“Living Single” on Fox, which ran from 1993 to 1998, was revolutionary for a number of reasons. It was one of the first network sitcoms to focus exclusively on a group of Black professional twentysomething friends without any forced gimmick to bind the whole thing together, along with fellow Fox series “Martin.” The fact that “Living Single” not only had a largely Black ensemble, but also one with more women than men in the lead cast, only served to emphasise how innovative it was. Since the two series have a very similar concept, much has been said recently about how “Friends” might not have been without “Living Single.” In fact, the NBC president at the time confessed that he regretted not ordering “Living Single”; but, a year later, “Friends” debuted.
Queen Latifah, a rapper who was just beginning what would turn out to be a very long and successful career as an actor, was in charge of the cast of “Living Single.” The other prominent figure was Kim Fields, who at 24 had already made a reputation for herself in the television industry by serving as a primary cast member for all nine seasons of “The Facts of Life.” With the exception of one particular actor who had already been in the profession for 20 years when “Living Single” aired, the remainder of the cast was mostly made up of stand-up comedians and other actors who were still relatively new to their acting careers. But what have they all been doing since the series’ conclusion?
Chip Fields
It’s always entertaining when genuine family members portray fictional family members in a film or television programme, and that’s exactly what happened on “Living Single.” Over the course of the show’s five seasons, Chip Fields played Regina’s mother Laverne Hunter, a recurrent role who was portrayed by Kim Fields’ real-life daughter Kim. It’s interesting to note that, prior to Laverne’s appearance, Chip had previously appeared as two distinct one-off characters during the first season of the programme: Bev and an unknown bar patron. As with “Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper,” “Me and the Boys,” “Arsenio,” “Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century,” and “The Parkers,” the seasoned actor and musician also acted as a consultant for the series.
Chip, like her daughter, has a knack for directing and started doing it at the same time as Kim. After directing one episode of “Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper,” she spent a few more years sporadically directing episodes of various shows. Chip increased her time in the director’s chair on programmes like “Girlfriends,” “One on One,” and “The Parkers” after gaining that experience. She has directed 25 episodes of Nickelodeon’s “Young Dylan” in the past two years, proving that getting older hasn’t slowed her down in the least. However, she has mainly stopped performing, with just four credits since “Living Single” ended and none since 2007.
Cress Williams
Despite just making an appearance in 10 episodes of “Living Single,” Terrence “Scooter” Williams would go on to play a crucial part in the show. Scooter, Khadijah’s (Queen Latifah) childhood friend, reappears in her life when their respective careers as journalists and music producers bring them into each other’s spheres of influence. Scooter finally asks Khadijah to move to Los Angeles with him after the customary “will they or won’t they?” phase. Whether she ultimately succeeds in doing so is unknown, although the series does close with her leaving her house to travel to Rio de Janeiro with him, and it appears to be hinted that she is leaving her house permanently. Fans of the show frequently speculate on whether or not the two truly get together and stay together.
Among the “Living Single” graduates, Cress Williams, who played Scooter, has had the busiest schedule. He would then go on to appear in other shows as a main or recurring cast member, including “E.R.,” “Veronica Mars,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Friday Night Lights,” and “Hart of Dixie.” He presently appears in the CW’s Arrowverse as Black Lightning on “The Flash” and “Legends of Tomorrow” in addition to the character’s own show. Williams has also made numerous film appearances, including in the animated features “The Death of Superman” and “Reign of the Supermen,” he voiced John Henry Irons, extending his DC adaption presence.
Erika Alexander
Erika Alexander had a successful decade in the 1990s. She started the decade as a prominent cast member on “The Cosby Show’s” final two seasons, and a year later, she began her five-season run on “Living Single.” Max, one of the core six characters in “Living Single,” was the only one to not reside in one of the two flats that the others do throughout the majority of the show. Despite this, viewers saw enough of Max, a lawyer who routinely stopped by to rummage through the refrigerator and toss Kyle under the bus.
