# The Sinbad Show

The Sinbad Show is an American television sitcom starring comedian David "Sinbad" Adkins that premiered on September 16, 1993, on Fox. The show's main plot is about a bachelor taking in two orphaned children. Chuck Brown performed this sitcom's theme music. It was cancelled on April 21, 1994.

## Overview

The series follows the life of David Bryan (Sinbad), a carefree bachelor who works as a video game designer, who becomes a single parent when he adopts two orphaned children, Zana (Erin Davis) and L.J. Beckley (Willie Ray Norwood, Jr.), who face several issues which they work through together.
The show follows David as he guides L.J. and Zana in their new lives, including counselling L.J. on dealing with school, friendships, girls, and being a teenager and helping Zana learn how to function in everyday life. Meanwhile, Clarence shares his antics and David's parents help him deal with raising kids.

## Cast
### Main

* Sinbad as David Bryan
* Willie Ray Norwood, Jr. as L.J. Beckley
* Erin Davis as Zana Beckley
* T. K. Carter as Clarence Hall
* Salma Hayek as Gloria Contreras (3 episodes, she was given "starring" billing in episodes she appeared in)

### Recurring

* Hal Williams as Rudy Bryan
* Nancy Wilson as Louise Bryan

## Cancellation

The Sinbad Show was cancelled after its first season, and aired its last episode on April 21, 1994. It aired at 8:30 p.m., following The Simpsons, Thursday nights on Fox. The series was one of several shows featuring predominantly black casts that were cancelled by Fox around the same time (others included Roc, South Central and In Living Color). Activist Jesse Jackson protested the cancellations and called for a boycott of the network for their "institutional racism". Fox maintained that the series were low rated and the decision to cancel was not racially motivated.

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | "Pilot" | David Trainer | Story by : Gary Murphy & Larry Strawther & Sinbad Teleplay by : Gary Murphy & Larry Strawther & Michael Jacobs & David A. Caplan & Brian Lapan | September 16, 1993 (1993-09-16) |
| David Bryan, a footloose and carefree bachelor, meets two orphaned children and learns the authorities will have to split them up unless someone adopts them both. |||||
| 2 | "The Toothfairy Has Landed" | Jim Drake | Gary Apple & Michael Carrington | September 23, 1993 (1993-09-23) |
| L.J. objects to David telling Zana about the Tooth Fairy when she loses her milk teeth. |||||
| 3 | "The Par-tay" | Robert Berlinger | Sharon D. Johnson | September 30, 1993 (1993-09-30) |
| David takes a domestic engineering course and believes that the instructor has fallen for him. |||||
| 4 | "Petty Larceny" | Rob Schiller | Michael J. Weithorn & Ralph Farquhar | October 7, 1993 (1993-10-07) |
| David believes that L.J. may be stealing from him until he catches Zana stealing in the mall and realises that L.J. is lying to protect his sister. |||||
| 5 | "My Daughter's Keeper" | Debbie Allen | Michael Carrington & Gary Apple | October 14, 1993 (1993-10-14) |
| Zana joins a club and learns that only light-skinned blacks are accepted. |||||
| 6 | "Strictly Business" | Rob Schiller | Ralph Farquhar & Michael J. Weithorn | October 21, 1993 (1993-10-21) |
| Since L.J. has not been doing his homework assignments, he is not allowed to go to Disneyland with David's parents. |||||
| 7 | "David's Van" | Debbie Allen | Mike Langworthy | November 4, 1993 (1993-11-04) |
| David has trouble parting with his beloved car in order to buy another. |||||
| 8 | "I Coulda Been the Man" | Debbie Allen | Calvin Brown, Jr. | November 11, 1993 (1993-11-11) |
| David friend is a successful basketball player and he learns he could have had the same opportunity. |||||
| 9 | "Shades of Acceptance" | Neema Barnette | Daniel Palladino | November 18, 1993 (1993-11-18) |
| David falls for a past love. |||||
| 10 | "It's My Party, I'll Cry If I Want To" | Debbie Allen | Calvin Brown, Jr. | December 9, 1993 (1993-12-09) |
| When David is unable to get a TV character to come to Zana's party because of the cost, he creates one. |||||
| 11 | "Breaking the Pattern" | Chuck Vinson | Sharon D. Johnson | December 16, 1993 (1993-12-16) |
| L.J. invites his girlfriend over when no one is home. |||||
| 12 | "Keep the Faith" | Debbie Allen | Gary Apple & Michael Carrington | January 6, 1994 (1994-01-06) |
| L.J. doesn't believe in God. |||||
| 13 | "The Dog Episode" | Debbie Allen | Orlando Jones & Mike Langworthy | January 13, 1994 (1994-01-13) |
| Zana wants to keep a dog after he follows her home. |||||
| 14 | "David Goes Skiing" | Debbie Allen | Orlando Jones | January 27, 1994 (1994-01-27) |
| David has a hard time enjoying his annual ski vacation when the kids keep calling him at the lodge. |||||
| 15 | "The Mr. Science Show" | Chuck Vinson | Marc Sotkin | February 3, 1994 (1994-02-03) |
| David takes a job on a kids TV show, much to L.J.'s objection. |||||
| 16 | "Black History Month" | Chuck Vinson | Tom Whedon | February 10, 1994 (1994-02-10) |
| L.J. can't decide who to write his Black History Month essay on, and Zana volunteers to play Rosa Parks. |||||
| 17 | "The Telethon" | Chuck Vinson | Sharon D. Johnson | March 3, 1994 (1994-03-03) |
| David convinces his father to coach a basketball team after he retires. |||||
| 18 | "Neighborhood Watch" | Chuck Vinson | Orlando Jones & Mike Langworthy | March 10, 1994 (1994-03-10) |
| David starts a neighborhood watch. |||||
| 19 | "Love Lessons" | Chuck Vinson | Michael Carrington & Gary Apple | March 17, 1994 (1994-03-17) |
| L.J. gets a bad grade in a black history class, and is tutored by his favorite teacher. |||||
| 20 | "Can We Talk?" | Chuck Vinson | Sharon D. Johnson | March 22, 1994 (1994-03-22) |
| David and Clarence go on a talk show. |||||
| 21 | "The Family Reunion" | Chuck Vinson | Arnie Kogen | March 31, 1994 (1994-03-31) |
| L.J. and Zana meet David's family. |||||
| 22 | "Adoption: Part 1" | Chuck Vinson | Mike Langworthy | April 7, 1994 (1994-04-07) |
| L.J. and Zana's uncle want them to live with him. |||||
| 23 | "Adoption: Part 2" | Chuck Vinson | Orlando Jones | April 14, 1994 (1994-04-14) |
| L.J. and Zana's uncle want them to live with him. |||||
| 24 | "Girls Unda Hoodz" | Howard Ritter | Story by : Gary Apple & Mike Langworthy Teleplay by : Orlando Jones & Arnie Kogen | April 21, 1994 (1994-04-21) |
| Zana gets her hair done and Clarence teaches L.J. how cool men drive. |||||

## Syndication

The show aired in syndication on The Family Channel Monday to Thursday at 9:30 p.m. and weekend mornings at 11:30 a.m.. It also aired on Disney Channel for a short time during the mid-1990s.

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
| 1994 | Young Artist Awards | Best Actor Under Ten in a Television Series or Show | Erin Davis | Nominated |
| 1995 | Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Television Actor | Sinbad | Nominated |