’90s Stars Making Comeback On Facebook and YouTube

Tia Mowry with baby

Tia Mowry built her career on television, from ’90s sitcom “Sister, Sister” to reality TV series “Tia & Tamera.” She even had her own Cooking Channel show, “Tia Mowry at Home.”

But for her latest project “Tia Mowry’s Quick Fix,” the actress took her talents to Facebook, YouTube and other online platforms.

“Working in the business for over 25 years, the thing about network television, you’re fitting or trying to fit into their thing or into their umbrella,” Mowry told CNBC, in an interview. “You have to mold yourself and conform yourself to fit into their brand, and I realized soon I don’t want to really have to do that. I just want to be 100 percent myself, and I know my audience more than anybody.”

“Quick Fix” consists of 10- to 12-minutes episodes about life hacks that Mowry has picked up from being a working, multitasking mom, whether it’s a cooking recipe or parenting tip. She’s built up 1.1 million followers on Facebook and more than 390,000 subscribers on YouTube.

The most successful episode, about Mowry’s newborn baby girl, has been viewed 12.7 million times on Facebook, and still gets about 500,000 views a week.


“We are now in a generation where everything is on the smartphone,” Mowry said. “You have women who aren’t just staying home watching television. You have women who are on the go who are working and multitasking the hell out of things. They need something that is tangible and is not so time consuming.”

In short, “when you are a busy mom you don’t have time to watch an hour of something to figure out what to cook,” she said.

“Quick Fix” is among a slate of reality and competition shows that Kin, an entertainment company, is making in partnership with actors, musicians and celebrities who got started on television. They’re now bypassing TV and going directly to their social media followings, while making money in the process.

Mowry’s series generated between $500,000 and $1 million in revenue in its first year, and year two projections are in the multimillions of dollars, according to a person familiar with the project who asked not to be named because the numbers are confidential.