Living Single [TV Series] (1993)

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Debuting August 22, 1993 on the Fox network, the weekly half-hour sitcom Living Single (working title: My Girls) starred recording artist Queen Latifah as Khadijah James, the editor of "Flavor", a New York-based magazine targeted at young urban black women. Living in a brownstone apartment in Brooklyn (actually the redressed set from another Warner Bros.-produced sitcom, Family Matters), Khadijah shared space with her cousin and secretary Synclaire James (Kim Coles), an aspiring actress; and her lifelong friend Regine Hunter (Kim Fields Freeman), who at one time or another worked at an upscale boutique, on the staff of a TV soap opera, and as a party planner, and was forever on the lookout for a wealthy husband. Also in the cast were Erika Alexander as Maxine "Max" Shaw, Khadijah's former college roommate, an insatiable gossip who was employed first as a divorce attorney and later as an assistant public defender; T.C. Carson as stockbroker Kyle Barker, perennial verbal sparring partner and eventually sweetheart of the acid-tongued Max; John Henton as Overton Jones, maintenance man of Khadijah's apartment building and ultimately the husband of Synclaire; Shaun Baker as Russell Montego, a Jamaica-born employee at "Flavor" who'd set his sights on the haughty Regine; and Mel Jackson as Ira Lee "Tripp" Williams, a commercial-jingle composer who moved into the apartment after Synclaire moved out. Making recurring appearances were Khadijah's off-and-on beau Scooter (Cress Williams), a PR man for a record company, and Bumper Robinson as Ivan, a college student who worked as general factotum in the "Flavor" offices. Despite heady competition from NBC's Seinfeld throughout most of its run, Living Single lasted 118 episodes, closing out its Fox run on January 1, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi