Living Single vs Friends

Friends was the number one sitcom on air during the 90's airing for 10 seasons. Living Single was the number one black sitcom on air when it was abruptly cancelled during its 5th season. Some think that Friends was a ripoff to Living Single? Let's compare these two iconic sitcoms.
Share your thoughts in the comments below!

[@Nycutie82]

Hey Everybody!! Thanks for your support on this video. Click here to watch my latest video!! kzbin.info/www/bejne/p2nYdoGPn9-tepI

[@AlyssaNerdiful]

Behind the Curtain So glad you made this video. I’m a 21 year old black girl, but I never saw Living Single. Now I will look it up💕💝

[@semha6348]

Thanks for this video and the information you gave us. But the music is to loud. Some people are barely to understand. Please consider this for the next time. Thank you again.

[@biokomalabo9468]

99.9% of the people who claim Friends is NOT a rip off of Living Single, haven't watched a single episode of Living Single.

[@JC-oo7ym]

Those are also the ones that say there is no such thing as systimatic racism in America🤔

[@rickyjames4228]

@@JC-oo7ym Or Egyptians were never black lol

[@dasanip.w.9661]

Facts

[@Jimin-km9qx]

@COH i watched the first episode and literally have nothing to do with friends..

[@gol.drodger5261]

@COH your profile pic is a confederate flag... you can share no opinion we want to hear.

[@Ronin-FBA]

I loved both shows...BUT...Living Single was truly groundbreaking...Both shows should of been shown on separate nights...That is America for you...

[@Nycutie82]

I agree they shouldn’t have been on at the time. Allow viewers to watch both but think they did that to compete.

[@cookiemonster-ix2zc]

You beat me to it....L.S. was too hilarious

[@amkelle2]

What is America? Not attracted to inequality?

[@cslworldwide]

Exactly. It was probably done on purpose

[@vcoop7881]

Lol the time slot thing doesnt matter if your show was more popular yall wouldve got more views

[@RissasTish]

Something that wasn't mentioned in the video, the characters personalities are the same as well. The goof, dumb one Overton/Joey. The eccentric one Synclaire/Phoebe. The boujee one Regine/Rachel. The career centered serious one Maxine/Monica. They all fit into the parallel character archetypes. The whole structure is the same, they slightly changed the details enough to be seen as different.

[@RissasTish]

Sorry forgot to mention, the funny one Kyle/Chandler. And Khadijah/Ross though I'm not sure what their descriptors would be.

[@Nycutie82]

Yes you’re right! Personalities very similar

[@daniellediaz2516]

I can think of one other thing not mentioned as well.... Joey STAYED in the Monica's refrigerator lol, can't forget about Max who did the same thing! 😂🤣

[@evonwalker6793]

Danielle Diaz don’t forget Monica was once fat and deemed to have a repressed excessive appetite like max . Monica and max are both competitive as well

[@evonwalker6793]

Danielle Diaz chandler and Kyle had the stable high paying jobs and responsible , logical and smarter ones / compared to Joey and Overton

[@kelliehu8749]

So they definitely stole the idea, but clearly the network got behind them and invested more in Friends. Some cast members were earning about a million an episode at one point. I can only imagine what they were paying the writers. I think that they took the concept of a black show, threw in white characters and funded it's massive success (the "Elvis Method").

[@theroachden6195]

Elvis actually had a massive black fan base though.

[@shubhangisinha5786]

@@theroachden6195 This phenomena is called the Elvis method as they had Elvis sing many originals of black/ colored artists as it was his own and popularized the Elvis version.

[@Standonfacts]

Man! You guys really are hating. Stop hating please.

[@abdullayaser700]

Yeah not like Seinfeld is the original or something

[@nambypamby2147]

Elvis was the King! ...of appropriation.

[@Saiper1990]

Im not an american so we never actually got Living Single, first time I'm hearing of it.

[@John-Dennehy]

Same here. First I've heard of it.

[@shehitch4565]

Same here, so I checked it out as they were saying friends lacked diversity, but living single was full of diversity right?

[@simondilling5353]

I grew up in Denmark and we had the show.

[@Lanaxparillaxwife]

You should def watch living single if you can bc it’s infinity times better then friends.

[@moeMoe-vx8eu]

Korey Daniels if it was better why no one had heard of it? You saying this only cuz you BLACK.

[@ericperkins971]

They didn't try to they did rip off living single.

[@Nycutie82]

Thanks for watching and sharing your opinion!

[@ericperkins971]

@@Nycutie82 more like a fact. Lol

[@Nycutie82]

😆

[@ericperkins971]

@@Nycutie82 I was never able to watch friends because I grew up watching Living single. Even though I was to young to watch it I still understood and now that I'm 31 it's clearly one of the greatest shows I ever watched.

[@Nycutie82]

I agree

[@mcmraw]

The biggest difference between the 2 shows is this... On Living Single, the main story synopsis is about 4 single women/ friends and their lives and relationships... it’s about the women...and women’s views and experiences... the 2 male characters, as popular as they are, are actually supporting roles. On Friends, it’s about the Men and the Women characters equally... 6 leads, no supporting roles. Both are funny shows with talented casts. And yeah, in fantasy world, a crossover episode would have been really fun to watch.

[@victoriahorne9269]

I am a fan of both and would love to have seen a cross over episode! Heck with all these reboots, anything is possible...

[@abduntube]

Growing up in Malaysia, I've never watched Living Single. The show never made it to my country. But I did watch some other black shows like Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Cosby. Having said that, after reading through the comments, reviews on the Internet, some of the clips etc, I did get the notion that Living Single focused more on these 4 strong empowered women. Thank you for confirming my intuition. I would love to watch LS nonetheless...

[@antoineredmon5524]

But that was needed for black women

[@kaliikev]

It was centered around 4 black woman because there were simply more woman than men duh.. unless you have Denzel or Will Smith as the 2 men then the dynamics will be that way.. all the actors had equal shares in both shows. The biggest difference is most definitely race.. 1 is white the other is black, guess which show the network is going to spill money into?

[@beebikinis]

I would argue that the women, especially Rachel, are actually the main protagonists of Friends.

[@deeeeeeezzzzaaaa]

It's crazy because I've never heard of Living Single until this year. I'm Black British and I only recall seeing black shows like The Fresh Prince,The Parkers, My Wife and Kids, All of Us, Cosby Show, Bernie Mac and Different Strokes growing up the the 90s, 2000s but never Living Single.

[@locturallylocs9097]

Same i'm form Holland

[@xbabygirltx]

You've been missing out! I'm black British as well, but I found out about the show from 2010 because a friend of mine who grew up in Jamaica put me on to it. I wish we had this on channel 4 or Trouble back in the 90s!

[@simondilling5353]

Interesting. In Denmark we could watch it.

[@naniv]

Its true. We didnt even have classics like martin on uk tv shows.

[@Lanaxparillaxwife]

You should def watch living single if you can bc it’s infinity times better then friends.

[@marissawilson4644]

I loved watching Friends but they did rip off Living Single. They gave Friends a white cast, larger budget, and bigger salaries. They also did the same thing with 227 and The Golden Girls.

[@Nycutie82]

Interesting I never thought to compare Golden Girls to 227 🤔 that’s something to consider for a future video!

[@goodfay]

Hmm. Now I loved the golden girls. Love 227 too. 🤔

[@theroachden6195]

Two different networks, it's not Friends fault NBC wanted their show to succeed and Fox didn't

[@ladonnaogungbemi-jackson5900]

Behind the Curtain Apparently, the two shows were aired for the first time on the same day, September 14, 1985- 9 pm and 9:30

[@GLBizzie]

@Open Minded it’s not like Seinfeld had already an established show about single friends in New York City? Are u all stupid hahahaha

[@cccckxcckeo]

They should have did a crossover episode lol

[@Nycutie82]

Wow that would’ve been dope!

[@Doknot-tb9ey]

I would have been fine with that.

[@medylemaproductions]

Omg 😲 imagine that

[@LarryBonson]

Just no

[@Lanaxparillaxwife]

No just no why tf would you want to try to ruin Living Single with Friends. Friends is trash & it wasn’t funny at all keep the two shows apart from each other as far as you can.

[@otisyoungblood]

They had Seinfeld we had Martin

[@comebackkareem3702]

Seinfeld was out years before Martin

[@otisyoungblood]

@@comebackkareem3702 im saying black folks didnt watch that bullshit we watched martin

[@Nycutie82]

Loved me some Martin! Will do a video on them soon 😉

[@daryalbrooks3366]

Oh shit...thats crazy

[@imamerican3720]

WTH is Seinfeld

[@John-vd6cd]

Does anyone find it weird that the colours of the dots separating the letters in the ‘Friends’ logo are the similar to the ‘Living Single’ logo colours?

[@Bluescaraab]

Exactly. First thing i saw

[@JavanHamiltonTV]

Bingo.

[@aloe-aurora]

A lot of 90s design featured that colour palette though. In Living Color, Saved by the Bell, even Rugrats. That's not to say that palette wasn't taken from 80s-90s black and hip hop culture to begin with - Spike Lee used a palette like that for "She's Gotta Have it" back in '86 - just that it was very prevalent by the 90s and it reached a lot further than Friends.

[@snirks8635]

😮

[@KombatFlix]

The fact that people still are 'asking if' , 'Friends' bit off of 'Living Single' , is just amazing to me. The shit is obvious AF. It's not a rumour it's, just history.

[@sapphirelatina]

its like this is the first time hearing that some white people rip off people of colour! what a shocker!

[@BLTKellys]

Three’s Company came before both shows, about young adults living together: I’d anything that’s the show they stole from.

[@jakevendrotti1496]

​@@BLTKellys gtfoh with three's company, which was nothing like living single. At what point were Kyle and Overton live in roommates creating sexual tension with only a cast of three main characters? There's no landlord character. There's nobody pretending to be gay so they can live in the apartment. Completely different time storyline characters cast culture

[@BLTKellys]

@@jakevendrotti1496 it was about young adults living together you moron.

[@Wallychans]

@@jakevendrotti1496”culture” That is what this argument is really about isn’t it... Folks crying cuz their ghetto version didn’t get as much attention.

[@nickpantalones4606]

Both shows were great. But while NBC nurtured Friends even when the show was getting low ratings and being moved from one slot to another (NBC even ran an ad where the cast wondered if more people would watch if they took their clothes off), Living Single was a victim of Fox programming which is typified by short-sightedness, rebranding, and abrupt cancellations (which became a 90s TV joke trope). This practice persisted well into the next decade, where potentially great shows were pulled off the air even before they could find a target audience.

[@user-jo5ph9uo8p]

Why do they do that? They also stopped New Girl

[@nickpantalones4606]

@@user-jo5ph9uo8pI see a fellow fan 😃 You'd think that the show was going strong, but Fox exec Dana Walden was quick to point out the lagging ratings and decided to pull the plug after Season 6. Had the cast not lobbied for a finale season (which became Season 7) the whole thing would've ended abruptly. Walden has been credited for saving Fox and ABC/Disney ratings so I guess she knows what TV Viewers like.

[@brownskinbeauty.]

I watch Living Single every week to this day. Between this and A different World, I finally felt like it was okay to be my "nerdy" self

[@tnjang]

I’m with you sista!!! My ALL TIME TOP 2!!!! ✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾

[@351528]

I was a Living Single fan from the start, and I remember very clearly when Friends debuted and all the buzz around it. I was in college at the time and all of my classmates were going on and on about Friends. I just remember thinking "But Living Single pretty much has the same premise, why aren't people raving about it?" Even when Friends got moved to the same night and time slot as Living Single I still remained loyal to Living Single, although there was one time I thought "Let me see what all the hype is about." and watched Friends instead. I wasn't impressed and ended up regretting missing that night's episode of Living Single. 🙄

[@BrandNameLess]

UNPOPULAR OPINION: Friends innovated Living Single structural elements. they evened the guy to girl ratio 3:3(6 main charaters instead of 4 main characters and 2 side characters), more than 2 apartments, gave everyone catch phrases. However, Friends content is about more non-sense & Living Single has more real world messages & life lessons. Friends felt more like party family. Living Single was home family.

[@olubukonla7352]

Same...and I always think about that when I watch the Re runs.

[@cynthiagipson8039]

Cuzz it was a damn white show dat why they steal to

[@alainamacdonald1621]

I never knew about Living Single until now a few weeks after my 36th birthday, it sounds like friends DEFINITELY ripped them off. I'm not a fan of friends either I mostly watched it out of boredom and grew out of it rather quickly. I'm curious about Living single and from the description, it sounds like it's a lot better quality than friends was. To be fair friends has a few good and funny points but one character's almost constantly toxic behavior and relationship was really annoying and infuriating for me. I'm curious and excited to see how Living Single is different.

[@munimathbypeterfelton6251]

The two series may have had overlapping storylines. But Living Single had that raw humor that kept the audience's attention and showed each character's individual personality every step of the way. Also, the characters on Friends seemed too dramatic and self-deprecating at times, whereas the characters on Living Single were each determined to be themselves and win mates who respected them for who they were. Such a key element of adult life right there. In short, I far prefer Living Single--in multiple ways.

[@CharlesWarrenOnline]

Living Single is FAR greater and the original.

[@LarryBonson]

Each show cater to an audience.

[@chompchomp7853]

Indie But Major No. Friends was funny NOT living single

[@LarryBonson]

@@chompchomp7853 Comedy is subjective.

[@chompchomp7853]

Mr. Nunuisance it is but the show Friends is Funny and is liked by many. It has nothing to do with color. I find black shows awesome to watch too but Friends was funnier

[@LarryBonson]

@@chompchomp7853 Again funnier Is subjective. And I have watch a lot of shows I don't see it as funnier but has it's place at the round table of sitcoms.

[@edreid7872]

Living Single had that strong urban vibe which made it easier to dismiss...Friends had an all white cast, major network backing, and multi million dollar salaries...not surprised.....I preferred Living Single...

[@theroachden6195]

Friends also had talent and good writing. Characters may have been rippes off but Fox is just as big as NBC and NBC wrote better shows. How come Fox sucked so bad at keeping Living Single going?

[@kendallrivers1119]

@@theroachden6195good writing? Lmao! Ok. Friends was mostly a joke machine and even the writers admitted that they were mostly judt interested in jokes. Living Single had way more depth to it and was funnier.

[@hsg57]

Living single was WAY more realistic when it came to chemistry and acting.

[@NYD666]

Who the hell wants realistic?

[@hsg57]

@@NYD666 I'm not talking about the show in itself. I'm talking about the acting/chemistry among the actors. You can tell they were close off stage as well as on. And with a show about friends being friends, it helps sell that idea.

[@firasharb1454]

Most definitely 💯

[@madamechristinaoflosangele2485]

Friends was a absolutely horrible bc they stole living single is a good show 👌 l hate 😤 they took it off from airwaves and #️⃣ bring living single reboot please

[@msjennable]

They were equally amazing that's really the point of this.... Why was one favored over the other? Skin color...

[@healthychoice5097]

"Living Single" was definitely robbed.

[@carolb1736]

Much prefer Living Single. While there were silly moments, as a whole, it was more realistic than Friends. Plus, we had the bonus of occasionally getting to hear the wonderful singing voices of T C Carson and Queen Latifah

[@rcrawford7548]

Living Single was on the air a almost two year before the other show. They even stole Living Single plot lines.

[@oswaldow.7343]

Gonna start calling Friends "The other show" from now on

[@gregoryjones9546]

It's The WYTE Living Single!!!

[@mattmargavio4208]

They literally just said one year. But ok lol

[@imanigordon6803]

Checking this out right after the David Schwimmer backlash

[@Nycutie82]

Yes I heard about the backlash very interesting that these conversations are being brought to light!

[@emjay4728]

What backlash?

[@imanigordon6803]

EmJay Ross from friends said that their should be an all black friends completely ignoring that living single existed so he was dragged on Twitter

[@yohan1004]

Both shows are racist at today's point. Representing one color of people. Just let the two shows where they were.

[@parkerxjr]

@Tony Black It was a little different . The was 1 lesss guy and 1 more girl. The Friends cast also had other differences. Regine would have been Rachel if it was more like friends . Instead QUEEN LATIFAH had that role .Ironically you are fighting an ALLY. He is saying there should be another Black show.

[@wildkims2008]

Friends also ripped-off some of the Living Single plot line, remember when kyle and max start fooling around again and try to cover it up, but their friends start playing detective and find out one by one. Tell me that isn't the exact same thing that happened when monica and chandler started messing around and tried to hide it

[@vcoop7881]

Yea i dont kno about that. Max & kyle were just foolin around. Monica & chandler dated other people got together got married & had twins.. they were more serious characters. I wanna say max didnt wanna take her relationship serious & they shipped kyle out in season 4. They were doomed after that

[@kyajam7909]

@@vcoop7881 Monica and chandler also started off just messing around they even tried to stop then all the other stuff started happening and max and Kyle had a pregnancy scare they definitely stole that

[@TiTi_Lashay]

Actually Kyle and Max started off dating, broke up then started messing around again but in private after dating other people before and after their relationship. Once they realized they were in love and Max finally stopped fighting her feelings they ended up together with a baby.

[@kendallrivers1119]

@@vcoop7881 more serious characters? You mean the over the top competitive clean freak and the one note joke machine guy?

[@vcoop7881]

@@kendallrivers1119 i mean starting off as friends, to a secret relationship, to getting married, to adopting twins & starting a family. More well rounded real life situations. All friends actors went & had sucessful movies. Only queen latifa went on & had a sucessful career. Netflix pays 100 mill to stream friends, bet plus paid a bag of chips to stream living single

[@rhondawilson2494]

Like my girl Max said "Friend's had the complexion for protection!" FACTS!!!!!!!!!

[@MsAqua-bb5gi]

I still to this day get annoyed that friends get more attention than Living Single. All of these clothing a what not with Friends on it.... 😒😒😒😒😒 Friends was cool and all but I mean lord 😒

[@blackberry8615]

That’s how the world works. Black people have ideas and white people take it for their own. It’s sad

[@ClearYourMindTravel]

Living Single was waaay funnier.

[@cherisedavidson5933]

Eden Holdon it was tho lol

[@ClearYourMindTravel]

@Eden Holdon LMAO! I watched quite a few episodes of Friends and I got a few laughs but Living Single was funnier.

[@user-go2rh9yg8i]

@Eden Holdon Friends was not funny whatsoever. Everyone has different opinions.

[@xavierniva5210]

@Zoe lol gtfo with that nonsense, Friends is way smarter and funnier. I don't care if they copied a mediocre show, they made it so much better. Ideas are being copied all the time, it's the end product that matters.

[@ClearYourMindTravel]

@@xavierniva5210 Why couldn't they come up with their own show?

[@PostidMedia]

Before the name “Living Single” was chosen one of the options for the title was “Friends” the president of NBC said if he could have any show he would have Living single. And friends was born

[@VLM123]

He basically admitted that he stole the concept! THIEVES, LIARS, TRAMPS!!

[@davidchavez1330]

@@VLM123 he didn’t steal the idea. A show based around a group of single friends isn’t a new concept bud

[@kendallrivers1119]

@@davidchavez1330 you know nothing so why are you speaking without any knowledge of the situation? Hell the cast and creator of Living Single have stated multiple times that Friends was basically the white version of the show and got all the push from Warner Brothers. Watch it read an interview once in a while.

[@davidchavez1330]

@@kendallrivers1119 ok bud. I’m still sticking with what I said so deal with it

[@SoundBoyy121]

@@davidchavez1330 And WE are still sticking to Friends being little more than a dirty rip off. So deal with it 😊

[@lilyw8523]

The definition of can I copy your homework

[@scottdrew6191]

Or just a definition of parallel thinking..

[@frontandcenter7941]

@@scottdrew6191 No no. Don't justify this.

[@scottdrew6191]

@@frontandcenter7941 I just did.. that show doesn’t look funny at all.. maybe, i just don’t like black humor..

[@frontandcenter7941]

@@scottdrew6191 And I don't like white humor. So watch you gonna do.

[@scottdrew6191]

@@frontandcenter7941 I figured you didn’t.. I guess we’re not gonna get anywhere with this argument..

[@battle-stormz6249]

If we want to call copying inspiration then fine, but to me this is plagiarism.

[@mysteriousartist1231]

Omg u remind me of my ela teacher 😂

[@luvinmysailor]

Plagiarism as fuck!!!

[@MDarkraven]

Of course it is @Battle-StormZ... Plagiarism is the cornerstone of Hollywood. What is shown on Film or television is a watered down version of the original concept or finished work. The “complexed protected” go into a “Urban” club/bar, theater, restaurant...etc. They like and or enjoy what they see. If they have the resources... Recreate it “FIRST” claim the idea and a star is born... “Living Single” and “Friends” represents this point.

[@MDarkraven]

@Natalie. That is what the defense is... “Denial... It is not so because we don’t say nor compare.” But a copy of an original. Is still a copy. Whether the friends “creators” mention it or not. If the person who “creates” something from someone else. Without the permission of the original creator. That is taking credit for another’s idea or work. “Friend” is another form of “Living Single” whether the creators say so in interviews or not.

[@theroachden6195]

Then why no lawsuit?

[@msKita43]

They didn't just rip off the character structure but whole scenes! Halloween episode s2e8 of Living Single Overton and Sinclair prank Max by Overton being thrown down the stairs. Season 7 on friends Ross pranks Rachel by falling down the stairs after teaching Ben pranks. S2e6 Sinclair gets upset with Overton for joining a night class she was attending. Friends S5e9 Phoebe gets upset with Rachel for barging in on her literature class. Slight change in script, Overton was rocking it and Rachel wasn't taking it seriously. Nonetheless there are many scenes straight stolen and slightly tweaked to not exactly plagiarize Living Single.

[@biokomalabo9468]

I noticed that too!

[@frannychip1850]

I didn't realize how much Friends stole from Living Single until I watched some episodes from Season 1 of Living Single. They lifted storylines, story ideas, how scenes were set up, dialogue bits even how the actors physically positioned themselves in scenes. I thought the creators of Friends said it was based on their lives not taken from another series.

