Sorry to 'Friends,' But This '90s Sitcom With the Same Concept Is Better

The Big Picture

• Living Single had depth, character growth, and defined relationships that Friends lacked.
• In the series, the friend group tackled issues respectfully without using them for punchlines like Friends did.
• Living Single , despite less popularity, remains a better quality show.

In the early '90s, showrunner and creator Yvette Lee Bowser was finishing up her time on A Different World when she began working on her next project. Bowser drew inspiration from her personal life, stating, “I just decided to rip another page from my diary and create Living Single — tell personal stories of myself and my friends trying to make sense of love and life in the big city.” And on August 22nd, 1993, Living Single premiered on FOX. The show, following the lives of six Black singles in their twenties living in Brooklyn, was well-received thanks to the star power of Queen Latifah and Kim Fields. The show was "an unexpected hit," surpassing expectations while simultaneously hinting at what a show led predominantly by Black women could accomplish. Thirteen months later, another series premiered on NBC called Friends, about six white singles in their twenties living in Manhattan. Quite the coincidence, isn’t it?

Most would assume the shows were entirely different despite those commonalities, but alas, this was not the case. As Friends continued to air, Living Single fans, actors, and writers couldn’t help but notice the blatant similarities between the two shows. Despite this, Friends continued to rise in general popularity, while Living Single only maintained popularity with Black and Latinx viewers. But does popularity determine quality? Living Single has proven to still be a show deserving of acclaim 30 years later, something that cannot necessarily be said of Friends. Fans who rewatch both today can see the stark difference in quality between the two shows. Living Single was the first Friends and the better show overall.

Living Single

Follows the lives of several single male and female roommates and friends in 1990s Brooklyn, New York.

What Are the Key Differences Between 'Living Single' and 'Friends'?

As Yvette Lee Bowser has revealed, Living Single was partially inspired by her personal life. This fact automatically brings more depth to the characters she created. Khadijah (Queen Latifah), Regine (Kim Fields), Synclaire (Kim Coles), Max (Erika Alexander), Kyle (T.C. Carson), and Overton (John Henton) weren’t just caricatures or archetypes; they all have a depth that slowly unfurls throughout the first season. Each subsequent season shows the main ensemble characters grow and mature in ways that make sense. They made mistakes, they learned, they grew.

The same cannot necessarily be said for Friends. While situations change throughout all ten seasons, there is a clear lack of growth for the majority of the main cast. Ross (David Schwimmer), for example, stays just as selfish at the end of the show as he was at the beginning. Joey’s character (Matt LeBlanc), actually became worse as the series progressed, with writers dumbing him down to the point of pure idiocy. In addition to the lack of character arcs, Friends focuses too much on romantic pairings within the group, leading to convoluted storylines that confuse fans to this day. The two main romantic pairings within the group on Living Single are clearly defined, which allows for much clearer storytelling without unnecessary drama.

'Living Single' Gave Its Characters a Chance To Grow

Living Single’s plot hinges on the relationships of Khadijah, Regine, Synclaire, and Maxine. Their friendship is the anchor of the show. Khadijah James is the founder and owner of the Brooklyn-based magazine, Flavor. She is both a workaholic and a general source of stability for the rest of her friends. Regine Hunter is a shallow self-proclaimed diva who is obsessed with fashion and good-looking rich men. Synclaire James is Khadijah’s bright-eyed cousin who moves to the big city to live and work with her at Flavor. Maxine Shaw (Erika Alexander) is the man-eating, no-nonsense lawyer of the group.

She is good at what she does and owns it; in fact, she is so self-assured that her character did not test well with studio executives and was nearly eliminated from the show entirely. Thankfully, this was avoided, as her character quickly became iconic to viewers. All four friends are at different places in their lives, with Synclaire at the beginning of a new journey, Khadijah in the midst of fighting for stability, Regine on the hunt for Mr. Right, and Max who is for the most part established.

