# My Sister Sam
**My Sister Sam** is an American television sitcom broadcast on CBS from October 6, 1986 to April 12, 1988, about a freelance photographer in San Francisco whose teenage sister comes to live with her. It starred [Pam Dawber](https://www.edgepedia.org/pam-dawber) as Samantha "Sam" Russell and [Rebecca Schaeffer](https://www.edgepedia.org/rebecca-schaeffer) as her sixteen-year-old sister Patti, ran for two seasons and 44 episodes, and was created by Stephen Fischer.[1](https://cbs.wiki.gg/wiki/My_Sister_Sam) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/my_sister_sam) The series drew solid ratings in its first season, lost much of its audience after a move to Saturday nights, and was canceled with half of its second season unaired. In July 1989, a year after cancellation, Schaeffer was shot and killed at her West Hollywood home by an obsessed fan, an event that drew wide attention to the show's leading actress.[3](https://nostalgiacentral.com/television/tv-by-decade/tv-shows-1980s/my-sister-sam/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Network and run | CBS, October 6, 1986 to April 12, 1988; 2 seasons, 44 episodes[1](https://cbs.wiki.gg/wiki/My_Sister_Sam) |
| Premise | Freelance photographer Samantha Russell's single life in San Francisco is upended when her teenage sister Patti moves in[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/my_sister_sam) |
| Main cast | Pam Dawber (Sam), Rebecca Schaeffer (Patti), Joel Brooks (J.D. Lucas), Jenny O'Hara (Dixie Randazzo), David Naughton (Jack Kincaid)[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/my_sister_sam) |
| First-season ratings | Ranked 21st in the prime-time ratings by the end of its first season[1](https://cbs.wiki.gg/wiki/My_Sister_Sam) |
| Second-season collapse | Moved to Saturdays opposite *The Facts of Life*; by late October 1987 the audience had dwindled to one of the lowest on network TV[1](https://cbs.wiki.gg/wiki/My_Sister_Sam) |
| Cancellation | Announced by CBS in May 1988, leaving 12 episodes of the second season unaired[1](https://cbs.wiki.gg/wiki/My_Sister_Sam) |
| Aftermath | Rebecca Schaeffer, 21, was shot and killed on July 18, 1989 at her West Hollywood home[4](https://jewishjournal.com/culture/arts/234391/mother-murdered-actress-pays-tribute-midair/) |
## Premise and production
The series centers on Samantha Russell, a twentysomething freelance photographer in San Francisco whose career is just starting to take off when her sixteen-year-old sister Patti moves into her studio apartment. Patti's teenage problems pose a burden for Sam, who struggles with whether to act as a parental figure to her.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/my-sister-sam/) Most of the action took place in the apartment itself, where Sam ran her photography studio.[6](https://www.ratingraph.com/tv-shows/my-sister-sam-ratings-3313/)
**Cast and crew.** Around the two sisters were [Jenny O'Hara](https://www.edgepedia.org/jenny-ohara) as Dixie Randazzo, Sam's assistant; Joel Brooks as Jordan Dylan "J.D." Lucas, Sam's agent; and [David Naughton](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-naughton) as Jack Kincaid, a photojournalist who lived across the hall.[7](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/16763/my-sister-sam) • [8](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/History/Total-Television-Programming-1948-1991-McNeil.pdf) Diane English was executive producer.[8](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/History/Total-Television-Programming-1948-1991-McNeil.pdf) The show was produced by Pony Productions, Pam Dawber's own company, in association with Warner Bros. Television; Dawber and her agent, Mimi Weber, had spent three years searching for a project to co-produce.[1](https://cbs.wiki.gg/wiki/My_Sister_Sam) The theme song, "Room Enough for Two," was performed by [Kim Carnes](https://www.edgepedia.org/kim-carnes).[9](https://www.tvtango.com/series/my_sister_sam)
**Early critical reception.** The Los Angeles Times review of the premiere, which aired at 8:30 on Monday October 6, 1986, called the pilot "mildly amusing and fetching enough to invite a second look," noting that a reworked first episode had made Patti "far less shrill" than in the unaired original version, and praised the "appealing sibling relationship."[10](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-10-06-ca-4378-story.html) In November 1986, The Washington Post reported that *My Sister Sam* and its Monday-night companion *Designing Women* were the only winners among the seven new series CBS introduced that season, with *My Sister Sam* finishing 18th in the primetime rankings the previous week.