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Living Single is an American television created by Yvette Denise Lee that aired for five seasons on the Fox network, from August 22, 1993, to January 1, 1998. The show centers on the lives of six New York City friends who share personal and professional experiences while living in a .

Episodes
Plot
Living Single centered on six friends in their 20s living the single life in Prospect Heights, ."Fatal Distraction". Living Single. Season 1, Episode 16. First aired January 9, 1994.

The series focused on two different households in one brownstone, one shared by a trio of independent women and another shared by two male friends who had known each other since childhood while living in . In the first apartment, Khadijah James (), a hard-working and of the fictional urban independent magazine Flavor, lived with her sweet but naive cousin Synclaire James (), an aspiring actress who worked as Khadijah's receptionist and had an affinity for , and her childhood friend from East Orange, New Jersey, Regina "Régine" Hunter (), an image-conscious boutique buyer who was on a constant search for a well-to-do man to spend her life (and his money) with. Later in the series, Régine became a costume assistant for the soap opera Palo Alto. When the soap was canceled, she became a wedding planner and left the apartment to move in with her fiancé Dexter Knight (). Maxine "Max" Shaw (), a sharp-tongued and Khadijah's best friend from their college days at Howard University, frequently stopped by to share her unique insights and the events of her day, to make sure that the girls' refrigerator wasn't overstocked, and to start trouble with Kyle, looking for any chance to make his life worse.

Kyle Barker (T.C. Carson) lived in the second apartment with Overton Wakefield Jones (). Overton was the friendly but bucolic maintenance man for the owner of their (and neighboring) building, who held a deep affection for Synclaire and plenty of hilarious homespun wisdom for everyone else. Kyle was a whose constant verbal sparring with Max did little to mask their obvious sexual attraction to each other. Kyle and Max pursued a sexual relationship, but when he decided to take a job in London and invited Max to join him, she turned him down. Maxine subsequently became distraught over her decision and, after defending a man who claimed to be the second coming of (), she began to take her life more seriously. Through a series of events, Max decided that her purpose must be to become a mother. During the insemination process, she unknowingly picked Kyle's sperm specimen based on a list of qualities she would like for her child to have. Kyle returned in the series finale, and the two reconciled. Overton and Synclaire also got together, and their relationship culminated in marriage by the end of the fourth season. In season five, they moved in together, leaving Overton and Kyle's apartment open for new character Roni DeSantos (), a New York-area D.J., to move in. It was eventually revealed that DeSantos had a fling with Ira Lee "Tripp" Williams III, (), a songwriter whom Khadijah and Régine allowed to move in when Synclaire's room became available. Synclaire joined a comedy improv troupe where she gained the attention of Tony Jonas, a Warner Bros. Television executive who cast her as a nun for a new comedy series he was developing.

Along with trying to make Flavor a success, Khadijah also looked for Mr. Right. She eventually found him in childhood friend Scooter (), with whom she left the brownstone for the final time in the series finale.

Cast and characters
Regular cast
  • – Khadijah James, Howard graduate and and of Flavor, an independent magazine devoted to the interests of the African-American community.
  • – Synclaire James-Jones, Khadijah's good-natured cousin and roommate; receptionist at Flavor and aspiring actress. The role of Synclaire was originally intended for Queen Latifah's long-time friend and collaborator, , but she was unable to take the part.
  • – Regina "Regine" Hunter (episodes 1–115), Khadijah and Synclaire's gossip-loving roommate; Khadijah's childhood friend.
  • – Maxine "Max" Felice Shaw, strong-willed attorney, Khadijah's best friend and former college roommate at Howard, who grew up in Mount Airy, Philadelphia; spends most of her time at the women's apartment.
  • T.C. Carson – Kyle Barker (episodes 1–107; guest appearance in episode 118), and Overton's roommate; Max's verbal sparring partner and on-again-off-again love interest.
  • – Overton "Obie" Wakefield Jones, Kyle's roommate and the brownstone's ; Synclaire's sweetheart, also co-owner of the apartment complex the gang lived in.
  • – Ira Lee "Tripp" Williams III (Season 5), Khadijah and Regine's new roommate; aspiring songwriter.