[@randellaeffect7080]

Honestly they should’ve had a crossover

[@ticiao]

I still watch Living single.

[@tommykelvingomezjimenez9136]

Where? I need to watch that show!

[@pjjjblast9514]

@@tommykelvingomezjimenez9136 on hulu

[@ceecee8790]

I do believe it was an exact duplication if the phenomenonal show "Living Single" and race played a part . Living Single did not get the same marketing and support of their copy. If it did, I would have watched both but since it didnt and was cancelled I never watched an episode of "Friends"

[@JLovebanks]

"Perhaps it was inspiration", no MA'AM, it was a carbon white copy of the original. You failed to mention L.S. had cameos from ALL ethnicities but Friends was in NYC and there were NO black people...none. How believable was that?

[@dvg4868]

There was one black girl Ross dated but uno. Barely any Asians either

[@whiteipod2000]

They only had other ethnicities later in the show which is ridiculous, and they were barely in it. I think Ross had a thing with a black girl later on.

[@davidchavez1330]

You’re mad because they didn’t have many minorities on the show? Who’s cares? That’s not what makes a show good or funny

[@biokomalabo9468]

@@davidchavez1330 LOL If you are Hispanic you will know that South American TV networks are the most racist in the world. For these networks everyone must be European looking with blonde and blue eyes. America is going to go two centuries backwards in race relations when Hispanics become the majority of the population.

[@008jes]

@@whiteipod2000 and with an Asian (Julie)

[@melainebullock]

I love both shows so much. Creating a new version was fine, but putting it against living single on the same time slot and day was foul. Fans could have enjoyed both shows every week on different days instead of choosing which one to stick with

[@ElleKayGee]

Melaine Bullock FOX changed Living Single ‘s schedule, which they shouldn’t have. They could’ve left it. FOX has a tendency to mess up/cancel their good shows.

[@-JeffreyDahmer-]

I enjoyed both

[@tamsinsylvie4331]

It’s really messed up that I didn’t know about this. Ok one sure to watch living single now, they totally got ripped off!

[@phillinsogood]

yay I'm so happy you found out about this show. its on hulu atm

[@pamelajackson69]

Living Single was, in my opinion, one of the greatest sitcoms ever!! I still regularly stream the series on Hulu and unlike so many of it's predecessors and successors, the show holds up just as well today as it did back in the early 90's. For years I've heard rumors of a series re-boot and since this is the show's 30th anniversary, there is no better time than the present!! I'd love to see it happen, or at the very least an updated reunion show featuring all cast members (Queen Latifah did not appear in the reunion special). Because of my love of Living Single, I actually attempted to watch "Friends" but I just never could get into it. It always pissed me off that even though "Friends" was nothing but a direct attempt to rip off a FAR SUPERIOR show and in my opinion, as well as many others, failed miserably at doing so, in terms of quality of content, it still reached the level of success that it did because of the way it was advertised, promoted, and supported. Even with the popularity of Living Single and the success in the ratings for Fox, the show never got anywhere near the same attention or support from the network. Though the shows were on different networks, (Living Single was on the FOX Network and Friends was on NBC), both were Warner Brothers productions. The final nail in the coffin for Living Single was the network moving them from Sunday nights, which had been their home from the beginning, to put the show on Thursday nights in direct competition with the very show that stole their premise

[@kendallrivers1119]

Business wise it was dirty to put Living Single on Thursdays competing with Friends. But it worked out for us because we ended up getting that iconic Thursday night line up of Martin, Living Single and New York Undercover that made so many childhoods memorable. It was a great alternative for people not checking for NBC must see tv.

[@michellehudson7903]

I remember when Friends came out. I was so furious that the Living Single producers weren't able to sue NBC for ripping them off! I never have watched Friends to this day because I am tired of them taking the credit for our ideas!

[@mpetkovic26]

Why didnt you sue them if it was your ideas?

[@tresboujay]

I boycotted Friends back in the 90s too. It took me 25 years to finally watch it while recovering from surgery. It’s okay but it’s no Living Single! 😍

[@nataliegarcia1121]

Our Idea? What do you mean?. You are one of the writers?.

[@Bubble170]

Please understand that just because you are black does not mean you get to take any level of collective credit for this tv show.

[@leonardo899]

I liked Living Single better than Friends. But I ended up watching Friends more because it was on a whole bunch of channels. Living Single was only on my local FOX TV station, and once they stopped showing it, no other station did. I didn't have cable.

[@Delroy61]

Hmm. So....your experiences are a stem from aggressive marketing.

[@springer7288]

TEAM**Living Single!!! From the 90's til now. Still watching 2020!!!

[@tedbundy3366]

The pilot for living single was shot in the Winslow's home from Family Matters. I thought they were in the same universe

[@cookiemonster-ix2zc]

You call inspiration....I call it exactly the same.

[@Nycutie82]

Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts!

[@battle-stormz6249]

Plagiarism

[@chompchomp7853]

cookie monster get lost. If it was exactly the same then why isn't it as funny as Friends??

[@sexyEros]

@@chompchomp7853 sounds about white 🙄

[@chompchomp7853]

sexyEros but I'm not white 😏

[@vjshoegal4027]

I loved Living Single because it featured 4 African American females in lead roles, which had never happened on television. Living Single arrived at the end of the Golden Girl series, which was groundbreaking for spotlighting older women on television, which had never happened before. The formula is there - four women: one sensible, another a romantic, another trusting and another cynical. I always said the GG was the forerunner for SATC and Living Single advanced Friends. Friends was funny too...loved Ross, Chandler and Joey. For me, they were the show. The ladies had their moments, but the guys were my focal point (it also last 5 years too long). Fact is, no matter who we are, OUR stories overlap because they are stories of family, friendship, love and hurt. Living Single was first and will always be THE hit for me. Even as I watched Friends, I would see an episode and say, "oh wow, they did that on Living Single." And, I did the same for SATC, whenever a storyline popped up, I'd say "they did that on GG." And, for the record, I saw a lot of Lucy & Ethel in Laverne & Shirley. Like I said, the human experience includes everyone.

