Like Family is an American sitcom

Situation comedy

A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...

 that aired on The WB in 2003. The series starred Holly Robinson Peete and Kevin Michael Richardson

Kevin Michael Richardson

Kevin Michael Richardson is an American actor and voice actor who currently stars as Cleveland Brown, Jr. in The Cleveland Show...

 and lasted one season. Like Family was created and produced by Dan Fogelman, and executive produced by Warren Littlefield

Warren Littlefield

Warren W. Littlefield is an American former television executive.A protégé of Brandon Tartikoff, Littlefield developed Cheers, The Cosby Show, and The Golden Girls as senior and executive vice president of NBC Entertainment under Tartikoff...

, Kenny Schwartz, and Rick Weiner.

Synopsis

Holly Robinson Peete starred as Tanya Jones, the matriarch of a middle-class African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 family that live in suburban New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

. Tanya's family includes husband Ed (Kevin Michael Richardson), their 12-year-old son Bobby (B.J. Mitchell) and 16-year-old daughter Danika (Megalyn Echikunwoke

Megalyn Echikunwoke

Megalyn Ann Echikunwoke is an American actress and model.-Early life:Echikunwoke was born on May 28, 1983, in Spokane, Washington, but she was raised on a Navajo Native American Reservation in Chinle, Arizona. She is the daughter of a Nigerian-Igbo father and a German/Scots-Irish American mother...

). Rounding out the family is Ed's father, Ed "Pop" Jones (J Anthony Brown

J Anthony Brown

James Anthony Brown is an American comedian, actor and radio personality. He received the Peabody Award and the NAACP Image Award.-Early life:...

), an opinionated and feisty senior citizen.

When Tanya's closest friend Maddie Hudson (Diane Farr

Diane Farr

Diane Farr is an American actress. She is known for her roles as FBI agent Megan Reeves in the CBS television series Numb3rs and Laura Miles on Rescue Me.-Life and career:...

), a Caucasian

Caucasian race

The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...

 single mom, hits a rough patch, Tanya and her family invite Maddie and her 16-year-old son Keith (J. Mack Slaughter, Jr.

J. Mack Slaughter, Jr.

J Mack Slaughter, Jr. is an American television and film actor and singer.-Career:Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Slaughter began acting in local theatre as a child. At the age of 15, he successfully auditioned for a boy band started by a radio station in Dallas...

) to live with them. Episodes focused on the problems and comical situations arising from both families living and working together.

The series was cancelled after all but one of the 22 episodes produced were aired.

Cast

• Holly Robinson Peete as Tanya Ward
• Kevin Michael Richardson
  Kevin Michael Richardson
  Kevin Michael Richardson is an American actor and voice actor who currently stars as Cleveland Brown, Jr. in The Cleveland Show...
  
   as Ed Ward
• Diane Farr
  Diane Farr
  Diane Farr is an American actress. She is known for her roles as FBI agent Megan Reeves in the CBS television series Numb3rs and Laura Miles on Rescue Me.-Life and career:...
  
   as Maddie Hudson
• J. Mack Slaughter, Jr.
  J. Mack Slaughter, Jr.
  J Mack Slaughter, Jr. is an American television and film actor and singer.-Career:Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Slaughter began acting in local theatre as a child. At the age of 15, he successfully auditioned for a boy band started by a radio station in Dallas...
  
   as Keith Hudson
• J. Anthony Brown as Ed "Pop" Ward
• Megalyn Echikunwoke
  Megalyn Echikunwoke
  Megalyn Ann Echikunwoke is an American actress and model.-Early life:Echikunwoke was born on May 28, 1983, in Spokane, Washington, but she was raised on a Navajo Native American Reservation in Chinle, Arizona. She is the daughter of a Nigerian-Igbo father and a German/Scots-Irish American mother...
  
   as Danika Ward
• B.J. Mitchell as Bobby Ward

Nielsen ratings

Season		Episodes	Premiere	Season finale	Viewers (in millions)	Rank
1	2003-2004	22	September 19, 2003	April 22, 2004	2.61	#191