Despite appearing in a few films in the early 1990s, Alexander mostly avoided Hollywood during the duration of “Living Single.” After “Living Single” finished, she returned to acting, making appearances in movies quite frequently till the present day, including 2017’s critically acclaimed “Get Out.” Throughout the 2000s, Alexander remained active on television as well, albeit primarily in supporting roles. She started to appear in more recurrent roles on episodes like “Last Man Standing,” “Bosch,” “Insecure,” and the currently airing “Run the World” in the 2010s, when she decided to step it up a bit. She also appears in the primary cast of “Wu-Tang: An American Saga” on Hulu, which is presently producing its third and final season.
John Henton
Through Overton, played by John Henton, “Living Single” came the closest to the wacky neighbour cliche. The only other regularly occurring setting on the show was the offices of the fictitious magazine “Flavor.” Overton worked as the building’s maintenance worker. In addition, Overton served as the show’s emblematic “small town character living in the big city,” always willing to share a silly homegrown proverb with the best of intentions. The only sustained love affair he would have was with Synclaire (Kim Coles), with whom he would eventually get married.
John Henton, a stand-up comedian before “Living Single,” gained popularity after making his debut on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” in 1991. After “Living Single” finished, Henton joined the cast of “The Hughleys,” another popular sitcom, right away. Henton joined the programme two years into his run, and just six weeks after a catastrophic car accident that necessitated extensive reconstructive surgery on his face, he returned to work. Between 2002 and 2014, Henton only made a few more minor acting appearances. Since then, he has decided to return to stand-up while also prioritising spending more time with his family.
Kim Coles
In addition to Overton, Kim Coles’ Synclaire served as “Living Singleprimary “‘s source of comic relief. Synclaire was the show’s archetypal oddball character, as evidenced by her oh-so-’90s love of Troll dolls, the way she converses with her plants, and her incessant optimism. She and Overton’s burgeoning romance is endearing and innocent, resembling young puppy love more so than the sexual tension between characters like Kyle and Max.
It’s interesting to note that prior to her breakout acting performance on “Living Single,” Kim Coles predominantly performed stand-up comedy, much like Overton actor John Henton. She then committed herself fully to acting and worked steadily in television during the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. Recently, she has moved her attention to a job as a life coach and motivational speaker, mainly for company owners and professionals. She also edits the book collection “G.I.F.T.S.” in which she draws on her own trials and achievements to better the lives of readers. Coles and Synclaire appeared to share a similar outlook on life and desire for the greatest outcomes for everyone in her vicinity. Although she no longer does stand-up, Coles still hosts “Gotham Comedy Live” on AXS TV every March.
Kim Fields
Kim Fields was the program’s biggest name at the time, at least in terms of television, as evidenced by the fact that she received the “and” credit in the show’s opener. Fields had a long-running part on “The Facts of Life,” but she also had minor roles in “Diff’rent Strokes” and “Good Times” as well. On “Living Single,” Fields played Regina, a conceited gossip and drama enthusiast who later became a wedding planner and a makeup artist for a fictitious soap opera.
Fields directed two episodes of “Living Single” while working on the show, which was where she first caught the directing bug. She would then go on to direct 27 episodes of the Nickelodeon sitcom “Keenan and Kel,” with only one episode actually including her as an actress. It would remain mostly the same throughout the 2000s and 2010s, with Fields usually directing and just sometimes dabbling in acting. She directed 50 episodes of “Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns” for her longest run as a director to date. She is currently a main cast member in the Netflix series “The Upshaws,” with the show’s second season currently in development, suggesting that she has recently rediscovered her love of acting.
Mel Jackson
Mel Jackson played guitarist Ira Lee “Tripp” Williams in the hit television series “Living Single,” which he was a major part of just during the fifth and final season. During that season, Roni DeSantos (played by Idalis DeLeon), a DJ with a past with Tripp, was a new character who was involved in a storyline with Tripp. However, neither character actually had the chance to fully grow as they were presumably planned to over the course of at least another season or two because the programme was abruptly cancelled at the end of that season. It’s only one of many factors that contributed to the fifth season’s poor reception among viewers as it was obviously marred by creative and personnel-related upheaval behind the scenes.
