# Fam (TV series)
**Fam** is an American multi-camera sitcom created by Corinne Kingsbury that aired on CBS from January 10, 2019 to April 11, 2019, running one season of 13 episodes before being canceled. It stars [Nina Dobrev](https://www.edgepedia.org/nina-dobrev) as Clem, a woman whose orderly life with her new fiancé is disrupted when her 16-year-old half-sister Shannon ([Odessa A'zion](https://www.edgepedia.org/odessa-azion)) moves in to escape their estranged father.[1](https://searchott.com/series/fam) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1330716/news/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Network and run | CBS, January 10 to April 11, 2019, 1 season, 13 episodes[1](https://searchott.com/series/fam) |
| Time slot | Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT on CBS[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-schooled-abc-fam-cbs-review-20190109-story.html) |
| Lead cast | Nina Dobrev (Clem), Tone Bell (Nick), Odessa A'zion (Shannon), Sheryl Lee Ralph (Rose), Brian Stokes Mitchell (Walt), Gary Cole (Freddy)[1](https://searchott.com/series/fam) |
| Cancellation | CBS declined a second season in May 2019; the season averaged a 1.2 adults 18-49 rating (Live+7)[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1330716/news/) |
| Reception | 40% Tomatometer from 10 reviews and 67% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes; 6.6/10 audience score on SearchOTT[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/fam) • [1](https://searchott.com/series/fam) |
| Current availability | Not on subscription streaming in the United States as of 2026; available to rent or buy on Amazon Video[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/fam) |
| Ratings classification | TV-14 per JustWatch and SearchOTT, TV-PG per TV Guide and Rotten Tomatoes[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/fam) • [6](https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/fam/tv-listings/1000712118/) |
## Premise
Clem, a party planner for the [Metropolitan Museum of Art](https://www.edgepedia.org/metropolitan-museum-of-art), is newly engaged to Nick, a college professor whose parents, Rose and Walt, are theater people with what seems to be a comfortable life. Her vision of a perfect life with her adoring fiancé and his stable, supportive parents is radically altered when her 16-year-old, out-of-control half-sister Shannon, a high-school dropout she has long been estranged from, unexpectedly moves in to escape their father Freddy, a homicide detective described within the show as a narcissistic sociopath.[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-schooled-abc-fam-cbs-review-20190109-story.html) • [7](https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/fam-nina-dobrev-tone-bell-cbs/)
The title reflects the show's theme: as the family Clem chose and the family she left behind blend, she comes to realize that the new combined family may be the closeness she had been seeking.[8](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/shows/the-amazing-race/releases/view?id=50191) In one reviewer's account, there is no irony in the title, since the teenage character uses it as the current word for family.
## Production and format
Fam was a multi-camera comedy in the familiar CBS style, taped in front of a studio audience and produced by Kapital Entertainment and CBS Television Studios. Kingsbury, previously a story editor and staff writer on *The Newsroom*, created the series and executive produced it with Aaron Kaplan and Dana Honor of Kapital and Wendi Trilling of TrillTV.[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-schooled-abc-fam-cbs-review-20190109-story.html) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1330716/news/) [Tone Bell](https://www.edgepedia.org/tone-bell) said in a 2019 interview that the premise was an adaptation of Kingsbury's own life story.[9](https://starrymag.com/tone-bell-fam/)
Nina Dobrev, returning to television after leaving *The Vampire Diaries*, told *CBS This Morning* that she had been so terrified performing in front of a live audience that she at first hoped the pilot would not be picked up to series.[10](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nina-dobrev-says-she-originally-didnt-want-fam-pilot-to-get-picked-up/)
## Run and cancellation
The series launched as a mid-season entry without much fanfare and had, in the trade press's words, a quiet run, averaging a 1.2 adults 18-49 rating in Live+7 measurements. In May 2019 CBS did not pick up a second season, ending the series after its 13 episodes.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1330716/news/) The season finale, "This is FAM", aired April 11, 2019.[11](https://whichott.com/us/tv/fam-2019-83376)
## Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the season holds a 40% Tomatometer from 10 reviews and a 67% Popcornmeter from 50-plus audience ratings.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/fam) Critics acknowledged the cast while faulting the material. Daniel Fienberg of *The Hollywood Reporter* wrote that the show "boasts an almost outrageously good cast, one plugged into the most hollow and familiar of premises" and fed with reheated multi-generational punchlines. Caroline Framke of *Variety* compared it to *The WB's* *What I Like About You*, calling it a pleasant but undistinguished combination of other shows' pieces. LaToya Ferguson of *Paste* gave it a 4.1 and wrote that it was a technically proficient sitcom that wasted its merits by letting trauma become the driving force of its comedy.[12](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/fam/s01)
Robert Lloyd, reviewing the show for the *Los Angeles Times* before its premiere, called it a fairly efficient delivery of good feelings and some actual laughs, noting that a surprising number of its jokes were about drugs and a considerable number about sex, and that it established a beachhead. A recurring observation in reviews and aggregator copy was that Fam followed a conventional CBS comedy formula, with rapid-fire jokes and hug-centered resolutions.[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-schooled-abc-fam-cbs-review-20190109-story.html)
## Afterlife
As of 2026 the series is not carried on any subscription streaming service in the United States; viewers can rent or buy it on Amazon Video, and it is not on Netflix.[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/fam) • [11](https://whichott.com/us/tv/fam-2019-83376) Kingsbury, TrillTV, Kapital Entertainment, and CBS TV Studios reunited in 2019 for a put-pilot commitment at CBS for a mother-daughter comedy, and Kingsbury also created the CW/CBS TV Studios drama *In the Dark*, renewed for a second season that year.[13](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/cbs-nabs-mother-daughter-comedy-214943641.html)
## Character-name discrepancy
Sources disagree on the fiancé's first name. The Los Angeles Times, CBS press releases, Apple TV, and Rotten Tomatoes identify him as Nick, while SearchOTT, JustWatch, and [TV Guide](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-guide) list him as Jay. The error appears to have propagated in streaming-data listings, and Nick is the name used by the network's own promotional material.[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-schooled-abc-fam-cbs-review-20190109-story.html) • [1](https://searchott.com/series/fam) • [14](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/fam/umc.cmc.5qnvcaim781derxcnvir70d81)
## References
1. [Fam (2019) — where to watch online, SearchOTT](https://searchott.com/series/fam)
2. [Corinne Kingsbury news archive, including 'Fam' Comedy Canceled By CBS After One Season (Variety), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1330716/news/)
3. [Review: ABC's 'Schooled' and 'Fam' on CBS show the network sitcom is still kicking, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-schooled-abc-fam-cbs-review-20190109-story.html)
4. [Fam, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/fam)
5. [Fam - watch tv show streaming online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/fam)
6. [Fam TV Listings, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/fam/tv-listings/1000712118/)
7. [Nina Dobrev Joins CBS 'FAM' This Thursday, CBS Philadelphia](https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/fam-nina-dobrev-tone-bell-cbs/)
8. [CBS Announces Its 2018-2019 Primetime Lineup, Paramount Press Express](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/shows/the-amazing-race/releases/view?id=50191)
9. [Tone Bell – FAM, StarryMag](https://starrymag.com/tone-bell-fam/)
10. [Why Nina Dobrev originally didn't want "Fam" pilot to get picked up, CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nina-dobrev-says-she-originally-didnt-want-fam-pilot-to-get-picked-up/)
11. [Where to watch Fam (2019) in United States, WhichOTT](https://whichott.com/us/tv/fam-2019-83376)
12. [Fam: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes critics reviews](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/fam/s01)
13. [CBS Nabs Mother-Daughter Comedy From 'Fam' Creator Corinne Kingsbury & Kapital As Put Pilot, Yahoo Entertainment](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/cbs-nabs-mother-daughter-comedy-214943641.html)
14. [FAM, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/fam/umc.cmc.5qnvcaim781derxcnvir70d81)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Sitcom and comedy series › American sitcoms and comedy series › 2010s and later network sitcoms*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license