One Song - Introducing: ReLiving Single

Episode Date: May 8, 2025

This week on One Song, we’re sharing a new podcast from our friends at Hartbeat: ReLiving Single. It’s the official, unofficial rewatch podcast for the iconic sitcom that changed the game. They dive into the episode’s drama, the show's unforgettable characters, and why Living Single and other Black-led shows dominated the '90s. In this first episode, real-life besties Erika Alexander and Kim Coles revisit the Living Single pilot, “Judging by the Cover,” where Regine’s new man comes with one big red flag: a whole wife. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, One Song Nation, Diallo here. Luxury and I are taking a short break this week, but we didn't want to leave you completely hanging. Our network, Heartbeat Audio, has teamed up with Color Farm Media to create a new show about an old show called Reliving Single, the official, unofficial Living Single Rewatch podcast. Hosted by Erica Alexander, aka Maxine Shaw, Attorney at Law, and Kim Coles, aka Sinclair James. Re Living Single dives deep into the cultural impact of living single to the lens of those who lived it and those who loved it.

As you guys know, I'm an actor, writer, comedian, sometimes DJ, and Living Single was a huge influence on me as a young creative. We'll be back with more One Song next week, but in the meantime, satisfy your nostalgia craving with Reliving Single. Hey, Kim, you know, what is chemistry? You know, chemistry is that sort of a genesee qua. You can't quite put your finger on it, but you know it when you feel it, right? Yeah, and if you feel it, then the audience can see it.

Yeah, that's kind of thing. And I really truly believe that we had it at Living Single from episode one, moment one, like right away. That's exactly why they green at the show. I mean, our chemistry is part of the legion. It is. Do you know that they still do chemistry reads on auditions? You want to explain to the people what a chemistry read is? Well, okay, so chemistry read is where you go in and you see if you vibe with the other actor

and they want to bring you in to make sure that you have, you know, some kind of communication. Right. That Genesee Choir you're talking about. So I think maybe we should do one here. Why would we need one? It's clear that we have chemistry. Well, I don't know. There's a lot of things that change.

You know, there's a lot of water on the bridge, you know, years of going by. We've had COVID. What does COVID have to do it? I just mean that you could have changed. You know what I'm saying? I could have changed, too. So I say, let's test it. So we're going to go on this new reliving single journey.

We need to make sure that we have now what we had then. Okay. All right. You scared of it? No, no, no. I'm down for it. I'm down for it. I'm a little worried, but no.

Okay. Okay. Tell you what? On one condition. What is it, though? Okay. If we're going to do a chemistry read, then we need to read a script and I want to choose it. Deal.

I'm scared. Don't have me out here looking crazy. No, we're going to look good. Wait until you see. I got something in mind. Don't get too excited now. I'm excited. Let's do this.

Let's do it. Welcome. Welcome. Re-living single. Re-living single. The unofficial, living single, podcast. So it's official, but it's unofficial. Unofficial, of course.

Because we're rebels like that. Come on. Come on. Come on. Can we're talking about the journey of living single through our eyes. It was 30 years ago. 30 years ago. We're still here and it's still on and it is playing somewhere even as we speak right now.

Somewhere in the world. Living single is playing. That's so wonderful. And thank you to our fans and our friends and our family. You're the reason that this has gone on this long. Again, they will not let us let this go. I embrace it and we're getting younger and younger fans and people whose kids are watching. So how many maxes have you met?

I've met Maxes. I've met someone whose name was Erica Alexandra. Oh, wow. Yes, Erica Alexandra Harris, a tech entrepreneur. Wow. Not kidding. You did that. Yeah.

Or her mama did that, but you did that. Well, her mama did that. She crazy. And I've met several Sinclair. I didn't have any children. Neither did I. But I have lots of Maxes. It's incredible.

But it's amazing when people pay tribute to you like that because that means it went to the heart. That's more than resonating. Which is why we're doing this show here at the heart. Heart beat. Hey. Get it. Okay. So what are we going to do in the show?

We're going to actually, what's a rewatch podcast? We're going to watch the show. Now, what's weird is, I don't know how much I watched the show when it was on. Did you watch it? So I watched some of it and I would forget stuff. Yeah, well, I didn't watch it. Well, no, because on Thursday nights when it came on, we were also taping that night. And we're talking about you had to put a VHS in and record it and push it.

No one knew how to work, no VHS. Shoot. Nowadays, these kids don't even understand how lucky they are. They're so lazy. They can just go boom, pop it in. Next thing you know, they got everything at their fingertips. Now, we're going to bring them back to when it was hard work. Okay?

Okay. Yeah, so we're going to re-watch it. So watch the show with us. Re-watch the show. With us. And we're going to start with number one. Here we go. The first episode.

That's right. What is it? I forgot the name of it. It was 30 years ago, people. So you'll be all right. We're going to watch the show, episode by episode, starting with number one. What is episode number one? Episode number one is judging a book by its cover.

Yeah. In which Regine thinks that she's found the perfect man, but Sinclair and Codizia and Max learned that he is, dun-dun-dun-dun-dun married. Married. Who? Ooh. Ooh.

Ooh. And he was played by Silk Cosa. Who is silky? One of the finest. He was silky, wasn't he? He's a good looking man. And he's a sweetheart. He is a sweetheart.