They each have their flaws and, over time, audiences watch them acknowledge and learn from these flaws. Khadijah’s workaholic nature leads her to lose many relationships, all of which eventually send her into a mental health crisis in Season 3, an experience that changes her trajectory for the remainder of the series. Regine becomes a hardworking person who is much less shallow, leading her to inadvertently meet the man of her dreams. Synclaire gains wisdom as she navigates new careers, and Maxine becomes more patient and humble (though she refuses to outwardly show it).

The Romance of 'Living Single' Are Stable and Less Dramatic

The same can be said of the other two members of the crew: Kyle Barker, played by T.C. Carson, and Overton Wakefield Jones, played by John Henton. Kyle, a successful stockbroker, begins the show as the typical womanizer, which is likely why he constantly bumps heads with Max. Overton, on the other hand, is a simple country handyman who loves his job and Synclaire, both of which he remains true to from Episode 1 through the end of the series. Kyle could have easily stayed a self-absorbed player, but his friendship with the women softens him, especially his tumultuous relationship with Max. Overton, while seeming like a simpleton, often becomes the voice of reason for the group. He also proves that he is more intelligent than others think, even going as far as to quote Lord Byron when he rejects his ex.

The relationships between the group of friends are clearly defined. Khadijah and Regine see Kyle and Overton as brothers. Kyle and Max have a relationship in which they both love to hate each other, then eventually hate to love each other. Synclaire and Overton are "couple goals," period. Lines are drawn and defined, which is what makes room for a concise narrative in which all the characters progress. Admittedly, this clear-cut storytelling does get lost in the fifth and final season of Living Single, as it messily ties up loose ends.

'Friends' Has Aged the Worst When It Comes To Problematic Jokes

The 90s was certainly not a time of political correctness. In fact, making fun of any idea or person that did not fall in line with white cisgender heterosexual norms was the go-to for most comedies. It was easy to do, and it was certainly something Friends did constantly. The show is rampant with homophobia, gender stereotypes, fatphobia, and transphobia. As far as we know, the entire main cast of Friends identify as heterosexual. Yet being gay or being called gay was often a punchline, and an easy one, for them to go to. Their treatment of lesbians was somewhat better, but often turned to fetishization and ogling from characters like Joey.

One of the worst episodes of the show is completely transphobic. Chandler’s father returns home as a trans woman with an (admittedly clever) drag name: Helena Handbasket. Played by cisgender actress Kathleen Turner, Helena first says that she is a drag queen, only to later come out as a transgender woman. Chandler misgenders and deadnames Helena throughout the episode, an act used for jokes at the expense of an already marginalized community.

'Living Single' Doesn’t Need To Put People Down To Be Funny

Living Single is by no means perfect, but it does a significantly better job of tackling issues without using them for punchlines. An example of this happens in Season 4, when girls decide they want to have a night without being hit on, and head to a gay bar. While they are there, Synclaire consoles a sad man who has been in a fight with his boyfriend, a tender moment of bonding for the both of them. Khadijah beats a drag queen at a basketball arcade game and reads her while doing so.

Reading and shade are both aspects of drag culture that are common and celebrated, and this is a light-hearted moment. If there is one moment that isn’t handled well, it would be when a man begins to hit on Max at the bar, assuming she is a drag queen, only to be disgusted when she informs him otherwise. But overall, this episode shows that the gay community is a safe and welcoming space.

One exemplary episode is Season 3's "Woman to Woman." Max’s close friend is in town to get married, so the girls plan a bachelorette party. However, when Shayla (Karen Molina White) arrives, the crew discovers that her fiancée, Chris, is a woman. Max quickly becomes angry about being kept in the dark about her friend's sexuality, especially after finding out that Khadijah knew before she did. When Max and Shayla confront each other, viewers might assume that Max’s discomfort stems from discovering that her friend was in love with her during college, but this is immediately shut down.

Max, while surprised by the whole situation, isn’t upset because her friend is a lesbian. She’s upset that she was left out of a huge part of her life, something that any friend would be upset about. She goes on to say this extremely important line, “Maybe if you would have confessed all this back in school, maybe I would have freaked. But the point is, I wish you would have given me the chance to rise to the occasion.” The immediate acceptance, without a barrage of offensive jokes, is something to be commended.