Even though Jackson’s “Living Single” career ended almost as soon as it began, his acting career was far from dead at that point. He had multi-episode runs on “In The House,” “The Parkers,” and “The Division,” in addition to being a prominent cast member on the sitcom “DAG.” Between 1997 and 2015, he has made multiple cinematic appearances, most notably in the classic film “Soul Food.” But after that, not much is known about Jackson or his activities, either personally or professionally. His Instagram account is where he appears to be most active in the public eye, yet he mostly uses it to share inspirational quotes and photographs while revealing very little about himself personally.
Queen Latifah
Even while “Living Single” was mostly an ensemble piece, Khadijah may be considered the show’s major protagonist. Khadijah, who was portrayed by Queen Latifah, was the editor-in-chief of the magazine “Flavor” and the character whose connections to and past with the other three main ladies on the show served as the thread that bound them all together. Khadijah’s cousin Synclaire, childhood friend Regina, and best college friend Max are all related to her.
Rapper Queen Latifah had already been demonstrating her acting skills before “Living Single,” in contrast to Will Smith, who had no acting experience before to “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” Latifah had already appeared in three high-profile films before “Living Single” released, including “Jungle Fever,” “House Party 2,” and “Juice,” in addition to two episodes of “Fresh Prince.” Her career has been extremely successful and prolific both during and after the release of “Living Single,” and she made history in 2003 when she became the first female rapper to be nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in the “Chicago” film. She received her first star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame three years later, making history as the first rapper. The second season of the television show “The Equalizer,” in which she stars and serves as an executive producer, is presently under progress.
Shaun Baker
The sitcom “Living Single” was largely supported by the fictitious magazine “Flavor,” which included numerous primary and recurring characters. Russell Montag, a music editor for “Flavor,” was one such character. He made intermittent appearances from the second to the fifth seasons of the show. His primary storyline was that he yearned for Regina, a passion that would ultimately go unfulfilled because Regina finished her run on the programme by moving in with her fiancé, Dexter. Even so, Russell was an entertaining character who certainly merited more episodes than he ultimately received.
Russell’s actor, Shaun Baker, performed admirably, nevertheless. He was on “Living Single” and “NYPD Blue” concurrently from 1998 to 2002. Following the conclusion of “Living Single,” he started working as a main cast member on the syndicated action series “V.I.P.,” where he could finally demonstrate his impressive martial arts skills. Since his stint on “NYPD Blue” and “V.I.P.” came to an end, Baker has continued to work steadily in both cinema and television, despite not having had as high-profile or a long-running a role. Additionally, he has performed much more live theatre in recent years, which is where his acting career first got its start. Most recently, he participated in the touring production of “War Words.”
T. C. Carson
Overton’s first roommate was Kyle, and the two were polar opposites in many respects. In contrast to Overton, Kyle was quick-witted, a ladies’ guy, and had a demanding, well-paying job while Overton was just a laid-back building maintenance worker who took his time to find the appropriate words. The ongoing mutual teasing between Kyle and Max, in which the two pretended to despise one another on the surface but had obvious sexual tension seething just beneath it, was the second key aspect of Kyle’s persona. After multiple false beginnings and what seemed to be dead ends, the two do finally become a couple by the end of the series, in typical sitcom fashion.
T.C. Carson, who played Kyle, is not without good looks, but his strongest quality is perhaps his deep, booming voice. In light of this, the great majority of Carson’s acting gigs following “Living Single” have emphasised this talent, with Carson contributing his commanding vocals to several animated movies, TV shows, and video games. His two most well-known recurrent voice performances, Mace Windu in numerous “Star Wars” games and Kratos from “God of War,” both began in 2005. He first appeared as Windu in the animated “Clone Wars” series from 2005, and he later returned in both the 2008 series and a number of “Star Wars” video games. His eight-year, ten-game run as Kratos began with the first “God of War” game.