Yeah, yeah. Good dude, respectful, gentlemen, all of that. Playing this married man. Ooh, I wanted to oil him up. They had to decide how to decide how to do. to break it to her without her getting upset because regime would lose trust in them. Meanwhile, the B story. Sinclair forgets to secure the front cover celebrity for Flava Magazine.

Now, we talk about B story. There's an A story and a B story in sitcom, and the A story is basically the main story, the story that the characters will be dealing with mostly. And the B story is the kind of fun story that comes up and that threads it through very lightly and sort of has maybe a couple of scenes and then ties up the end. You'll never watch a sitcom the same way ever again. again after you know that. Now, you'll see the A story, you'll see the B story, and you'll see how they fold into each other. It's beautiful. Fun to watch and fun to do. I mean, you know, dating

a married man in the 90s. Was it a big deal in the 90s? It's a big deal all the time. It's something you should never do. I don't know. Nowadays, these young people will be dating everybody. They get on their apps and they have an app for, do you want to date a married man? Really? Think I'm lying. There's never a case in which the married man is the right man for you. And by the way, if Yvette was thinking about the longevity of the show and also capturing attention, something controversial like that would be a good thing. Right. So she lays it down early on.

This is a dating show, but it's going to be a little messy. And by the way, Yvette is Yvette Lee Bowser, the creator of the show. You'll learn more about her. Are we going to watch this episode or what? It's time for The Rewind, where we watch and relive Living Single with you. So before we get into the episode, we've got to talk about the theme song. Theme song. Everywhere we go, people sing this theme song.

Where we live in. Yes, let's listen to this. Come on. What is that? What is that? Okay. So that is not the theme song. The name of the living single show was originally My Girls.

Okay, I do know that. And we were told that it had to be changed because there was a movie of the same name. What movie? My girl. My girl. A decision was made. We're going to change the name and the name was going to be changed to living single. Just in case anybody out there, Ms. Thick, the movie would,

two white kids with four black women. With four black women. And six, and two men. Yeah. It was changed to living single. Okay. Which I thought it was a terrible name. Okay.

Why? Because nobody talks that way and you say I'm living the single life or, ooh, I'm single and living it up big. Like who says living single? It sounded harsh. What'd you do about it? Do you say anything? Well, okay.

So Dana and I went to Warner Brothers and we went to go see Les Moon Vest who was running one of the time. And Dana is Queen Latifah. We don't know that her name is... My memory is that we took a golf cart over from the lot where we were over to the big lot, where his office was. And I remember a set of doors opening up as if we were walking into heaven. It was like, oh, the executive office.

And it took 15 years to walk to his desk because it was like a long walkway. And we fought for it. We were like, this is a terrible name. And why are you changing the name? It's not going to... Nobody's going to say it. And he just listened and said, okay. Well, thank you so much for coming back and get on in your golf cart and go on

back across the... Dismissed. Dismissed. And we had to take it on. And now I couldn't imagine another name. I like that you stood up. Yes, we fought for it. You know what?

Over and over, people don't understand that we have these battles. Right. You know what I'm saying? And sometimes you lose. You lost. Most times you lose. It's all good. What do we win?

We won a great name. Once we got our name, Living Single. Boom. Who wrote the theme song for it? Queen Latifah. Who performed the theme song for it? Queen Latifah. It was incredible.

It was great. Roll it. I remember that day. Standing and dancing. Okay, so much to talk about there. It's a bop, and it bops to this day. It does, and I think I only learned the lyrics last year. I mean, you know, hey.

By the way, they all think I'm the woman dancing underneath the bridge. Let's do a little moment to her. Big Les is her name. She's an incredible dancer and was, you know, really one of the premier video girls that were that was happening in the 90s, and she came and did that dance. We've got to have her on the show. We do. She's a wonderful choreographer, and we also need to just prove that we are two different people.

You know, I don't mind if I can get paid her checks. Right. But I was never that limber. And plus, she's got strength on Gali. She looked like she's in Woman King. If I kicked up my leg, I'm telling you, you've been calling them EMT. It's not going to happen. Shut it down.

Shut it down. So people come up to us and sing the song all the time. All the time. It has been remixed a thousand times. It's in all sorts of. Jazzy version. There's a country version. And it just shows that when you have great music, it lasts the test of time.

For sure. She did that. Too blue and tight, like glue. So one of the things that's really special about this episode is, of course, it was written by our creator, Yvette Denise Lee. And Tom Anderson was brought in to be the overarching showrunner. I'm really grateful that Tom Anderson knew to stand down and let Yvette create the show that needed to be created.

He was brought into, you know, his overarching show. oversee everything, but she wanted to create extraordinary female friendships. And that was the foundation for the show. Right. So we should watch clip one because we're going to see the beginning of it. Hello. Slaiba magazine, the freshest taste in news and veils. Are you doing? Making them think we're international.

Make them think we need some money. What we're getting from this is that Khadija, played by the great Queen Latifah, is always going to be concerned about the health of her business. She's always going to have to be watching Sinclair, despite her good intentions, will mess her up and or miss things. And then she's always going to be interrupted by the continuing saga and soap opera of her various friends. There you go. That's living single. That's the show.

Sinclair was a royal mess up. But you play her beautifully. Thank you. Thank you. You know what I'm saying? I love Sinclair. And I don't like that people think she's dumb. She's not dumb.

So Ditzey and marches to the beat of her own drummer. That's dumb. That's dumb. That's not dumb. She's doing accents. She has thought this through. She wants her cousin's magazine to be, to feel as if it's international. So she's willing to put on a fake accent.

Like, I want people to think this is international. It's fantastic or whatever she did. You know, she's thought this through. That's not dumb. It's not well placed, but it's not dumb. It's not effective. I don't even know what to say. No, that's what's something.

What up? Sinclair. Genius. Yeah. Pure genius, right? Yeah, I think so. Me too. Okay. And what's played by a pure genius, Kim Coles. Let's just be real. No diggity, no doubt. No diggity, no doubt. You were just coming off of living color. Yes.

You have a background in comedy. Yeah. How much did that play into? Because the play is, here you are doing this receptionist cousin role. Right. And actually, dumb characters are actually very. smart. It's actually very hard to play so-called characters who are seen as innocents or, you know what I mean, simple. Because I was a grown woman playing that, so I couldn't be too

long. And by the way, you're smart. You went to the Brooklyn Tech. It's a school you have to take a test to get into, but that's neither here. It's one of the top three high schools in New York and in the country. But, you know, to play, you know, someone who was naive and innocent and childlike. Suzanne Summers did that. It's Chrissy. There's a classic, wonderful thing. Who's our golden girls. Right. The great Betty White. Please, please. So to have that sort of innocence and childlike wander and wander around the set was fun to play and fun to do and a great, you know, contrast to Khadija who has this magazine and she's pulled and she's complicated and she's frustrated, but she's also very upfront that, you know, that she's got a lot of things that she's tumbling

around and actually I think that you're the great equalizer there. Ah, thank you. You know what I mean? You compliment each other. Thank you. You actually compliment each other as performers, too. I think so, too. We had chemistry. We shared the same dressing room all five seasons of that show. There was no point that anybody think, oh, let's just separate.

I always thought that you shared the same dressing room because you both had big titty. Is that what? Yes, big breasts. Did they fit in the same room? We would actually, I don't know people know this. I was smoking at the time. We would go in our little dressing area and smoke cigarettes in between the scenes and go, we'll be right out. Girls, this is something.

Oh, I went to a store and bought us a little sofa. We had pillows in there. You did? Absolutely. I didn't have nothing but a folding chair. Oh, no. We had plants in there and we were sitting and have a cigarette and we'll be right out. Oh, my gosh.

That's why we were late all the time. Wow. You know, everybody thinks it's all fancy back there, but we're in a huge warehouse. And they've got in the back of these sets, the sets are built with sort of plywood and whatnot. They look great from the front, from the back. It's all, you know, smoking mirrors. Right. And we are in dressing rooms.

that are curtains. Curtained off. And you have to quickly, they call quick change boost. So you just go in there, change, and get ready for the next scene. And we would go in there and laugh. And so you had yours and Kim had hers and the guys had theirs. And we would go in there and just sit in our underwear and get ready for the, like so let's say you and T.C. were out doing a scene.

We'd be in there smoking a cigarette and getting ready for the next scene. Just like, we'll be out shortly. That's what's up. What I like is they got you in that big hat. You look great in hats. I love those big hats. You look good. I had to be a cap that was easy enough to move on top of all those microbraids.

There's a lot of thought that goes into this thing that we're putting together. Even what you wear and the costumes. And we'll talk about that, too. It's all a part of the show. But what you're doing is establishing the two main characters, their dynamic as friends, and then also the third friend regime is about to walk in. Hello, Elaine, to rub your noses in it. Just came by to tell you that the limo outside happens to belong to my.

My new boyfriend, Brad. Well, if we didn't have so much work to do here, we'd love to hear more about your latest canine catch. Oh, would you? Wow. It's freaking awesome. That's the first episode, by the way. That's the first episode. The legend coming in, laying it down.

And in front of our eyes, she is no longer child star. She is touting the fact that you can lick caviar off of her ample bosoms. By the way, if you put caviar in there, you ain't finding it. You never find it again. But what's really cool about this is that Kim has been working for years and years and had done some work as an adult. But this was really her first role, at least from my perspective, her first role that we see her in a full-on woman.

And she stepped into it beautifully and owned it and owned it. And the wigs and the clothing and the desire to have a great man. But it really comes from wanting to grow out of this girl who just grew up in New Jersey. She wants this other world of, you know, of what she thinks that she wants, you know, a security. I think that Kim Fields regime set the bar for the bag. Like, go get that bag. 100%.

You know what I mean? And wig culture. Unapologetic. Unapologetic. I'm going to wear these. I'm going to switch it up. I'm going to serve it. Serve it.

And enjoy. I guess there's no shame in that game. No. You know. If you know it and if you know this is what you want, what she was going. what she was going for. I think she was going for security. I think people think that her character was a gold digger. I think it was a gold digger as in G-O-A-L. Look at you. Right. Not gold-digger, but gold-digger. There's a life that you have when you have a wealthy man in the eyes of someone

like that. Well, you know, Kim was the gateway drug from wholesome to hussy. Everybody needed a little taste. She was it, the bridge. We all have to give her props. She would be very upset that we were calling her a hussy, but she's a hussy-ish. She understands that we mean that in the most beautiful sense. And guess what? That's a career shift and certainly a personality shift. She's a child star. She's a veteran.

