Living Single

Infobox Television
show_name = Living Single


caption = Cast of "Living Single" deletable image-caption
format = Sitcom
runtime = 30 Minutes
creator = Yvette Lee Bowser
starring = Queen Latifah
Erika Alexander
Kim Coles
Kim Fields
John Henton
Terrence 'T.C.' Carson
country = USA
network = FOX
first_aired = August 29, 1993
last_aired = January 1, 1998
num_seasons = 5
num_episodes = 118
imdb_id = 0106056
tv_com_id = 473

"Living Single" is an American television sitcom,First named My Girls which aired for five seasons on the FOX television network from August 1993 until January 1998.The series was produced by Yvette Lee Bowser in association with Warner Bros. Television.

In contrast to the popularity of NBC's "Must See TV" on Thursday nights in the 1990s, many African-American viewers flocked to FOX's Thursday night line-up of Living Single, "New York Undercover", and "Martin". In fact, these were the three highest rated series among Black households (in this respective order) for the 1996-1997 season. [ "How Blacks Differ From Whites in TV Show Choices", "Jet", Mar. 17, 1997, at p. 54.]

ynopsis

"Living Single" centers on six Black twenty somethings consisting of four women and two men living in a brownstone in the heart of Brooklyn, New York.

The series focuses 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 Regine 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, stops by frequently to share her unique insights and make sure the girls' refrigerator isn't overstocked.

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.

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.

Initial cancellation

Originally, this season was supposed to never happened as FOX planned to drop the show from the lineup in May 1997 (reported in the Hollywood Blurb of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). With Martin Lawrence failing to show up for a meeting to discuss his show's proposed sixth season, the network decided to bring the show back for an initial 13 as a midseason replacement. The show ended up being bumped to the fall schedule after the network pulled the plug on the Mystro Clark series "Rewind." The show with 13 taped episodes was cancelled prior to any airings over the summer. Living Single was given its old 8pm Thursday timeslot.Fact|date=January 2008

The producers were told if the show did well, it would be granted a full season order. Supposedly, FOX never called to verify the cancellation or renewal so a spoof of this was made on the final episode. On the last episode, as Khadijah and Scooter walked out of the apartment for the final time, the camera zoomed to the answering machine as the phone rang.Fact|date=February 2008 The last lines of the show were a phone operator stating she had a call from Peter Roth (FOX's entertainment president at the time) for Khadijah and then the WB logo appeared ending the show.Fact|date=January 2008 Syndication edits of the show often omit this scene and show the credits on a black background.Fact|date=January 2008

The final season

The final season of "Living Single" saw the departure of Kyle and 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. 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 Scooter, whom she just reunited with two episodes prior to the finale in the Christmas-themed episode.

The way the show ended left a lot of holes in the story

Cast

*Queen Latifah — Khadijah James
*Kim Coles — Synclaire James-Jones
*Erika Alexander — Maxine "Max" Felice Shaw
*Terrence "T.C." Carson — Kyle Barker (Episodes 1-107, guest-starring in Episode 118)
*John Henton — Overton "Obie" Wakefield Jones
*Kim Fields — Regine Hunter (Episodes 1-115)
*Mel Jackson — Ira Lee "Tripp" Williams III (Episodes 106-118)

Supporting cast
*Shaun Baker — Russell Montego
*Idalis DeLeon — Roni De Santos (1997-1998)
*Chip Fields (Chip Hurd) — Laverne Hunter
*Rita Owens — Rita James (1994-1997)
*Bumper Robinson — Ivan Ennis (1995-1997)
*Cress Williams — Terrence "Scooter" Williams

Regular guests
*Khalil Kain — Keith (4 episodes)
*Dorien Wilson — Rev. Leslie Taylor (4 episodes)
*Steven Gilborn — Jeffrey Higgins (4 episodes)
*Bobby Hosea — Lawrence (3 episodes)
*Wayne Federman — Fred Meyer (3 episodes)
*Heavy D — Darryl (3 episodes)

DVD release

Warner Home Video released the complete first season of "Living Single" on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time on February 14, 2006. It is unknown if the remaining 4 seasons will be released at some point.Fact|date=January 2008

Trivia

Neither of Kyle's parents were ever shown, nor was any member of Tripp's family. As for the other 5 principal characters::- Khadijah's mother - Rita Owens (Queen Latifah's real-life mother):- Khadijah's father - Michael Warren:- Khadijah's sister - Tatyana M. Ali :- Synclaire's mother - Denise Nicholas:- Synclaire's father - Ron O'Neal:- Max's mother - C.C.H. Pounder:- Regine's mother - Chip Fields (Kim Fields' real-life mother):- Overton's mother - Gladys Knight:- Overton's father - Antonio Fargas:- Overton's uncle (Tiberius ("Tibby") Jones) - J. Anthony Brown:- Overton's uncle ("Smoke Eye" Howard (Desmond & Damon Howard's dad)) - John Witherspoon:- Overton's sister (Olivia Imogene Jones) - Michole White:- Kyle's brother (Damon) - Kenny Blank

*Overton suffered from coulrophobia (fear of clowns)
*Khadijah, Regine, and Scooter were all childhood friends.
*Khadijah and Maxine became friends in college.
*Kyle and Overton were childhood friends.
*Regine's birth name is Regina.
*The series offered T.C. Carson frequent opportunities to showcase his talents as a jazz-influenced vocalist.
*Future Academy Award nominee Terrence Howard appeared in the first-season episode "The Hand That Robs the Cradle" as a college student involved with Maxine (Erika Alexander). Howard and Alexander would later co-star in the Showtime drama "Street Time".
*Queen Latifah and Erika Alexander both starred in the 1998 TV miniseries "Mama Flora's Family" (based upon the novel by Alex Haley and David Stevens).
*The first-season episode "U.N.I.T.Y." takes its name from the Queen Latifah song of the same name, and the plot of the episode relies heavily upon themes reflected in that song. An excerpt from Latifah's video for "U.N.I.T.Y." is featured during the episode's closing credits.
*Professional athletes were frequent guest stars on "Living Single", almost always appearing as themselves and interacting with Queen Latifah's Khadijah. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerome Bettis, Bobby Bonilla, Cris Carter, Cedric Ceballos, Grant Hill, Evander Holyfield, Keyshawn Johnson, and Cheryl Miller all made appearances.
*Before portraying surgeon Preston Burke on "Grey's Anatomy", Isaiah Washington appeared as Dr. Charles Roberts, an anesthesiologist who became a love interest for Khadijah.
*Erika Alxander and T.C. Carson reprised their characters (Max and Kyle) on an episode of "Half & Half", another Yvette Lee Bowser series. In this episode, they are engaged with a child which tells how their characters' relationship lasted even after the show finale.
*Kim Coles and John Henton portrayed Spirit's parents on the sitcom "One on One".
*Many of the cast members from the hit television series, "A Different World", appeared as special guest stars during the run of Living Single. The cast members that have appeared on the show include Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Charnele Brown, Darryl M. Bell, Cree Summer and Karen Malina White.
*During the run of the show, Kim Fields and John Henton had a romantic relationship
* 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 stairs and laundry room were removed.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0106056|title=Living Single
* [http://www.tv.com/living-single/show/473/summary.html?q=Living+Single/ "Living Single"] at TV.com