''On Our Own'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

that aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

from September 13, 1994, until April 14, 1995. The series stars Ralph Louis Harris and six real life siblings: Jazz, Jocqui,

Jake Jake may refer to: Name * Jake (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Katrin Jäke (born c. 1975), German swimmer * Jake (gamer), American ''Overwatch'' player and coach * Jake, a member of the band Enhy ...

, Jojo, Jurnee, and

Jussie Smollett Jussie Smollett (, born June 21, 1982) is an American actor and singer. He began his career as a child actor in 1991 debuting in '' The Mighty Ducks'' (1992). From 2015 to 2019, Smollett portrayed musician Jamal Lyon in the Fox drama series '' ...

. The series was created and executive produced by David W. Duclon, one of the executive producers of ''

Family Matters ''Family Matters'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on ABC for eight seasons from September 22, 1989, to May 9, 1997, then moved to CBS for its ninth and final season from September 19, 1997, to July 17, 1998. A spin-of ...

''. The series was also produced by Thomas L. Miller and Robert L. Boyett, who developed the show.

Suzanne de Passe Suzanna Celeste de Passe (born July 19, 1946, 1947 or 1948) is an American businesswoman, television, music and film producer. De Passe serves as the co-chairwoman of de Passe Jones Entertainment Group. Biography Early life and education De Pas ...

(who also executive produced '' Sister, Sister'' and later ''

Smart Guy ''Smart Guy'' is an American sitcom television series centering on the exploits of child prodigy T.J. Henderson ( Tahj Mowry), who moves from being an elementary school student in the fourth grade to a high school student in the tenth grade, at ...

'') and Suzanne Coston were additional executive producers, with Duclon's longtime colleague Gary Menteer acting as co-executive producer (who also was a producer/writer on ''Family Matters'', to which he returned when ''On Our Own'' was canceled). The series was produced by

Miller-Boyett Productions Miller-Boyett Productions (or simply Miller-Boyett) is an American television production company that mainly developed television sitcoms from the 1970s through the 1990s. It was responsible for family-oriented hit series such as ''Happy Days'', ...

, with associates Lightkeeper Productions (Duclon's company) and

de Passe Entertainment de Passe Jones Entertainment (dJE) is an American entertainment content provider led by Suzanne de Passe and Madison Jones (producer), Madison Jones that sources, develops, acquires, and produces a variety of television, motion picture, theate ...

. ''On Our Own'' was the first Miller-Boyett sitcom to be produced by

Warner Bros. Television Warner Bros. Television Studios, operating under the name Warner Bros. Television (abbreviated as WBTV; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division), is an American television production and distribution studio and the flagship studio o ...

for its entire run.

Synopsis

The series centers on the Jerrico family, consisting of seven brothers and sisters in the O'Fallon Park neighborhood of

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

. Six months prior to the series, a car crash killed both their parents. Since then, they have been raised by the eldest brother, Josh (Harris). Having aired on Sunday nights at 7:30/6:30c during the first half of the season, ''On Our Own'' was moved to the 9:30/8:30c time slot following '' Step by Step'' on '' TGIF'' when it returned in March 1995. The changes to the series in the spring didn't help ratings, and after six more episodes, the show had the plug pulled by ABC.

Cast

Main

*Ralph Louis Harris as Josh Jerrico/Aunt Jelcinda ("Mama J") *Jojo Smollett as Jimi Jerrico *Jazz Smollett as Jai Jerrico *

as Jesse Jerrico *

Jurnee Smollett Jurnee Diana Smollett (born October 1, 1986) is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress appearing on television sitcoms, including '' On Our Own'' (1994–1995) and ''Full House'' (1992–1994). She gained greater recognition ...

as Jordee Jerrico *

Jake Smollett Jake Smollett (born July 29, 1989) is an American actor and cooking personality. Early life and career Smollett was born in New York City to a family of actors, the son of Janet ( Harris) and Joel Smollett. His father was Ashkenazi Jews, Ashke ...

as Joc Jerrico *Jocqui Smollett as Jarreau Jerrico *

Roger Aaron Brown Roger Aaron Brown (born June 12, 1949) is an American character actor known for his role as Deputy Chief Joe Noland on the hit CBS drama television series ''The District'' from 2000 to 2004, and for his minor role in the 1988 science fiction fil ...

as Mr. Gordon Ormsby (1994) *

Kimberley Kates Kimberley Kates (born August 15, 1969) is an American actress and film producer. Kates is best known for her role as Princess Elizabeth in '' Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure'' (1989). She founded and is currently the CEO of Big Screen Entertain ...

as Alana Michaels (1994) *

Rae'Ven Larrymore Kelly Rae'Ven Larrymore Kelly is an American actress. She performed in several film and television projects such as '' A Time to Kill'' and '' What's Love Got to Do with It'' as young Tina Turner. Kelly has also appeared in guest-starring roles on shows ...

as Hannah (pilot only) * T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh as Scotti Decker (1995) *Karen Kim as Suki (1995) *Laura Ponce as Nails (1995)

Recurring

Cindy Herron Cynthia Ann Herron (born September 26, 1961), professionally known as Cindy Herron and sometimes credited as Cindy Herron–Braggs is an American singer and actress. Herron is best known as a founding member of the R&B/pop group En Vogue, one of ...

as Shannon * Deon Richmond as Kevin *

Bumper Robinson Larry Clarence "Bumper" Robinson II is an American actor. He is best known for his voice roles as Damas in ''Jak 3'', Bumblebee and Blitzwing on '' Transformers: Animated'' Rook Blonko and various other characters in '' Ben 10: Omniverse'', and Fa ...

as Nat

Episodes

Syndication

The series was briefly re-aired on TV One in 2007.

Award nominations

References

External links

* * {{TGIF (ABC) 1990s American black sitcoms 1990s American multi-camera sitcoms 1994 American television series debuts 1995 American television series endings Cross-dressing in television American English-language television shows Television series about families Television series about siblings Television shows set in St. Louis Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios TGIF (TV programming block) American Broadcasting Company sitcoms