She's also wholesome, but also she's now playing the vamp and the hussy. Who's done that? Who's done that after her? Kiki Palmer. Oh. Zendaya. They were child stars. And then they had to prove that they were also women and they made that sort of, so they

transitioned from like wholesome to scandalous. They did. Look at euphoria. You're right. She's the first one. Yeah. Okay. It's one thing to be a hussy.

It's one of the being to be a hussy on cocaine. So, you know, we all have our, you know. Our trajectory. Yeah. Let's get props to the great kid field. As always. What does hussy mean? Well, it's a very kind word to say you use your feminine wiles.

Your feminine wiles to you a hoe. I mean, I don't know how else to put it. Sorry. You know, it is what it is. I didn't come up with that. This is from time and memorial. Okay. You ain't fin to put this on me.

me. You said it. Did I say it or did Ambler the writer? I think our producer said it. So let the record be shown that I came, I did not call you a hussy. You were a gold and gold digger. And you had different, you had other goals that you were digging for. For sure. And I was just digging for some brains. I was digging for some brains. Okay, moving on. And what you never, ever want to do is to touch this wire right here. You thought I was going to touch it, didn't you? Just a little handy man humor. worked up quite a thirst. Why don't I get us a beverage? Sicky, sicken, sicken.

Wow. Wait a minute. Was he the first person to say sickie-sickety now? On the show, I guess so. Oh, my gosh. We all thought it was regime. It was Overton. It was Overton. That's right. Wow. Wow. We just discovered this at what age? Way, way, way. So let's talk about the great John Hinton. I call him Hinton. Fine as hell. Fine and funny knows best. Listen, I remember

watching John Hinton on the Johnny Carson show. And I know I'm dating myself if those of you remember watching the show. And as a stand-up comedian myself, I understand the power of a stand-up comedian going on the Johnny Carson show and Mr. Carson saying,

come on over and sit down and talk to me because that's never planned, unless you're a big, big name. It was his first network television show. And I remember when he said, you know, come on over. John, the look on John's face was like, I'm about to sit next to the great,

and Johnny Carson loved him, and that was the night that John Hinton became a star, like all kinds of phone calls. And we'll have him on the show and tell all that. It's a huge deal. And so here he is introducing us to the apartment. Now, this is very important in episode one. We've already seen one of the most important anchors in there is Flavor.

Flavor Magazine. We also, by establishing that, say that they are career women. Yes. You know, they're not home makers. Who's at home? You are now at home with the handyman. And we are in the girls' apartment and we get to see Ground Zero. Ground Zero in a sitcom is usually where the couch is and where we see most of what's going

to happen throughout the entirety of the show. And so it's funny that the leads don't introduce us there. You are there, but meaning it's John Hinton's character, which is. And you see him establishing a little flirt and a little something. going on. So we're giving the audience an insight and inside into what's to come. Exactly. So that's now framing up some of the relationships that we're going to see and testing out those things. We don't know what's going to happen, but we're also seeing that Soverton has a thing for Sinclair. Again, chemistry. Clueless.

She's gold digging. No, she's childlike wonder. Child like wonder. Both of them have childlike wonder. And that's why we got along great. So, Overton's character, let's talk about that a little bit. Where's he from? From Cleveland, you know, a simple guy. And I don't mean simple as in simpleton. That's another character that people think stupid. You know, he's an inventor.

He can fix anything. He knows the inner workings of everything that's happening in the building. He knows the inner workings of relationships. He's actually meat and potatoes. What you see is what you get, salt of the earth and strong. Strong. Strong in who he is. He's the Nat Turner of Handy Men.

Okay. No, because he has that little rebel in him. Like, you're not going to just turn him. He's very strong in who he is and he understands that in the world where people might judge him, he's a rock. Yeah. He never apologizes for that. Yeah. I love that.

I mean, so he's masculine. Right. And he's simple. And easy on the eyes. And he's very accessible. loved and seen and appreciated and has a thousand sisters. And I think that's where it comes from. He really loves women and made them feel beautiful.

Well, that's the thing. And that would be an ongoing thing with both men. Oh, 100%. We have a second one that's going to enter. But that they really went out of their way to make sure that they took care of us, but also to protect us. 100%. And treat us like a lady.

Or you are off-key. Yes, I am. You know what I'm saying? That was some... Yeah, that was... Wow. Now, today, she let me fix the vacuum, but I figured once I'd get up under that sink,

I'm in there. Take notes. Dealing with a woman, it's like playing a basketball game, and brothers like you, dribble around the perimeter fixing vacuum cleaners, while a man like me

drive straight up the middle and slams. There we have our men. Come on. Right there, right there. We love them, and they love them. us, rocket and rocket fuel. We're learning so much. And this is dialogue, a sitcom dialogue, but what have we learned? Now, we're clear that Overton is interested in Sinclair and he wants

to get up under that sink, which is, that is scandalous. That's very naughty, very naughty. Very naughty. And then you have this other man come in, which we find out is his roommate. Yeah. And you school in him, alpha. Alpha male. Dressed totally different, got the suspenders, dressed to a T, got his whole formal game. going on, a business game going on. Look at the locks. Now, let's talk about Kyle Barker. What?

What? We had never seen someone like him in the sitcom world. No. Proud, chocolate, black, blackety black. Well, you know, wait a minute, we had Duane Wayne. Okay, right, right. I have to say, T.C. Carson with the locks is coming in a professional setting with those locks.

