‘Living Single’ Creator, Yvette Lee Bowser, Says Show Was A “Love Letter” To Black Women
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Yvette Lee Bowser, creator of the culturally impactful show Living Single, recently spoke with NBC News as she reflected on the hit ’90s show being a “love letter” to Black women everywhere.
As Tuesday (Aug. 22) marks the 30th anniversary of the Fox show, Bowser expressed that the series was created to “center on and celebrate women.”
“When you create something that is intended to be a love letter, and you pour love into it over time, what I’ve found is that you continue to get love back over an extended and unexpected period of time,” she said.
To depict those stories of everyday working Black women from different walks of life, the series starred Queen Latifah (Khadijah), Kim Coles (Synclaire), Erika Alexander (Max), T.C. Carson (Kyle), John Henton (Overton), and Kim Fields (Regine). The close-knit group of friends consistently hung out together at Khadijah’s apartment in Brooklyn, N.Y.
“We didn’t just set out to make a TV show,” she said to the news outlet. “We set out to make a universally entertaining but culturally specific experience. And I think we achieved that.”
Speaking to the success of the series — which can currently be streamed on Hulu, Netflix, and HBO Max — she added, “You don’t get to decide what’s going to resonate with the audience. The audience decides. And I believe, over the last three decades, they’ve decided that it’s been significant for them, that it’s been life-changing for many, it’s been inspirational.”
“I got a phone call telling me that the show was getting picked up for another 12 episodes in addition to the pilot,” she recalled after sharing that the series was initially greenlit while she was at a hair appointment.
“I called my mother first and then I call my girlfriends. ‘You know that show that I wrote about? It’s actually going to be on TV. I’m not going to just be sitting at home in my robe watching the one episode over and over and over again,'” she said. “That’s incredibly rewarding and affirming as a writer, creator, and just as a Black woman in society.”
Bowser also expressed that the series’ name was “not just a title” but “spirit.” She continued, “For us, it’s not just a moment; it’s a movement. It’s an energy that we carry with us as a group, which is really beautiful.”
In 2017, Latifah shared on Andy Cohen’s Watch What Happens Live! that a possible reboot of the series was on the way. “We’re actually working on it,” she said. “It’s not there yet. But, hopefully, we can get it happening.”
However, a reemergence of the series never happened.
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