On Sunday evening, when the Living Single Reunion Show was scheduled to air on TV One, I had a house full of people and I was disappointed that I didn’t get to watch it. Later I tuned to that deadly boring telecast on the Emmy’s (grumbling to myself that I should have recorded the Living Single reunion instead.) Well tonight, I abandoned my attempt to support Toni Braxton and watched reruns of the comedy instead until a repeat of the reunion show came on.

Anyway, as I watched most of the cast reminisce (Queen Latifah was absent), it became apparent to me that we haven’t had a show like Living Single since it went off the air a decade ago. This was a show that had four young black women who were finding their way in the world (but didn’t define themselves by whether they had a man or not).  Throughout the five year run, three of the women (and T.C. Carson’s Kyle) had multiple relationships—some were successful, others were not. But most of the audience didn’t tune to see whether the characters were dating (except when it concerned Overton and Synclaire). Instead what kept us coming back was the bond that these four women and two men had with each other. Everyone was distinctly different yet it was their differences that help make an engaging sitcom.

I know that Girlfriends holds the longevity record. But it was different because that show focused on the very things Living Single did not, Tracee Ellis Ross spent almost the entire run of the series trying to get a man and get married. Entertaining, yes. Endearing, not so much. But still important nonetheless.

But when it comes to historic importance, I’d like to put Living Single in the same category as A Different World (isn’t it great that they’re both on BET and TV One now respectively). They were both first in depicting us in our myriad lifestyles, backgrounds (and hairstyles–that too was groundbreaking in my opinion).  Sure Friends lasted twice as long with a similar premise but that world didn’t have anyone who looked like us living in it and it never touched a nerve or made us laugh as hard as Living Single. Khadijah, Max, Regine and Synclaire will always be our girls. I hope their legacy continues to live on.

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