That's already saying that he is pushing and you know what I mean, that he's his own person. I love it. I mean, he's unapologetically afrocentric. Yes, yes. He is our Afa-futurist, seriously. But so Kyle Barker is named after Yvette Lee Bowser's boyfriend at the time. Right.

Kyle Bowser. Kyle Bowser is an amazing dresser, smart, a lawyer from Philly in real life. In real life. In real life, smart, masculine, alpha male. Ragadocious. Right, right. Well, see, that's down to T.C. Carson. So T.C. Carson is played by the great T.C. Carson of Chicago.

And Chicago is nothing, if not full of swagger. Swagger for days. And so T.C. brought that to Kyle. He did. 100%. 100%. Even down to the African clothing he would wear, the jewelry he would wear, he really influenced that character and took it all the way there.

And they were also immediately best buddies. They understood that this show was going to be most centered around the four women, and they very quickly coalesced that they would have to advocate for themselves. They also knew and saw very quickly that we were going to protect them. So it was a love affair from the beginning. From the very beginning. Talk about chemistry.

And so they were roommates who had, but they had known each other. The storyline is that they knew each other in Cleveland. So that's how they came to be friends and live in the big city together. Is that how they came to be friends? Okay. Oh, that's right. Okay. But that they were very different.

but very much brothers. And they live above the women in a whole other apartment and one's a handyman of the apartment the other one is the roommate. Right, there you go. Don't you ever go home? Good to see you too, girl.

Where are you going? Carnival? Today, my look and my law were fierce. I got my client, the house, the Winnebago, alimony, and 70% of all the assets he tried to conceal. I left that man

with nothing but a lip ball and have a tic-tac. Ha! Don't touch me unless you want to get And here you come, a force of nature, a force of energy. You come in and we know who you are right away, that you have taken the Winnie Bagel. The this and there, you left it with a lip ball and a what down and a TikTok. Don't touch me unless you want to get burned.

What was that? So that right there was the audition piece. And that's why I was. Was it? Let me tell you, I served that hard. You know how many times I had to do that scene? Wow. That was the scene.

So people should know that sometimes the auditioned. The audition that you have for the show is actually in the show. In the show. In the show. You were ready. I was ready. I was ready. Did you strut like that? Did you really work it in the audition, too?

Yeah, I had to. You know, you're up there like, you know, you know, you know, do. Right. I mean, but, you know, basically I knew one thing that she was written very strong, that she came in immediately. She's, you know, she serves a response. A zinger right away.

She comes in, she dumps her bag, and then she tells her best friend, Kadeja, what she's done for the day. And this is a winner. So basically, if a house has its own weather, Max, has her own weather system. And she's coming in like a tornado, like a tornado. I love it. Stay tuned. There's a whole lot more rewatching the reliving show coming after this. Right, Erica? She ain't going nowhere. Just you know that Maxine Shaw is named for Yvette Lee Bowser's lawyer, the great Nina Shaw, who was a pioneering black lawyer, an entertainment lawyer.

And still is. But what you see, of course, with her braids and all of that. Let's talk about your hair. I came in the door with that hair. Deborah Hair Bay, a red salon. I was drawing it out from another show. She put that in.

And I came to the audition like that. I really feel like we did this taping. We were at the table read, and we, like, three days later, we were taping. I don't even remember, but it went fast. It was fast. It was very fast. So that's what it was.

So you talk, about this hair. So you're known for these yarn. So they're yarn locks. Yeah, they're called new locks. Now they're called Inray, yarn backwards. New locks. It's important that people know that you, this is how you came to the character. It was like it was decided that you would have these locks or that, you know, that you would wear this particular style. You, Erica Alexander was wearing this style and that's Max's style. That's Max's style. And I was fine with that. Because I can't even lay claim to the fact that I think I get a lot of love for having established that. But you've got to look at Whoopi Goldberg's Jumping Jack Flash to understand that that's in our minds, too.

So, you know, when we talk about the type of pioneering show this is I always have to give props to the people who built us. And the people who built me coming into that show would be people like Cessly Tyson, who would be Goldberg who had played my mother, Cessly Tyson, who I wanted to be like, her confidence. or sexuality, that unapologetic barracuda. I think that all that energy is piled up in there. And it certainly is coming off of Yvette Lee Bowser, who went to Stanford and wanted to be a lawyer. This is, you want to know who she is?

Yvette Lee Bowser said that she was the Max character. She wanted to be a lawyer. And she had written her so strong that they wanted to get rid of her. But they sent her across the street. So that's how she saved her. So that's why Max lives across the street. Like in a little golf cart, like me and Latif? No.

They put her across the street. They gave her home across the street. Oh, they gave her across the street from the girl. She's too strong to be in the house with everybody, but you were always there with us, which is also part of the story, part of the joke. She salvaged it by giving her a place to be across the street, but it's too black too strong,

but also two women too strong. I got to say, just real quick, strong feminist voice, tough exterior, a lawyer. And we hadn't seen someone like her either. We had not, who was strong in her sexuality, strong in her blackness, clear in... I mean, we've seen versions of it, no doubt.

No doubt. And of course, Cessley Tyson and Hare. Hello. But this mix of things in a sitcom, I think, feels very new. It does. I think the most wonderful thing I thought, she didn't have to apologize for being or wanting sex. You know what I mean?

And she also didn't have to apologize for the insults. She didn't come back and say, girl, you all right? You know how they did, like, like, You know I was just, you ain't going to get that. Max, she said it, she stood by it. But there was integrity inside of her that you felt was fair, even when she was being, you know, rigid or kind of, you know, dismissive or insulting.