[@leonardobraynen1524]

What is SATC?

[@vjshoegal4027]

​@@leonardobraynen1524SATC is Sex and the City 😊

[@leonardobraynen1524]

​@@vjshoegal4027thank you for responding to my question.... Bless.

[@getwithlu]

Its so exhausting to watch mediocre Caucasian platforms and people succeed off of stealing from true black talent ❗️

[@pcoleman2562]

I think what made Friends more successful, besides all the money poured into it and all the marketing, is that many white people in this country have a hard time relating to black characters. It's one thing to be entertained by black actors or comedians, but for a sitcom to really succeed, people have to relate to the characters and identify with them. Really sad when you think about it. That we're still not there yet. Think of all the popular tv shows on right now who only have token black characters, if any.

[@hse6144]

pcoleman256 that’s BS! Other black shows have been popular with white people, like Fresh Prince. Living Single just sucked.

[@fullmetal9001]

@@pcoleman2562 Its not just people of USA, even an Asian like me can relate to a White show more than a Black show

[@biokomalabo9468]

@@fullmetal9001 Most Asians despise dark skin and adore whiteness so no surprise here.

[@random95725]

The cast of Friends excelled in their role. You do not need to put the actors down, they didnt write the show.

[@noahvoris3637]

I honestly always preferred living single over friends! I just thought it was funnier and had a lot more of a nostalgic, heartwarming vibe!

[@AngelViews]

Living Single all day, never cared for friends plus Maxine Shaw Attorney at law is my girl lol

[@VLM123]

OK! "Maxine Shaw, Attorney at Law! Guilty, innocent!" LOL

[@preciousjey]

On tv now when she said "I could have died Maxine Shaw Case Closed."

[@TheChoralist]

VLM123 I’m singing the song in my head 🤣🤣 you a true fan ! Lol “when I say ride the maverick ...I mean it !”

[@TheChoralist]

preciousjey that’s the episode when Kyle saved her by accident by running into the gun men cause he has diarrhea 🤣

[@nickj4526]

I loved Living Single, but I always thought Friends was corny. Seinfeld was cool though 🤷‍♂️

[@bre3365]

They_Call_Me_ Pebbles me either an I'm not trying🤣🤣

[@MrsNicolas]

I couldn't get into Seinfeld, but I loved living single and friends was ok.

[@sahirygnobehi6448]

Nah SEINFELD was and still is corny😂😂😂. Chile, stop

[@simondilling5353]

Friends are wack. They are not even New Yorkers and as you put it, the humour is corny. Now we know that it is yet another example of white culture ripping off black culture.

[@robertmills8401]

Ahhh ☹️ Living Single didn’t come to the UK so missed out on that show at the time. I am going to have to check this. I remember when Friends came to the UK on Channel 4 back in 94 It was something new and different but I guess now it wasn’t. it is a real shame a UK TV channel never bought Living Single to show here

[@sapphirelatina]

Facts, im pissed! And also the fact that friends only had 2 recurring character of colour on the WHOLE 10 SEASONS of the show. Julie & Charlie, who both turned out to be villian type characters. I can see it for what it is now.

[@lacyinmon1004]

I watched "Living Single" religiously. I tried to watch "Friends" and hated the characters.

[@gillyweed8984]

I don’t know how to feel about friends now that I have watched this. They completely stole the idea and the saddest part is that living single never received recognition as much as it should have, while on the other hand we have friends which is widely popular even in random villages less known countries. I have watched friends about 6-7 times and this is my first watching moments of living single and that’s because I heard the name on tiktok!

[@jakevendrotti1496]

Same. And let's not forget that the past members of friends featuring 20 million dollars a year in residuals. That became a billion dollar franchise

[@Wallychans]

If the show is so great, why don’t people still watch it? This whole argument is nonsense. A bunch of actors and producers are butt hurt that they aren’t getting the same cash flow as another similar show, so they started the whole “black ppl did it first narrative” to try and squeeze their way back into the line light. Most folks arguing about this don’t even watch the show.

[@leonardobraynen1524]

​@@Wallychansyou sound *BEYOND IGNORANT* & RACIAL disguised as "my own opinion/soapbox. Foh

[@kabena6401]

Crazy you have so many views and only 6 subs the video was so good!!!

[@Nycutie82]

Have you subscribed yet 😉😉 Help me get my numbers up!

[@erichill612]

Living Single all day every day

[@MsLLorena]

But why was living single cancelled if it was extremely succesful? And in mid season... I don t get it. It feels like it was cancelled just so they can introduce friends

[@SIZZLERGRANDE]

friends was already on its 4th season when Living Single was cancelled though (according to the video)

[@kayahamilton3730]

i heard some where that at some point after kyle was fired the cast got together and asked for more/equal money like the friends cast, but the LS creators decided to just cancel the show.. not sure how true that is tho

[@bayareaelitetampa6983]

they have the complection for protection - Maxine Shaw attorney at law 🤣

[@GAB8407]

She quoted the Godfather of Comedy - the late Paul Mooney. Look him up here on KZbin.

[@jakevendrotti1496]

They even stole the colorful title style. Damn if this isn't a big fat lawsuit.

[@makaidiy5716]

Just wanted to add a correction to your video. At 1:27 you claimed it was the first time in history that 4 black women led a tv show. However, that is incorrect. 227 was the first show to do so.