[11](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/style/1986/11/14/5155238b-fdfd-49eb-b4ff-1c8f101d4afd/)
## The move to Saturdays and cancellation
The show's first season aired on Monday nights, scheduled between *Kate & Allie* and *Newhart*, and earned solid ratings.[1](https://cbs.wiki.gg/wiki/My_Sister_Sam) For the second season, CBS moved it to Saturday nights opposite *The Facts of Life* on NBC. By the end of October 1987, the show's audience had dwindled to one of the lowest on network television, and McNeil's *Total Television* places the series at 84th after the shift, while the CBS Wiki account gives a 71st-place ranking; either figure marks a fall from the previous season's 21st place.[1](https://cbs.wiki.gg/wiki/My_Sister_Sam) • [8](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/History/Total-Television-Programming-1948-1991-McNeil.pdf)
In November 1987 the series was put on hiatus while remaining in production. It returned to the air on March 15, 1988, helped by letters from fans and by the 1988 [Writers Guild of America](https://www.edgepedia.org/writers-guild-of-america) strike, which affected production of other series. CBS then moved it again, to Tuesday nights; the ratings failed to improve by April, and the show was pulled once more. In May 1988, CBS announced the cancellation, leaving 12 second-season episodes unaired.[1](https://cbs.wiki.gg/wiki/My_Sister_Sam) The last episode broadcast was "Life, Death, and Admiral Andy" on April 12, 1988.[7](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/16763/my-sister-sam)
## The murder of Rebecca Schaeffer
On July 18, 1989, a little over a year after the cancellation, Rebecca Schaeffer was shot and killed on the doorstep of her West Hollywood home. She was 21 and had an audition for *The Godfather Part III* scheduled the same day.[4](https://jewishjournal.com/culture/arts/234391/mother-murdered-actress-pays-tribute-midair/) Nostalgia Central's retrospective records that the killer was a deranged fan who had idolized Schaeffer as the young, energetic character she played on the series.[3](https://nostalgiacentral.com/television/tv-by-decade/tv-shows-1980s/my-sister-sam/) The killing was widely covered, and it is the reason the show is remembered by many who never saw it.
## Legacy and availability
The series has not been released on DVD or made legally available online, so it survives mainly through recollection and clip material.[9](https://www.tvtango.com/series/my_sister_sam) • [12](https://www.tvinsider.com/show/my-sister-sam/) The show received a BMI TV Music Award for composer Steve Dorff and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Costume Design for a Series in 1987, for costume designer Bill Hargate's work on the episode "Jingle Bell Rock Bottom."[1](https://cbs.wiki.gg/wiki/My_Sister_Sam)
## References
1. [My Sister Sam, CBS Wiki](https://cbs.wiki.gg/wiki/My_Sister_Sam)
2. [My Sister Sam, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/my_sister_sam)
3. [My Sister Sam, Nostalgia Central](https://nostalgiacentral.com/television/tv-by-decade/tv-shows-1980s/my-sister-sam/)
4. [Mother of Murdered Actress Pays Tribute with 'You in Midair', Jewish Journal](https://jewishjournal.com/culture/arts/234391/mother-murdered-actress-pays-tribute-midair/)
5. [My Sister Sam Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/my-sister-sam/)
6. [My Sister Sam ratings, Rating Graph](https://www.ratingraph.com/tv-shows/my-sister-sam-ratings-3313/)
7. [My Sister Sam, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/16763/my-sister-sam)
8. [Total Television Programming 1948–1991 (McNeil), World Radio History](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/History/Total-Television-Programming-1948-1991-McNeil.pdf)
9. [My Sister Sam, TV Tango](https://www.tvtango.com/series/my_sister_sam)
10. ['Sister Sam' Shows Promise, Los Angeles Times (October 6, 1986)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-10-06-ca-4378-story.html)
11. [The TV Column, The Washington Post (November 14, 1986)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/style/1986/11/14/5155238b-fdfd-49eb-b4ff-1c8f101d4afd/)
12. [My Sister Sam, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/show/my-sister-sam/)
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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 › 1980s and 1990s network sitcoms*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 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