You thought that she was having a blast. Right. You know, laughing on the inside. She goes on her own journey with that. So that's what's up. And I really am very proud to have that as part of how people see me. It's been a heavy thing to carry. Why is it heavy?

Let me just put you like this. You want to be grateful for every opportunity you get, but you also can become identified by a single character. And people always ask me, is that you or is, are you her? And I say, well, do you understand? I don't know who Max is when I'm coming through the door. That's Eric Alexander, playing a character called Max that I just met a few days ago and got hired to do.

So is Max me or am I her? I say, how about she's me until I learn more about her? then I become more like her, but then she becomes more like me. So we're inseparable, like every character. Do people don't ask you whether you're Sinclair, like Sinclair or like... Oh, they do. That would scare me, considering how. Because I am a person who lives from the space of childlike wonder, which is why I keep coming to,

there are people who have said to me, oh, my God, you're just like Sinclair. And I go, I hope that's a good thing. Because I know that there are people who think that she's done. It is a good thing. Just like they think that you were, whatever you were. And you're richer and deeper than that. But the qualities that I am installed in Sinclair are foundational to me. So if you say that I'm just like Sinclair, it's a compliment.

And there we are now. We have all been introduced inside of this show, inside of the first 15 minutes. And that sets the stage, that chemistry, and the hopes and sort of just like throwing some salt over your shoulder and saying, let's see, let's go on this journey with these six characters, Yvette Lee Bowser and her writing crew. in tow and a supportive system. And that's the good news. And we're playing it all on the Family Matter set, which is frigging-Degie. People tell me, did you know that was Family Matters?

I wasn't thinking about it. I was just like, is this is this where the sofa is? Is that where the door is? Great, let me just do it. It's not until later that we look back and we go, wow, we were using someone else's set until the show got picked up and we got our family. Yeah, and normally they might have reshot the thing because a pilot is a demo. It is a test, but they did so well with the test.

that bam. We got the show. Yeah, we kept that as our pilot number one, episode one. It's all, it starts this. On fire. And it felt good right away. I felt it from the rebellion. We can brag now.

We can. We didn't know then. I knew in my soul. You knew? Oh, I knew. Oh, I knew. Because as I've talked about before, I had come off of another show that did not have this chemistry.

So if I got to a place where I felt, oh, collaboration, oh, these people all seem to really like each other. I was like, this has to work. Oh, God, this has to work. Yeah, so I've talked about it and I'll talk about it again. Because the contrast was incredible to experience. And there was a level of joy and respect. And very quickly we learned to, I could throw the ball to you

and I knew that you would throw it back to me. And I could trust what you were throwing my way and you could trust that what I was throwing your way was going to be golden enough to catch. and take to the next love. So it felt good right away. We were learning each other, but we had the strength, the freedom, and the bravery, and courage to connect. Yes. You have to want to connect to people. You have to open yourself up to it, and everybody was open to it.

We closed up later. More about that. So we've met all the characters now. Everybody has been introduced. We're going to get to know them eventually. But the plot of this show, like we said, was Regine was dating a married man. Yeah, she saw the perfect man. We've married. He's married. He's perfect except just that little thing.

Right. And he has to tell her. He confirms it, though. He confirms it to her that she's married. But she still dates him. Yeah, that happens. Probrecito. Yeah, that's... By the way, we were number one in Latin homes.

Pobresito. Pobresito. He is married. He tells her. She continues to date him. That's right. Right. And they're mad at her because, you know, come on, Regine.

Like, you could do better than this. Yeah. If I ever said her name right, by the way, I say Ray Jean. You say Regine. What is her name? It's Regine, I think. But I love that you say Regine. I love that you give it a hard, like, Regine.

I have never said that name right, not even in the show. Because what people may not remember, her name is actually Regina. It's Regina. She changed it to Regine to be fancy. She's Regina from Newark. So I'm Regine. You're Regine, Regine. So the pilot is now proving Yvette Lee's thesis.

Right. Because we, even though she's going to go. and date the married man, then come back with her tail between her legs. They've got an extraordinary relationship. They do. And they've got her back. Right.

And in the end, isn't that what, you know, true friendships are supposed to be about that? In the end, you will come back home and we will be here to lick our wounds or to love and each other or to, you know, encourage each other. That's what friends are for. That's what friends are for.

So that's the end of it. Almost the end. Well, it's punctuated by Latifah's very famous line. What is it? What would the world be like without men, a bunch of fat, happy women and no crime? A bunch of fat, happy women, no crime. A bunch of fat, happy women and no crime. You know what, that sounds like the Wakanda of vagina.

But I would like to live in that world. Would you like to live in a world with no... Ever ready? With no men? Oh, it's so much more fun. Fat and happy with no crime. Well, I'm already fat and happy, so that's... No offense.

The no crime. Maybe we could have a hologram for men. I'm willing to test it. I think that we need each other. So I think this is a great quote, a bunch of fat, happy women in no crime. So, okay, nice that there would be no crime. But I think that the divine feminine

and the divine masculine belong together. We need them. And if not, you better get a vibrator. Because that's what most of these women have nowadays. Let's be honest. I get it. I'm not saying that it can't be done, but I think that if we can all get along, it would be great.