Recurring cast
  • — Laverne Hunter, Regine's mother
  • — Rita James (Seasons 1–4), Khadijah's mother
  • Michael Warren — Ed James (Season 4), Khadijah's father
  • Barbara Montgomery – Nana James (Season 2), Khadijah's grandmother
  • — Keith (Seasons 3–4), Regine's boyfriend and artist
  • — Dexter Knight (Season 5), Regine's boyfriend turned fiancé
  • — Terrence "Scooter" Williams, Khadijah's childhood friend and boyfriend
  • Isaiah Washington — Dr. Charles Roberts (Season 4), Khadijah's anesthesiologist and boyfriend
  • - Darryl, Regine's boyfriend (3 episodes)
  • – Fred Meyer, Maxine's law office colleague (Season 2, Ep. 10 & 19; Season 3, Ep. 11)
  • Shaun Baker — Russell Montego, -born music editor at Flavor, in love with Regine.
  • — Ivan Ennis (Seasons 3–4), Flavor copy aide and major at New York University, in love with Khadijah.
  • — Roni DeSantos (Season 5), popular New York City and Tripp's love interest

Guest cast
  • – Brad Hamilton, Regine's boyfriend who turned out to be married (Season 1, Episode 1)
  • – Miss Harper (Season 1, Episode 2)
  • Thomas Mikal Ford – Michael Edwards, Synclaire's date (Season 1, Episode 3)
  • Jeffrey D. Sams – Greg, Maxine's ex-boyfriend (Season 1, Episode 4)
  • - Susan, Greg's fiancée (Season 1, Episode 4)
  • Miguel A. Nunez – Goldie (Season 1, Episode 6 & 20)
  • – Shirley Shortridge (Season 1, Episode 7)
  • – Jack Peabody (Season 1, Episode 7)
  • – Patrick (Season 1, Episode 8)
  • – Mrs. Ryan (Season 1, Episode 10)
  • – as himself (Season 1, Episode 12)
  • - as himself (Season 1, Episode 12)
  • Dres (rapper) – as himself (Season 1, Episode 12)
  • – Stacey Evans, photographer for Flavor and Kyle's date (Season 1, Episode 13)
  • – Brendan King, Maxine's college-aged boyfriend (Season 1, Episode 17)
  • – Summer, Overton's date (Season 1, Episode 18)
  • - Morris King, (Season 1, Episode 18)
  • – Hamilton Brown, the new upstairs neighbor (Season 1, Episode 18 & 19)
  • Michael Jai White – Steve (Season 1, Episode 20)
  • – Jackie, Khadijah's college friend (Season 1, Episode 21)
  • – as himself (Season 1, Episode 21)
  • Mark Curry – Tony Ross, Regine's boyfriend, a standup comedian (Season 1, Episode 25)
  • Adam Lazarre-White - Alonzo Ford (Season 1, Episode 24 and 27)
  • – Denise Hatcher, Khadijah's school basketball rival (Season 2, Episode 2)" Basketball Great a Guest Star on 'Living Singe'". Associated Press. The Daily Journal (Franklin, Indiana). August 21, 1994.
  • Branford Marsalis – as himself (Season 2, Episode 2)
  • – Mary, business client of Flavor (Season 2, Episode 5)
  • – Professor Fletcher, Synclaire's teacher (Season 2, Episode 6)
  • Michole Briana White — Olivia Imogen Jones (Season 2 Episode 7 & Season 4 Episode 24), Overton's sister
  • Gilbert Gottfried – Lawrence J. Friedlander, telemarketing company owner (Season 2, Episode 10)
  • – Judge Glazer, the judge at Maxine's trial (Season 2, Episode 10)
  • – Dr. Sheridan, Regine's doctor (Season 2, Episode 11)
  • – neighborhood ice cream man (Season 2, Episode 11)
  • – as himself (Season 2, Episode 12)
  • Rosie O'Donnell – Sheri, Khadijah's high school friend (Season 2, Episode 14)
  • – as himself (Season 2, Episode 16)
  • – Jon Marc, Synclaire's study partner (Season 2, Episode 18)
  • Phil Morris – Preston August, Maxine's boss and former boyfriend (Season 2, Episode 19)
