'Moesha' vs. 'Sister, Sister' Debate Rages Online as UPN Series Leaves Netflix

Three years after Netflix added Moesha and Sister, Sister to its streaming service, both series are set to be removed on August 1. The shows were added at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent quarantine in 2020m arriving to much fanfare and social media praise and nostalgia. The move to add the shows came after Netflix's Strong Black Lead launched in 2018 with classic content arriving to the streamer. Cult classics like the Friday trilogy, Love and Basketball, and Love Jones made the list. With the success of the films, Black-led sitcoms that ran on broadcast TV — mostly The WB and UPN — in the late 1990s and early 2000s – were added.

"Every time we would post about a new show or anything else that we were talking about in the zeitgeist, we would get people asking about 'Girlfriends,' wanting to watch 'Sister, Sister,' wanting to watch 'Moesha,'" Jasmyn Lawson said at the time, who is the former manager of Strong Black Lead, and oversaw its editorial output. 

Moesha aired on UPN, while Sister,Sister aired on The WB. Both ran for six seasons and chronicled the life of the main characters from high school through their sophomore year of college. While both shows were successful and have multi-generations of fans, the news that the shows are being removed from Netflix sparked a debate on which show was better, or at least had better high school vs. college years. Regardless, it's a good thing both shows are available to watch on other platforms.