Episodes

Series #	Title	Notes	Original air date
1	Pilot	When two families - one black, one white - share the same house, they discover that their differences are definitely more than skin deep. Tanya (Peete), Ed and their teen kids are a middle-class African-American family who open their doors for an old friend who is down on her luck. Newly single Maddie (Farr) and her 16 year-old son Keith just need a place to stay until they can get back on their feet. What sounds like a perfect arrangement soon becomes non-stop tension (and laughs) as the two families argue about everything but skin color.	September 19, 2003
2	"Under One Roof"	Tanya lectures Ed about getting along with Keith, but she fails to heed her own advice when she butts heads with Maddie over the single mom's sisterly relationship with Danika. Meanwhile, Pop offers Bobby tips on dealing with women.	September 26, 2003
3	"The Curfew"	When Danika learns that Keith doesn't have a curfew, she takes the rules into her own hands -- and both teenagers end up grounded as a result. The adults try to find a happy medium between Maddie's loose hold on Keith and Tanya's strict rules for Danika. Meanwhile, Keith learns the importance of rules while babysitting Bobby when getting a taste of his own medicine.	October 3, 2003
4	"The Date"	Feeling jealous of the friendship between Tanya and Maddie and fed up with the lack of privacy in his own home, Ed takes Pop's advice and plans a romantic evening for Tanya, but getting everyone out of the house proves much easier said than done. Meanwhile, when Keith's friends leave on a trip without him, Ed helps him see the importance of his new family.	October 10, 2003
5	"College Debate"	Maddie clashes with Keith over his decision to join a band when his schedule conflicts with his college-prep class. Keith then announces he is skipping college to pursue his musical dream. With that he goes to Ed for guidance. Lastly, Pop trains Bobby to be a pro golfer when he grows up.	October 17, 2003
6	"Black Like Keith"	After a girl rejects Keith because he is white, he gets Pop to coach him on "being black." Also, Danika gets up the courage to bring her new white boyfriend home.	October 31, 2003
7	"The Dance"	Concerned that Keith isn't adjusting to his new school, Maddie and Tanya convince Keith to take heartbroken Danika to the homecoming dance after her date cancels and leaves her devastated. Meanwhile, Ed reveals the truth to Tanya about why he stood her up at their own school dance years ago.	November 7, 2003
8	"Parental Authority"	Keith makes Ed realize that he and Tanya have unequal parental authority in their home. Meanwhile, when Danika and Bobby discover their parent's decision-making dispute, they manipulate the situation to get their own way with a nose piercing and a new dog in the house causing the family to go into chaos.	November 14, 2003
9	"Value of a Dollar"	After using the emergency credit card Maddie gave him to pay for dinner, Keith goes to work for Ed at the car wash to learn the value of a dollar. Although, things turn rocky after Keith sees a working man don't make that much and wants a raise. Keith therefore tries to create his own business to see if he can make more money faster.	November 21, 2003
10	"Who's Your Daddy?"	Maddie and Tanya run into Keith's father Roger (guest star David Lee Smith). Roger says he wants to see Keith sometime and Maddie decides to allow him to after telling Keith. Keith really likes Roger and he then goes to a rock concert with him. Meanwhile Ed and Keith were supposed to bowl in a tournament the night of the concert. Keith goes to the concert and Bobby fills in at the tournament. Keith realizes that his real family is at the bowling alley and shows up to compete with Ed.	January 9, 2004
11	"Bobby's Bully"	When Bobby suddenly stops turning in school assignments, Tanya and Ed are quick to blame Maddie for raising Keith to be a bad influence. Bobby confides in Keith that his irresponsible behavior is actually being caused by a bully at school, but feels betrayed when Keith reveals Bobby's secret under pressure.	January 16, 2004
12	"My Two Moms"	When Keith can't decide between two girls (Tammy and Mary), Tanya and Maddie compete over which one he should choose and to take to a school '70s party. Each mom tries to convince Keith to choose the girl most like herself. Meanwhile, Ed helps Danika smooth things over with her boyfriend after they get in a fight.	January 23, 2004