  • – Joe, friend of Regine's boyfriend (Season 2, Episode 19)
  • Vanessa A. Williams – Hellura, Kyle's date (Season 2, Episode 22)
  • – Marcus Hughes, Village Voice reporter (Season 2, Episode 23)
  • Roberto Durán – as himself (Season 2, Episode 23)
  • – Delia Deveaux, talk show host (Season 2, Episode 25)
  • – talk show guest (Season 2, Episode 25)
  • Q-Tip (musician) - Roberto Hughes (Season 2, Episode 26)
  • – Mr. Foster, store owner (Season 2, Episode 26)
  • – Zina, possible new roommate (Season 2, Episode 26)
  • – Nina Shaw (Season 3), Maxine's mother
  • — Odelle Jones (Season 4), Overton's mother
  • — Otis Jones (Season 4), Overton's father
  • — Lilah James (Season 4), Synclaire's mother
  • Ron O'Neal — Clinton James (Season 4), Synclaire's father
  • - as Damon Barker (Season 4), Kyle's brother
  • – as himself (Season 3, Episode 3)
  • John O'Hurley – as Jean Luc Gerard, Regine new boss (Season 3, Episode 5)
  • – as Jacqueline Richards, Kyle's client (Season 3, Episode 8)
  • – as himself (Season 3, Episode 10)
  • – Nina Shaw, Maxine's mother (Season 3, Episode 11)
  • – as himself (Season 3, Episode 11)
  • – as himself (Season 3, Episode 11)
  • – as himself (Season 3, Episode 12)
  • – as Brent, Palo Alto Actor (Season 3, Episode 13)
  • – as Mountie Robeson (Season 3, Episode 13)
  • Melvin Van Peebles – Warner Devant, Regine's date (Season 3, Episode 16)
  • Mario Van Peebles – Cole Front, Regine's date (Season 3, Episode 16)
  • – as himself (Season 3, Episode 17)
  • – Dr. Jessica Bryce, Khadijah's therapist (Season 3, Episode 19)
  • — Rev. Leslie Taylor, pastor at the group's church (Season 3, Episode 23; Season 4, Episodes 6, 16 & 24)
  • Monica – Marissa, Khadijah's date's sister (Season 3, Episode 24)
  • Giancarlo Esposito – Maxine's client (Season 3, Episode 24)
  • – Stephanie James, Khadijah's half-sister (Season 3, Episode 25)
  • Jack Carter – Ray Kellum, eccentric man (Season 3, Episode 26; Season 4, Episode 9)
  • Bobcat Goldthwait – mugger (Season 3, Episode 27; Season 4, Episode 1)
  • – as Lester Tate, picked on Kyle in high school (Season 4, Episode 8)
  • Vivica A. Fox – as Darryl's fiancée (Season 4, Episode 9)
  • – as himself (Season 4, Episode 10)
  • – as Dr. Booker Burghardt Mountebank (Season 4, Episode 12)
  • Evander Holyfield – as himself (Season 4, Episode 15)
  • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – as himself (Season 4, Episode 15)
  • Susan L. Taylor – as herself (Season 4, Episode 15)
  • – as Esther Brooks, owner of the brownstone (Season 4, Episode 15)
  • – as LaTrice, in the choir of the group's church (Season 4, Episode 16)
  • – comedian (Season 4, Episode 17)
  • — Reese, the women's house cleaner (Season 4, Episode 19)
  • – as himself (Season 4, Episode 20)
  • – as Ava Rivera (Season 4, Episode 22)
  • – as himself (Season 4, Episode 24)
  • – Agnes Finch, cruise social director (Season 5, Episodes 1 and 2)
  • – as himself (Season 5, Episode 2)
  • - as Christopher Thompson (Season 5, Episode 3)
  • – as himself (Season 5, Episode 3)
  • – as herself (Season 5, Episode 6)
  • – as himself (Season 5, Episode 7)
  • – hitchhiker (Season 5, Episode 8)
  • – Walter Jackson, Maxine's client (Season 5, Episode 9)
  • – as herself (Season 5, Episode 12)
  • as Keyshawn King (Season 5, Episodes 9 and 12)

Home media
Warner Home Video released the complete first season of Living Single on DVD in Region 1 on February 14, 2006. The remainder seasons were released from 2017-18. Living Single - HOORAY! Warner Archive Announces 'The Complete 2nd Season' 3-disc MOD set will finally be available in mid-Septembers Living Single - Warner Archive Announces DVDs for 'The Complete 3rd Season' MOD release is available online during the second half of November . Living Single - The Next-to-Last Season, 'The Complete 4th Season,' is Now Scheduled! MOD title will be available online in March from Amazon/CreateSpace and the WBshop!.

The Complete First Season27February 14, 2006
The Complete Second Season27September 19, 2017
The Complete Third Season27November 21, 2017
The Complete Fourth Season24March 20, 2018
The Complete Fifth Season13June 5, 2018

Production
and both had development deals with Fox.Bash, Alan (December 17, 1994). " Single and Loving it...Twice". USA Today. Chillicothe Gazette (Chillicothe, Ohio). In March 1993, Fox announced that Queen Latifah and Coles would star in a comedy sitcom called My Girls, about roommates in New York City.Cerone, Daniel (March 27, 1993). " Networks Give Fall TV Pilots a Chance to Fly". Los Angeles Times. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. C11. The character of Khadijah was created for Queen Latifah. Khadijah is an entrepreneur who started an urban-lifestyle magazine, much as Latifah is an entrepreneur who started her hip-hop record label.Kloer, Phil (July 13, 1993). " Fox to Get Early Start on Fall Season Debuts". The Atlanta Constitution. p. D8. Fox changed the show's name to Living Single three weeks before its television debut." Fox Changes Name of Show". The Daily Advertiser (Lafayette, Louisiana). July 30, 1993. p. 4.

Creator Yvette Lee Bowser's initial goal was to develop a show about herself and her friends that would change the portrayal of young Black people on television. Her overall goal was to portray Black characters positively and less stereotypically. She also noted that the women represented on Living Single are four different sides of herself, saying in an interview, "I've been as ditsy as Synclaire, as superficial as Regine, as bitter as Max, and as focused and driven as Khadijah."

In May 1997, Fox announced that it had ordered 13 episodes of the fifth season of Living Single but would be delayed until January 1998.Bauder, David (May 21, 1997). " Fox Adding Quintet of Shows to Its Lineup". Associated Press. Daily Record (Morristown, New Jersey). Three months later, Fox made a change to its fall schedule, delayed the airing of a new comedy called Rewind, and decided to debut Living Singles fifth season on September 11.Jackson, Terry (August 27, 1997). " 'Living Single' Returns to Fox". Knight-Ridder Newspapers. York Daily Record (York, Pennsylvania). The final episode of the fifth season aired on January 1, 1998.McDonough, Kevin (January 1, 1998). " 'Living Single' Bows Out With a Double Shot". Intelligencer Journal (Lancaster, Pennsylvania). p. A10.Sterngold, James (January 2, 1998). " Despite Some Advances, Television Remains 'A Boys Club'". The New York Times. The Arizona Republic.

Crossovers
  • The Crew: In the episode "The Mating Season", Regine becomes a passenger on a flight and argues with a sassy stewardess in hopes of upgrading to first class. In another episode, "The Worst Noel," Synclaire also becomes a passenger.
  • Half & Half: and T.C. Carson reprised their roles of Maxine Shaw and Kyle Barker on the UPN sitcom, Half & Half (a series produced by Living Single creator Yvette Lee Bowser). In the episode ("The Big Performance Anxiety Episode," third season), ambitious law student Dee Dee learns that her mother's co-star,Kyle, in a play is engaged to Maxine, Dee Dee's idol. However, her mother gets Maxine's beau, fired because she fears he will take attention away from her. The episode also revealed that Maxine and Kyle remained a couple and were the proud parents of their seven-year-old daughter named Kyla.

Syndication
Living Single started reruns in syndication on September 22, 1997, through various Fox, UPN, and WB affiliates; these were later CW affiliates in terms of UPN and WB. The series formerly reran on , , , and Oxygen. Syndication carriage on the local level fizzled out in 2006. Reruns of the series currently run daily on cable networks TV One, MTV2, , , and VH1. As of January 11, 2018, all episodes began streaming on Hulu, and on HBO Max as of September 22, 2022.

Reunion specials
An hour-long retrospective special, Living Single: The Reunion Show, aired on TV One on September 22, 2008. , , , Carson and reunited to share fond memories with the fans. and were unavailable to participate. The special featured clips and revealing secrets of the cast from the show's five-year run.

From August 24 to 26, 2018, TV One aired a weekend marathon of "Living Single" to highlight the 25th anniversary of the show. , , , and Carson reunited once again to share memories with the fans, to share their thoughts on the characters they portrayed and provided a tribute to Rita Owens (Queen Latifah's real-life and TV mother), who had passed in early 2018. , and were unavailable to participate.

Reception
During Living Singles first season, it consistently garnered higher ratings than Martin, which aired in the time slot immediately before it on Thursday nights, and it quickly became the fourth highest-rated show aired on Fox among their 12 current series.Braxton, Greg (February 6, 1994). " 'Living Single' Shakes Off Criticism". Los Angeles Times. Austin American-Statesman (Austin, Texas).

Throughout its run, Living Single became one of the most popular sitcoms of its era, ranking amongst the top five in African-American ratings in all five seasons.Bash, Alan (January 26, 1995). " 2 Tales of Singles in the City, Yet Strangers in the Night". USA Today. The News Journal (Wilmington, Delaware). p. D1, D2.Zurawik, David (May 6, 1996). " Blacks, Whites Have Divided Taste in TV". The Baltimore Sun. Kenosha News (Kenosha, Wisconsin). p. 13.de la Viña, Mark (February 26, 1996). " Surveys Show Blacks, Whites Mostly View Their Own on TV". Philadelphia Daily News. p. 7.Johnson, Allan (April 18, 1997). " The Difference Between Black and White Viewers a Study in Contrast". Chicago Tribune. p. Tempo 1, Tempo 3. Newspaper critics contrasted Living Single with the NBC sitcom which was inspired by the post-college experiences of and David Crane and in development around November 1993 after the cult show premiered. Living Single featured successful Black characters including an attorney, a stockbroker, and a business owner, in contrast to Friends, which featured a White cast including a waitress, a folk singer, and an unemployed actor. Show creator Yvette Lee Bowser was disappointed that Warner Bros. Television did not promote Living Single nearly as much as it did Friends.Braxton, Greg (February 1, 1996). " 'Single' Asks for a Little Help". Los Angeles Times. p. F24.

Living Single was never one of the highest-rated programs among audiences during its run from 1993 to 1998. Indeed, the show had struggled to break into lists of top television programs viewed by larger audiences and never broke into the Top 50, though it was a higher performer for the Fox network itself. Those who loved and watched the show regularly have told show creator Yvette Lee Bowser that they connect with its characters, love the cast, and are inspired by the positive, elegant, and professional portrayal of Black people on television. Bowser noted that "People say our characters remind them of themselves, their friends or their relatives. They all know someone like one of the characters."

Awards and nominations
+ Awards and nominations for Living Single
1998Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series
Outstanding Comedy Series
Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy SeriesT.C. Carson
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

In 1995 and 1996, Living Single was nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lighting Direction (Electronic) for a Comedy Series (Bryan Hays)." Nighttime Nominees: A Complete Rundown". The Los Angeles Times. July 21, 1995. p. F30." And the Emmy Nominees Are". The Los Angeles Times. July 19, 1996. p. F22.

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