That was the impetus for me becoming more determined to create something so that I could create what I felt were more well-rounded depictions of us, as well as creating a workplace that was not necessarily warm and fuzzy, but more open to us, a workplace that embraced us.

Yvette Lee Bowser, creator and executive producer: I was a very frustrated writer on a show about black people where there were basically no black people in power behind the scenes, so that set the tone. The interviews have been lightly edited for length and clarity. Twenty-five years later, The Atlantic caught up with some of the showвЂ™s cast and crew members to talk about how they did it and why that still matters. вЂњAnd the fact that itвЂ™s still on peopleвЂ™s minds and in their hearts now is really, just, very humbling.вЂќ Through Lee BowserвЂ™s creative vision and the dynamic performances of its cast, Living Single put the urban sitcom-and the diversity within black experiences-on network televisionвЂ™s map. вЂњWe were good stewards of the opportunity that was put in front of us and we didnвЂ™t really think about how big a hit it was at the time,вЂќ Lee Bowser said. But now, with Living Single streaming on Hulu, a generation of viewers who may not even have been alive to witness the first airing of Max and KyleвЂ™s first kiss-or RegineвЂ™s wig changes, or Overton and SynclaireвЂ™s wedding-is learning what it was like to live in a вЂ™90s kinda world. In the decades since the first episode aired on August 22, 1993, the Living Single ecosystem has branched out beyond the showrunnersвЂ™ expectations-resonating with members of the original studio audience, viewers at home, and new adoptees of the show alike.ДЄfter Living Single went off the air in 1998, a slew of shows replicated the classic big-city-livinвЂ™ ensemble formula the showвЂ™s fingerprints are visible, however light the touch, on productions including Mara Brock AkilвЂ™s Girlfriends, Marta Kauffman and David CraneвЂ™s Friends, Lena DunhamвЂ™s Girls, and Issa RaeвЂ™s Insecure. That brownstone held love, loss, and laughter the cast radiated an electric chemistry. Together with an impressive crew of guest stars including Morris Chestnut, Gladys Knight, and Cress Williams (who played a recurring role as KhadijahвЂ™s childhood best friend turned beau), the six actors welcomed viewers into a world of Lee BowserвЂ™s creating. Their neighbor, the fierce lawyer Maxine Shaw (Erika Alexander), dropped in on the women often, along with two men who shared an apartment upstairs: the suave, Afrocentric stockbroker Kyle Barker (Terrence вЂњT.C.вЂќ Carson) and the kind-hearted handyman Overton Jones (John Henton). Three of the women were roommates: Khadijah James (Latifah), the fearless editor of a black magazine called Flavor KhadijahвЂ™s bubbly cousin and assistant, Synclaire James (Coles), and a spunky, projects-raised boutique saleswoman named Regine Hunter (Kim Fields). Over the course of its five-season run, Living Single followed the lives of six main characters, with a Brooklyn brownstone as their home and the showвЂ™s primary backdrop. So that was my impetus for getting into the world of development and creation of shows about us.вЂќ

вЂњFor me, it began with the realization that if this industry was really only going to cater to and embrace white people, and white men in particular, and have them in positions of power behind the scenes,вЂќ Lee Bowser said when we spoke earlier this summer, вЂњI wasn't gonna be here for long. Cooper, Lee Bowser was ready for the chance to create a world that revolved around the kinds of black characters she knew best. Having cut her teeth writing on shows like A Different World and HanginвЂ™ With Mr. Over 25 years ago, a determined 27-year-old writer named Yvette Denise Lee (now Yvette Lee Bowser) found herself with a rare, welcome opportunity: the chance to create a show around the comic legend Kim Coles and the rap phenom Queen Latifah. T he success of Living Single may have been unanticipated, but it was no accident.

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