[@teishahickman2108]

227 was a family sitcom. There were several family sitcoms with Black families leading well before 227.

[@jbenjamin59]

227 they did not live together so no living single was the first technically

[@Winnermations]

In thier 30s.

[@Sekien07]

And you can't compare Kyle/Max's love hate relationship to the Ross/Rachel drama filled birth of the "we were on a break" thing lol

[@Nycutie82]

Hmm why not?? Max and Kyle were on and off too

[@scottdrew6191]

Behind the Curtain “will-they-or-won’t-they” relationships were a thing in sitcoms before both those shows.. hate to break it to you.. and those relationships none-the-less were SO different..

[@ticketyboo2456]

@@scottdrew6191 True. Moonlighting anyone...?

[@tedbundy3366]

Living Single's 5th season was cut short as well! I havte that they did that!!

[@jamyamomo6974]

Iv’e been trying to tell people Friends is basically a white wanna be tv series of Living Single. Living Single will ALL WAYS BE THE ORIGINAL. I will always have love for the cast of Living Single.

[@vcoop7881]

Living single was cool friends was better tho

[@ashleyhaynes5323]

Living single was funnier too me . 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@Hannah-se3vd]

I love friends and i had no idea that it was a rip off. I had no idea living single existed

[@onefreebird1]

#livingsingle for life!

[@Nycutie82]

Yes!!!!

[@JenJHayden]

Some? Are you serious??😡😡😡😡 This is not a conspiracy. This is not theoretical. It is a fact that it ripped off living single. I am appalled and very disappointed you would even write/say that. It adds to unnesecary speculation.

[@Nycutie82]

Thanks for your input!!

[@alidorsey4021]

Calm Down!!... Iij would believe you if you said this 20 yrs ago.. But now since you're being told this you running with it... If it wasn't for Martin... You wouldn't have never even watch this shit..

[@niabelizaire3596]

Living Single is better! 💯❤️

[@breynoldssr3703]

The only reason Friends was created was because a guy named Warren Littlefield, who ran NBC at the time admired Living Single. He created Friends with the intent of it being Living Single, but also probably competition with Fox. I think peoples perception of he stole something is not true, especially since he acknowledged how he liked Living Single. I think it was about the lineups more so, what did Fox have to offer, and NBC. All competition really.

[@JettPackBaker]

I mean Friends was good.... But, Living Single is my jam. I've been rewatching on Hulu. I'm so over Friends.

[@jardonawms4606]

When they took Living Singles off I didn't switch over to watch friends because they weren't funny to me and some of the characters were just plain stupid and boring. So yes IT WAS A BIG RIPOFF. I loved Living Single. All friends did was copy everything Living Single did. And of course Erika was right but it was mostly they had too much melanin. Friends was actually quite corny to me.

[@Frm_nature]

JACKEY HM corny af lml

[@lisah8438]

Nothing is wrong with corniness.

[@luvinmysailor]

Friends was super corny!!!!

[@justinparris2120]

Wow. Never realized they were so similar...just never really thought about it. But as a young black teen I watched w/my parents, Living Single and Martin and sometimes New York Undercover, I think it was called, after those 2 shows. I really didn't discovered Friends until after Living Single was cancelled.

[@Nycutie82]

Same! I remember growing up to that Fox line up In Living Color, Martin, Living Single, and NY Undercover. Great times!

[@bolotabr12]

When “Living Single” came out in DVD. I watched the entire season, they were amazing. I ❤️ Erika Alexander.

[@UrbanEsta]

Living Single is definitely the funnier of the two shows, not to mention the ORIGINAL show. Friends(and even Sex & The City) is nothing more than a Whitewashed, Watered Down version of Living Single, and no one can debate this because Queen Latifah even said in an interview that the creator of Friends admitted that they wanted the show on record, then a year later Friends was born. The only reason why Friends was more successful was due to it being a White cast, bigger budget, bigger pay, and bigger and more aggressive marketing. I love Living Single, I love the cast, the characters, always thought they were innovative in not only the terms of Black people being represented but also HOW Black people are represented on tv. I was sad to hear the Network originally wanted the show to axe the Maxine Shaw character, which would have been a dud because Maxine Shaw is one of the most dynamic characters on the show, the show wouldn’t have been the same without her. I believe that there was a complicit bias in not only the airing of the show(them giving Living Single the same time slot as Friends), also the media reception of Living Single compared to friends, one tv critic reviewed Living Single as being about “Hoochie Mamas” even though the show was about professional working class Black Women in New York City. Living Single deserved WAAAAAY better in terms of its showtime, marketing, and pay, but this happens with a ton of Black sitcoms.

[@johnnyr2675]

Hell yeah it was a complete rip-off

[@Nycutie82]

Thanks for watching!

[@daniellekeller4479]

I can watch friends and get a few laughs, but honestly, living single was and is sooooo much better in my opinion

[@Nycutie82]

Thanks for your input!

[@Tiajones333]

They should have did a crossover episode if they do another show like this do it with mix people of every race

[@lostarchived2]

This is how I see my two favorite shows Living Single: 😂😋😄☺💜💜💜💜💜🙄😭😁😜😝😛😢😍😍💔🙋🏿🙋🏾🙋🏽🙋🙋🏻🙋🏼 (Realistic, Adoring, Blunt, Straightforward, Fun, Comedy) F.R.I.E.N.D.S.: 😢😢😝😝😝😂😂😂😭😭😭😳😳😳😳😥😥😥😥😥😥😩😩😩😫😫😫😖😖😖😕😕😕😐😐😐😐🙋🏼🙋🏻🙋🏻🙋🏻🙋🏻🙋🏾💔💔💔💔 (Soap Opera, Fiction, Crazy, Fantasty, Cringeworthy Comedy, Sugarcoating, Back and forth on and off relationships, etc.)