'Living Single' Handles Fatphobia Better Than 'Friends'

Fatphobia is another issue that both shows don’t necessarily handle well but is another one that Living Single navigates better, albeit unintentionally. Every time Friends flashes back to Moinca's (Courteney Cox) past, Cox dons a fat suit, and her weight becomes the ultimate butt of the joke.Living Single does this sometimes with Kyle — who, like Monica, was heavier in his youth, but the show does not spend whole episodes making fun of it.

There is also the fact that the four main women are all different shapes and sizes, yet are all considered equally beautiful. They each manage to attract very handsome men who appreciate them as they are. It’s a more realistic portrayal of women, one that studio execs wanted to change, telling all of them to lose weight, but the cast held strong. Body image was also addressed in Season 2's episode, "My Cups Runneth Over," in which Regine has to get a breast reduction for health reasons, which shatters her self-esteem.

Part of what makes her feel attractive is her breasts, and she nearly refuses the necessary surgery because of it. After receiving the surgery, she is not herself, and it is only through a supportive chat with Kyle that she overcomes this struggle. He reminds her about how attractive her confidence and her personality are, and how that matters more than just her physical appearance. It is not only a pivotal moment for Regine, but also for Kyle, as it is another moment in which he sheds his playboy persona to comfort his friend.

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Let's Face It, 'Friends' Had an Incredibly White Cast

New York City is one of the largest cities in the world, filled with people from all walks of life. Friends isn’t the only show in its time that was guilty of portraying the world as predominately white, it certainly didn’t do much to show otherwise. People of color pop up here and there, but only two characters come close to being significant: Julie (Lauren Tom), and Dr. Charlie Wheeler (Aisha Tyler), the only instance of a non-white person having a significant impact on the plot of the show. This lack of diversity is something both the creators and cast have readily acknowledged, with co-creator Marta Kauffman even going so far as to apologize for it.

It should also be noted that the issue of inequality is not just within the show but in everything surrounding it as well. Both Living Single and Friends filmed on the same lot, and Friends got the lion's share of both space and amenities with Warner Brothers. In an interview, T.C. Carson discussed these discrepancies between how both casts were treated, as well as the massive discrepancies in pay and marketing for the show: “We were getting less all around. And then they created Friends and gave them everything.” As time passed, Carson became the spokesperson for the cast and was the one who approached the network heads with these issues. He was subsequently fired and did not make an appearance in the fifth and final season until the last two episodes. One can’t help but wonder how much longer Living Single would have lasted if the show had received the same marketing attention Friends was given.

'Living Single' Is the Better 'Friends'

Living Single doesn't get enough recognition not only for clearly being the inspiration of Friends, but for how it handles important issues. It addresses gay marriage, the stigma of mental health care in the Black community, and the politics around the “professionalism” of Black natural hair. These issues are important, and they address them in a way that honors their importance, without forgetting about the comedy. Friends took the blueprint of Living Single while ignoring the substance of it.

The parallel between characters, scenes, and plots all give credence to the possibility that Friends drew direct inspiration from Living Single. Queen Latifah mentioned this in an interview with Andy Cohen, saying, “It was one of those things where it was a guy called Warren Littlefield that used to run NBC, and they asked him when all the new shows came out, they said, 'If there's any show you could have, which one would it be?' And he said, Living Single. And then he created Friends.”

Ultimately, both shows are classics loved by their fans. Both shows have merit and brought joy to countless people. Living Single was most popular with Black and Latinx audiences because it reflected a reality they could connect with. Friends connected with its audiences because it was humorous and engaging. Thanks to streaming services like Hulu and Max, more people have the opportunity to experience both shows on their own time. Viewers can watch and reach their own conclusions. However, when it comes to quality and how well the series has aged since, there is a clear winner. Despite Friends having more seasons to grow and improve, Living Single did it first and, time had proven, did it better.

Llving Single is available to stream on Max in the U.S.

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