sister. CBS Television Distribution was the show’s distributor and de Passe Entertainment and Paramount Network Television was one of its production companies.
Many people have wondered how Smart Guy, which starred the twins’ brother, Tahj Mowry, is able to be on Disney+ since it aired on The WB like Sister, Sister. It is able to be on Disney+ because Walt Disney Television was one of the show’s production companies and Buena Vista Television (now known as Disney-ABC Domestic Television) was the distributor.
So while Smart Guy didn’t air on ABC or an ABC-owned network, it was still owned by Disney. Sister, Sister‘s rights, however, are with Paramount/CBS.