13	"Ladies' Night"	Tanya and Keith encourage Maddie to start dating as they feel she is lonely---and Tanya takes Maddie to a singles gathering one night. Although, Keith realizes that he has a bigger problem over this than expected when Maddie brings home a man that he doesn't approve of. Lastly, Ed makes it hard for Danica to date as she wants to go out with a guy.	January 30, 2004
14	"Daddy Knows Best"	When Tanya's dad Bill (guest-star George Wallace) visits the family without his wife, Tanya jumps to the conclusion her parents are having marital problems. Ed discovers that Bill is having medical problems and convinces him to be honest with Tanya. Meanwhile, Pop brings home his new girlfriend Ethel (guest-star Tembi Locke).	February 6, 2004
15	"The Permit"	After failing his driver's test, Keith takes the blame for crashing Tanya and Maddie's new convertible, even though Danika was the driver. When Danika comes clean, Ed realizes his expectations may have been too high for her and too low for Keith.	February 13, 2004
16	"Women at Work"	Maddie gets a prized promotion at work, but her new responsibilities give her less time to spend at home with Keith, who then turns to Tanya for help with a school problem. Meanwhile, Bobby frets over a project that he and his mother are working on together. Lastly, Tanya considers of returning back to being an attorney.	March 18, 2004
17	"Dating the Enemy"	Danika competes with her arch nemesis Lauren (guest star Ashleigh Ann Wood) for a spot on the debate team. When Keith starts to date Lauren, Danika is convinced that Lauren is only seeing him to upset Danika. Meanwhile, Bobby takes his new girlfriend (guest star Camille Lache Smith) on a double date with Pop and Ethel (guest star Tembi Locke).	March 25, 2004
18	"Romancing the Home"	Keith's loyalty to his girlfriend (guest star Ashleigh Ann Wood) is tested when the "ultimate" girl, Anna (guest star Tamara Feldman), propositions him at Danika's slumber party. Meanwhile, Danika is embarrassed by Tanya and Maddie's behavior at her party.	April 1, 2004
19	"Sex Ed"	Keith and Lauren (guest-star Ashleigh Ann Wood) decide to take their relationship to the next level, but Keith is uncomfortable talking to Maddie about sex, so Ed tries to give Keith advice. Tanya decides it's also time to have a serious talk with Danika about sex. Meanwhile, Bobby thinks the family is throwing him a surprise "eleven and a quarter" birthday party because the adults immediately stop talking whenever he enters a room.	April 8, 2004
20	"Brother's Keeper"	Tanya tries to force her brother Dave (guest-star Kent Faulcon) to get along with Maddie. Sparks finally fly between Maddie and Tanya's brother Dave when the serviceman visits the Ward home during a furlough. Although, Tanya has trouble staying out of their business. Meanwhile Keith and Danika get "married" for a school project, but Keith doesn't take the assignment as seriously as his faux bride does and Danika wants a divorce to salvage her grades.	April 15, 2004
21	"Roger Returns"	Keith's 17th birthday, are disrupted when Keith's estranged father, Roger (guest-star David Lee Smith) suddenly arrives in town. Maddie worries that Roger will disappoint Keith again and Tanya is upset when she finds out that Ed has been helping Roger get back on his feet. Meanwhile, Bobby tries to get Danika and Lauren (guest-star Ashleigh Ann Wood) to settle their differences. Lila Jon performs at Keith's birthday party.	April 22, 2004
22	"We're Gonna Need More Peanut M&M's"	Tanya and Maddie have a huge blowout after Tanya catches Maddie and her ex-husband Roger (guest-star David Lee Smith) in bed together. The two women soon reconcile, however, and Maddie confesses an unsettling secret to Tanya. Meanwhile, Keith breaks up with Lauren (guest-star Ashleigh Ann Wood) when he realizes that she and Danika will never get along.	Unaired

Syndication

On June 8, 2009, reruns of the series began airing on TV One in the United States.

Award nominations

Year	Award	Result	Category	Recipient
2004	BET Comedy Awards	Nominated	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series	J. Anthony Brown