We'd be fighting over to one dude, Not me. I wouldn't fight, though. I'm not fighting. I'm not fighting. I'm not fighting. I'm not going to fight. I'm not going to fight.

I'm not going to fight. I'm not going to fight. I'm not going to fight. I'm not going to fight. I'm not going to fight. We got to finish off the episode here. Let's finish the episode. So what happens at the end?

We sing a song. We sing the My Girls thing. We go into the bathroom and we sing and dance together. So this is where Yvette is sort of saying, hey, if you didn't know what this show was about, we're going to show that the girls always come together. Always. And they repent. They're hair and they heal. Right.

And this is one of their routines. Boom. Boom. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. My girls. My girls. Talking about my girls. And I roboted.

I roboted. That's all I remember us. Oh. And we're singing and dancing and in love. And we go out. We go out. Well, you know what it says? What does it say?

It says that men come and go, but your friends are forever. Oh, true. And that this friendship is going to last, but we're going to need you to come on it with us. And that's, again, it's really the most wonderful. thing. And you know what's funny? He said 30 years ago we did this, but for 30 years, people have been betting on that friendship. So Yvette Lee Bowser put her magic in it. She had the good sense and the power, the DNA and the luck stroke to hire six actors that could embody a beautiful ensemble and create the magic that became the legend. That's the pilot. That was us.

How many years ago? 1993. Almost two years ago. Wow. It feels good to watch it. I can't believe I was that young and that skinny, and I thought I was fat then. Like, I thought I was heavy. Like, I had been a bigger girl and I had lost weight as I'd gotten into business and I was told that I needed to lose weight and I lost a bunch of weight. And I look at that and I go, oh my God, I was so chubby. And hello, I would pay for that right now. I love myself as I am. But it's funny how body image and the eyebrows and the hands. Hindsight gives insight. Right. It's you ain't never like that. What? Hindsight and hind parts. Put that. Come on, put that on a t-shirt.

Right. But it felt good to watch the pilot. I think it still stands up. This is the reverb. Our time to reflect on the episode's themes and how they still echo throughout the culture. Today, we're talking about the impact of living single and why it's so iconic.

Black showbiz gives you more. Black showbiz gives you more. That's a T-shirt. My ex-husband, Tony Purye, says that all the time. Black showbiz. gives you more. And if you look at the 90s, coming off of the 80s and strength of the Cosby Show, would set a new level of excellence. Oh, 100%. For comedy, not for black people, but for everyone, for the world. And that's what I love about what happened afterwards. We weren't alone.

We were in this world with living single with Fresh Prince, Family Matters, Martin. New York undercover. Yeah, it was just like the tsunami of, of, of, you know, your power had been unleashed because it had been untapped. That's why the 90s are important. Because it was giving permission to say, not only can we do this, we do this, and we set new records. And we do it well. We do it well.

What we were showing them is that this is how we're different and this is how we are the same. And I always tell the story of this little Jewish man that I met in a bank who squeezed my arm and said, I love you, girls. You girls are beautiful. I'm from Brooklyn, too. I love you girls. I love the queen. I love all the girls.

And here they were telling us what our audience looked like and sounded like. And it was actually much wider. He absolutely watched it. I walked into and had my own experience with a Jewish community. I walked in not knowing it was actually they were Hasidic Jewish people. And I came in and I said, oh, excuse me, because it was the wrong store. And they said, we know you. We know who you are.

We know who you are. You're that bad girl. You're that bad girl. grew that bad girl. I love that. That's right. And they did know. And they were all men.

And they laughed and they were delighted. But it was instant. It wasn't like, are you? It was like, we know you. You never told me this story. I love it. Absolutely. You know, we would be driving in our cars and then people would speed up and you'd see

like white families like nearly running off the road. People say that I'm Sinclair. They say I'm you. And you got blonde hair and blue eyes and you're me. And so it's important that we were, we belong. to our community, at large, our, you know, the black community, and we belong to everyone who felt that they could resonate. Yes, we were erased by them because that's what comedy does.

It's the tie that binds. It's the hip-hop generation. One of the most consequential and phenomenal music eras was happening. Once again, fueled by black people with our culture. We've done this over and over again in American history, to be clear. The one thing about being enslaved is that they might. have taken many of our freedoms, but they couldn't take our minds. They couldn't take our imagination. The Rizzo told me, he was like, Erica, the biggest nation is the imagination. And he's right.

And if you look at jazz, if you look at rock and roll, ragtime, punk rock, every genre country, that's black people showing that you may not have given us as much access, but you cannot ever take away the access we have to ourselves. But to have the distribution. But to have the distribution system, suddenly say we're going to put on shows with black cast. That's huge. And create a window into the worlds and go in there and look. And we killed it. Every time. Killed it. Yeah. So there's a conversation inside of all that. And it was a beautiful blend. No one was like anyone else. We were all very, very different. And I think we each, each of the characters and each of us represented a different aspect of culture and the culture

that was happening at the time. And it just worked. Yeah, and start to dominate in family-led sitcoms. We can't say enough about different world Cosby Show, hang Mr. Cooper, all those types of things. And we built the Fox Network. Oh, 100%. We built it. We built this city. We built it.

