Living Single

Living Single
Format	Sitcom
Created by	Yvette Lee Bowser
Starring	Queen Latifah Kim Coles Erika Alexander Kim Fields T.C. Carson (Seasons 1-4) John Henton Mel Jackson (Season 5)
Opening theme	Written and performed by Queen Latifah
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	118
Production
Running time	30 Minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	FOX
Original run	August 29, 1993 – January 1, 1998
Chronology
Related shows	Half & Half

Living Single was an American television sitcom which aired for five seasons on FOX from August 1993 until January 1998. The show centered on the lives of six African American friends who share personal and professional experiences while living in a Brooklyn brownstone.^[1] Throughout its run, Living Single became one of the most popular African-American sitcoms of its era, ranking among the top five in African-American ratings in all five seasons. The series was produced by Yvette Lee Bowser in association with Warner Bros. Television.

Synopsis

Living Single centered on six Black late-twenty somethings consisting of four women and two men living the single life in the heart of Brooklyn, New York.

The series focused on two different households in one brownstone (although, as the later seasons revealed, there are more apartments in the building): one shared by a trio of upward-mobile women and another shared by a pair of male friends who have known each other since they spent their youth in Cleveland, Ohio. Khadijah James, a hard-working editor and publisher of the fictional urban independent monthly Flavor, shares an apartment with her sweet but naïve cousin Synclaire (originally the role of Synclaire was to be played by British rapper, Monie Love, a long-time friend and music collaborator of Queen Latifah), an aspiring actress who works as Khadijah's receptionist and has an affinity for Troll dolls; and her childhood friend from East Orange, New Jersey, Regina "Régine" Hunter, an image-conscious boutique buyer who was in constant search of a well-to-do man to spend her life with, often referring to said potential man as her "Chocolate Ken" and later became a costume assistant for a soap opera called Palo Alto with a fondness for gossip and wigs. Maxine "Max" Shaw, a sharp-tongued attorney and Khadijah's best friend (whom she met in college at Howard University) stops by frequently to share her unique insights and make sure the girls' refrigerator isn't overstocked and to keep them entertained by sharing her day and starting trouble with Kyle .

Living in the apartment above are Overton Wakefield Jones, a friendly handyman who holds deep affection for Synclaire; and Kyle Barker, a handsome stockbroker whose constant verbal sparring with Max does little to mask their obvious sexual attraction. The series offered T.C. Carson frequent opportunities to showcase his talents as a jazz-influenced vocalist.

Kyle and Max maintained an on-again/off-again relationship that was a constant storyline that began at the end of the first season and continued until the end of the series.

The house set for the pilot episode is the same set from the show Family Matters, although the kitchen set was changed. It was resized to about a third of the original and the laundry room was removed.

The final season

The first two episodes of the final season of Living Single saw the departure of Kyle. Before leaving, he gives Max a farewell kiss and he is last seen walking to his plane. Despite his absence, he is mentioned frequently. Also, this season also saw the introduction of a new male roommate for the ladies after Synclaire and Overton got married at the end of the fourth season and moved into their own apartment in the brownstone. Ira Lee "Tripp" Williams III, a songwriter who was a friend of Russell's, became their new roommate, much to Regine's displeasure. Meanwhile, Roni DeSantos (played by real life MTV VJ, Idalis DeLeon), a New York-area D.J. that had a brief fling with Tripp, moved into Overton and Kyle's old apartment. Regine moved out of the house after she became engaged to a millionaire video game developer and was absent for the remainder of the final season. Synclaire joined a comedy improv troupe where she gained the attention of Tony Jonas, a Warner Bros. television exec who cast her as a nun for a new comedy series he was developing.

Max, still distraught after she turned down Kyle's offer to join him in London, began looking for purpose after defending a man who claimed to be the second coming of Jesus (played by Harold Perrineau). She relived her past lives after she, Khadijah, and Synclaire went to a spa retreat. Learning that she was a man in every lifetime except her current one, Max realized that her mission was to become a mother. The series finale revealed that the sperm donor for Max's baby was Kyle, who returned for the final episode. The two reconciled soon after

Khadijah also left the brownstone for the final time with her boyfriend and later successful music producer, Scooter, played by Cress Williams a friend from Khadijah and Regine's childhood in East Orange, New Jersey, whom she had a finale reunion with two episodes prior to the finale in a Christmas-themed episode.

Half & Half

Erika Alexander and T.C. Carson reprised their characters on another Yvette Lee Boswer series, the UPN sitcom Half & Half. In "The Big Performance Anxiety Episode", which originally aired on February 14, 2005, it was revealed that Maxine and Kyle were still a couple, and that their baby was a girl, whom they named Kyla Barker. Maxine had become "the female Johnnie Cochran" and professional idol of UC Berkeley Law student Dee Dee Thorne (Essence Atkins), while Kyle had left Wall Street to pursue a career in musical theater.

Cast and characters

Main characters

• Queen Latifah — Khadijah James
• Kim Coles — Synclaire James-Jones
• Erika Alexander — Maxine "Max" Felice Shaw
• T.C. Carson — Kyle Barker (Seasons 1-4 ; 3 episodes in Season 5)
• John Henton — Overton "Obie" Wakefield Jones
• Kim Fields — Regina "Regine" Hunter 1-5 appeared for a while not seen the rest of the season
• Mel Jackson — Ira Lee "Tripp" Williams III (Season 5)

Minor Characters

• T.C. Carson as Kyle Barker (guest stars in the finale)
• Shaun Baker — Russell Montego
• Idalis DeLeon — Roni De Santos (1997-1998)
• Wayne Federman — Fred Meyer (3 episodes)
• Chip Fields (Chip Hurd) — Laverne Hunter (Regine's Mother)
• Steven Gilborn — Jeffrey Higgins (4 episodes)
• Heavy D — Darryl (3 episodes)
• Bobby Hosea — Lawrence (3 episodes)
• Khalil Kain — Keith (4 episodes)
• Rita Owens — Rita James (1994-1997) (Khadijah's Mother)
• Bumper Robinson — Ivan Ennis (1995-1997)
• Michole White — Olivia Imogene Jones (Overton's sister)
• Cress Williams — Terrence "Scooter" Williams
• Dorien Wilson — Rev. Leslie Taylor (4 episodes)
• Peter Brost — Young Overton "Obie" Wakefield Jones (2 episodes)

Notable Guest Appearances