Brotherly Love is an American sitcom that ran from September 16, 1995 to April 1, 1996, on NBC, and then moved to The WB, where it aired from September 15, 1996 until May 18, 1997. The series was created by Jonathan Schmock and Jim Vallely, and produced by Witt/Thomas Productions in association with Walt Disney Television. The primary focus of the series is on the relationship of three brothers, played by Joey Lawrence, Matthew Lawrence, and Andrew Lawrence.
Characters[]
Main characters[]
- Joseph "Joe" Roman (played by Joey Lawrence) — He is the oldest of the three brothers. He is a half-brother to Matt and Andy. Claire is his stepmother. He is vain, cocky and arrogant at times, and thinks highly of himself, though he is a good person at heart. He is constantly fighting for the affection of Louise Davis. His brothers really look up to him as a role model and as a father-figure. He was born on November 10, 1975 as revealed in the episode "Once Around The Block" making him 20 years old at the start of the series. In "Mother's Day", his hippie mother, Amber, married an "aura-photographer", who turned out to be the father of her unborn child... and a millionaire to Joey's delight.
- Matthew "Matt" Roman (played by Matthew Lawrence) — He is 15-16 and is the middle child. He bows to peer pressure easily. He is also put down by his family with some of his doings as well. Matt was an absolute neat freak and germaphobe; at the age of one, he could change his own diaper, and he went through his entire childhood without ever catching the chickenpox. He loved washing the dishes and was known for other odd habits like making "Matt water", folding his socks. Unlike Joe and Andy, he never did well with girls. He has a crush on Kristin and is said in the episode, "I scream, You scream", that Matt is in love with Kristen. He sang twice, once in an angel costume singing the last two bars of "Silent Night" (A Roman Holiday), the other (Art Attack) when he played his mother's guitar and sang a song called "Pigeon On Your Car" which was written by Matthew Lawrence himself.
- Andrew "Andy" Roman (played by Andrew Lawrence) — He is the youngest. He is seen wearing a variety of costumes (including Wolverine and Spider-Man). He is a bundle of mischief and has a vivid imagination. In one of the episodes, he is "in love" with Lou Davis, and writes her an email.
- Louise Davis (played by Liz Vassey) — She is a female mechanic who is seen going out with different men in a few episodes. She is an artist, even having crafted a ring for one of her suitors. She is always making sarcastic remarks to Joe from what he says about her. In later episodes it is showed that she may have love interests in Joe Roman. Joe and Lou kiss under the mistletoe in an episode called, "A Roman Holiday" and in an episode, "Other people". Andy is said to be in love with her, and receives an email from him, signed, A Roman who loves you. She automatically believes it was Joe.
- Claire Roman (played by Melinda Culea) — She is Joe's Stepmother, and the other two boys' birth mother. She is a take-charge kind of woman and sometimes thinks Joe is a bad influence to Matt.
- Lloyd Burwell (played by Michael McShane) — A former Coast Guard for six years and occasional mechanic. He is overweight and is sometimes needy, but under his gruff exterior lies a sensitive, intelligent man. He used to go by the alias "The Masked Avenger", an alias he used to play pranks on Mr. Hangarter, a cruel drivers' education teacher. Lloyd is known to be somewhat stupid and ignorant, but in some episodes has surprised everyone and shown to be very intelligent.
Minor characters[]
- Kristin (played by Rebecca Herbst) — She used to attend house parties often, but now has cleaned up her act. She is one of Matt's best friends. She used to have a crush on Joe. Matt has a crush on her, but she sees him more of a brother than a boyfriend. She was a badgirl and got drunk, but changed after Matt and her started hanging out with her.
- Silent Jim (played by Karl David-Djerf) — He rarely speaks but when he does, Matt describes it as "something special". Instead of speaking he usually communicates with a laugh. He is a recurring cast member, although, he doesn't appear in many episodes.
- Lloyd's Mother (played by Estelle Getty, seen only in season two's "Motherly Love") — She lives in a trailer, and is part of the reason why Lloyd is so needy. She can do cartwheels despite her age. She also teaches the mambo and is said to clip Lloyd's toenails.
Episodes[]
Season | Ep # | Airdate |
---|---|---|
Season 1 | 16 | 1995–1996 |
Season 2 | 24 | 1996-1997 |
Cancellation and syndication[]
The show was first aired on NBC as part of its 1995-96 schedule and then switched to The WB for the beginning of its 1996-97 lineup. The show also aired in syndication on Disney Channel from 1998 until 2002. It has also previously aired on Family in Canada.
Awards and nominations[]
Year | Award | Result | Category | Recipient |
---|---|---|---|---|
1996 | Young Artist Award | Nominated | Best Performance by a Young Actor | Matthew Lawrence |
Best Performance by a Young Actress - Guest Starring Role | Lisa Rieffel | |||
Best Performance by an Actor Under Ten | Andrew Lawrence | |||
1997 | Best Performance in a TV Comedy - Leading Young Actor |