And it was amazing. 100%. And we should feel proud of that legacy. And in fact, I like to say that every time we come on the lot, they should show us our spots. This should be a permanent plaque. And give us a cafeteria meal. in. People be like, why she asked for a cafeteria meal? She'd be, she asked for more of her residuals. Don't worry, y'all. You mean like a little happy meal? Yeah. Well, and you know this, and this happens

to you. Don't you ride on to the lot and security guards give you the love like, hey. They do, Warner Brothers, because we Warner Brothers, Foxx showing them, but Warner Brothers, yeah, they give us the love. They're like, come on. Come on here. Right there. There's your spot. I get the best spots all the time because of that. Thank you. That's legacy. People want to know what it is. You get a better parking spot. That's all I need. Even when you ain't working on a lot. That's real. I'm just here to visit.

So, and we influence some of the biggest shows of all time and let's, dare we say. Friends, friends. We're just going to lay that right there. Right there. Enjoy. Smell it. People know it. People do.

It's obvious. Yeah. Fantastic show. Yeah. And enjoy it, but it's real. And did very, very well. But the legend is that the president of NBC at the time was asked, is if there's any show you would have, you wish that you had gotten this season, what was it? And he said

living single. And then a year or so later, friends popped up. So we can have a whole conversation around that. Yeah. And that we were on the same, with the same production company. We were on the ranch lot. They were on the big lot. Yeah. It was very different. Yeah. We're going to have more tales on that. Oh, yes. I know people would like to talk about that. I think because it comes from feeling like, again, if you create the culture, you may not get all the acknowledgement and the support. But I have to say from our fans, from our friends and family. They do.

Number one. They know and they have lifted us and I will always, honestly. I mean, it's real, right? 100%. And thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Which cameras might?

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. No, thank you. So we're going to do this, right? We're going to do this. We're going to do more of this.

Watch, re-living show. Unofficially, officially. Unofficially, unofficial. Because we don't want to get sued. No, that's, yeah. But we were there so we could talk about it. We were there. Girl, please.

Okay, watch this. Please watch, boo. Okay, so let's do this. So y'all better go and watch the show and then be ready to come here and re-watch it with us. Right. We're going to be here. Heartbeat. Come on now.

Come on, let's do it. Oh, Chihuahua. I'm going to tell you right now. This might come home with me because it's real pretty. They're going to make us one. I hope so. We have a logo and everything. So come on now.

Kevin, come on Kev. Come on, Kevin. And a little gin. Don't be so. Uncle nearest. How about some whiskey? I can't drink and work. Okay.

Because I say what I'm really, what I really feel. We're going to do that one day. Wait, wait a- Chemistry. We got to do our chemistry read. Okay, okay. Okay. So I have chosen a script for us to do.

I've been thinking about this whole episode, what we should do for chemistry. Remember, the chemistry read is for the vibe to see if the vibes watchers. Right. We still have it. Right. I think we proved it. But let's show. I think so.

What did you pick? I picked Billy D. Williams and Diana Ross. In Mahogany, Erica and I will read that script together to see if we still got the magic. Now, what's interesting about you picking that is because on set, we used to do mahogany all the time. You spent an inordinate amount of time in the warehouse, on the dusty warehouse, waiting. And so we would play games all the time. Oh, my gosh. And we played like we were children.

We did. And one of the things we did was the mahogany scene. So, ladies and gentlemen, Erica Alexander and Kim Coles will do a scene from mahogany. I will be playing the Diana Ross role, also known as Mahogany, the model. Wait, I mean, I want to be Mahogany, the model. We should do it both ways. You set me up. Oh, you got Billy Dee with his sexy self.

All right, I'm going to be sexy. He was sexy. Okay, go. I'm a widow from the South Side. Who said that? Maybe we don't have chemistry. My own man left me with six kids and he hasn't been home for weeks and they all got the flute. What you're going to do about that?

I can't see who said that. Please let the lady who set that step forward. Please. When you're elected, what are you going to do to help me? Do you want to help me to help you with your landlord lady? Hell now. I want you to help me get my old man back. Well, madam, if you really want to get your old man back,

are you willing to stand by him while the going gets rough? Yes. Madam, would you be willing to put your imagination to work on behalf of the cause he's fighting for? Yes! Madam, would you love and cherish him for the rest of your life? Hell yes. Get me my own man back. Then, madam, if you're willing to do all that, I guarantee you that I'll get your old man back. Well, mister, you got my vote.

And then we kiss. And then they do the crane shot and see there's only 20 people surrounded them. Do you know where you're going to? Do you like the things that like? Life is showing you, where are you going to? Do you know? I cry every time I hear that song. I'm about to cry now. Do you get?

What you're hoping for? Was I good as Billy? You were great as Billy. You were pretty good Diana. Diana, yes. You were great this Diana. You always are. Yes, yes, ladies and gentlemen.

Yes! Do they feel the chemistry? We got it. We got it. We never lost it. We all never. Cradle to grave, baby. See you next week.

See you next week. Reliving Single is hosted by Erica Alexander and me, Kim Coles. Reliving Single is a production of heartbeat in association with color farm media. Executive produced by Kevin Hart, Jeff Clanagan, Eric Eddings, Leslie Guam, Erica Alexander, and Ben Arnon. This show is produced by Kim Coles. Amber Watson is our senior producer. Our associate producer is Kenny Jackson. Our video editor is Shannon, Joy.

Roger Rogers. Our sound engineers are Eric Hicks and Cedric Wilson. Production supervision by Razak Boykin. Additional production support from Alex Atkins and Z. Taylor. And a special thanks to Dr. E.J. Johnson.