[@yoon1365]

May sound rude... But I don't care Still love friends Yet to see living single If I'd be mad at anyone then that'd be be the creators

[@johnkwesif]

Never thought about it, but after listening to interviews from TC Carson, John Henton, and others from the cast plus this video it is obvious. The sad thing is that NBC didn't even try to hide it. Damn.

[@sneakykamon]

I just binged watched the show for the first time and as I got closer to the end of the series, I started spotting storylines and character arcs that Friends pretty much had lifted from Living Single and just remixed. Like Regine working on the soap opera; I was like “oh shit, Living Single did that storyline first too??” The one thing I do like that Friends didn’t steal from Living Single was the 4th wall breaks. LS did that really well.

[@chichang9377]

I grew up watching Friends and I loved the show. Still watched it when it was on Netflix. I had no clue Living Single existed and how Friends ripped off of it until Jay-Z's "Moonlight" video. I was so disappointed and angry that a show I loved ripped off of a Black sitcom. It made a lot of sense too as to why Friends had no minority main characters, and if there were, they played the minor characters or were just there for a few episodes but didn't have as much screen time. When I try to explain all this to people, they get angry at me for trying to bring up race and politics into it. It's sad that a show I grew up watching didn't represent me or POC/minorities and ripped off of a Black sitcom and was one of the main reasons the original show Living Single was cancelled. More support, more money, more coverage of a ripped off show = cancellation of the original show that it stole the idea from.

[@ticketyboo2456]

But were there any white people in Living Single?

[@frannychip1850]

There were white actors in Living Single. The actors of color on Friends were more background with the exception of Ross having a Chinese American girlfriend and a black love interest. Just think if Rachel dated an Asian dude, never would've happened; this comment is not a slight at Asians.

[@joselegaspi2549]

I'm Mexican and i loveeeeee both shows. To hell with that statement saying that living color is for blacks and friends for whites, i'm like wtf!?

[@paulamederjulia8354]

I’m from Peru so I really didn’t know, wasn’t even aware of Living Single. Thank you for now I am informed.

[@nicole9volt]

Great video!!! You have a very pleasant voice

[@Nycutie82]

Aww thanks so much!!

[@ChantaBrite]

Watching this reminds me of how much I enjoyed Living Single. I related to Sinclair the most,😆

[@aveuch]

Living Single was my Golden Girls. They really need to get together and bring back a Black Golden Girls before it's too late.

[@seanwoh4749]

I loved Living Single during high school. Such a shame their 5th season was cut short.

[@tumejorpose]

Living Single is still the best! I never got into Friends...

[@fairisfair2986]

Living single hands downnnnnnnn

[@jonesba2004]

For the record, I always watched Living Single! Loved it!!

[@kingpanther9198]

I prefer living single

[@motherofanactress]

King Panther Me too

[@the-rewind]

Living Single does not get enough credit

[@poeticjalen7773]

Friends is overrated...Black shows never get enough credit.

[@johnbannick6796]

YES

[@MohiyuddinShaikh]

Black shows never get enough credit, Yes. Because I didn't about this show until today. Friends overrated? NO.

[@lgsmarttv4608]

bcos they suck

[@naveen.119]

Fresh prince?

[@kendallrivers1119]

There are rare ones that get The credit they're due like The Cosby Show, Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons and Fresh Prince but other than that so many great shows with amazing black casts and writing are overlooked and marginalized.

[@noheartobreak]

Living Single deserved a better developed last season and it wouldn’t have hurt to explore the character’s development in a full 23 episodes. There was no proper send off they forced two random characters at the end that moved in, Regine just disappears after she gets engaged, and Kyle and scooter barely comes back in the last episodes. I had to write my own personal ending for each of the characters because I feel it ended so abruptly and they didn’t give true justice to the storylines they started off with. This show and the fans deserved better.

[@lisas5346]

My mom would never have let me watch friends when it was on, so I didn’t watch until I was an adult. I recently heard that friends copied living single and after watching a clip I can totally see it. Now I want to binge watch living single like I binge watched friends.

[@AndreJohnsonWriter]

LIVING SINGLE WAS BETTER ABD FUNNIER‼️‼️‼️

[@leeleelayla5]

It was a white wash rip-off Regine and Rachel both into fashion both roommate with their childhood friend Sinclair /Overton and Phoebe/Joey They are more of the air head/ less intelligent members of the group Joey and Sinclair are both actor/actress Max and Joey would both eat all their friends food Max and Phoebe both have their own home we hardly see because they always at the girls apt. Overton/Kyle and Joey/Chandler both live in an Apt together in the same buildings as the girls both have one roommate that make more then the other because they have a corporate type job Khadijah and Monica are both kinda of control freaks their might be more but this all I can think of right now

[@brownskingoodnessgold8828]

Very nice analysis!

[@kendallrivers1119]

Also the Ross\Rachel dynamic was basically the Overton\Syncliare dynamic and Chandler and Monica sneaking around and their friends finding out one by one was like Max and Kyle sneaking around and their friends finding out one by one.

[@Ballerz24]

Friends perfected it tho 😂

[@maryammure5151]

I love both shows. Just like I love family matters and full house. They both were similar too.

[@C.J.Hamilton]

I don’t get what all this outrage is about because I’m pretty sure that Living Single was inspired by some other show, it’s not Friends fault that more people liked it. I just came to say wow you made this video 3 weeks ago and now this David Shwimmer drama starts. Way to stay ahead of the curve. You’ve got yourself a new subscriber 👍🏾