Queen Latifah reunites with ‘Living Single’ cast to share rare behind-the-scenes secrets

Queen Latifah spills behind-the-scenes secrets of “Living Single”  from its first concept to the sisterhood that shaped her acting journey.

On this week’s episode of the “Reliving Single” podcast, listeners felt less like they were listening to Erika Alexander, Kim Coles, and Queen Latifah and more like they got a glimpse into a girls’ night between Khadijah James, Maxine Shaw (attorney at law), and Synclaire James-Jones. 

In the long-awaited episode with the sitcom’s lead, Queen Latifah—who played Khadijah, the fictional magazine publisher and editor who inspired generations of Black journalists—the actress spilled the tea on life behind the scenes of the hit ’90s sitcom. She particularly discussed Alexander’s energy-shifting influence on the show. 

While Alexander joked that she was “found off the street, like an urchin” because she did a traditional audition to join the show, Latifah revealed that Alexander’s addition to the show, which she had been initially brainstorming, gave her a newfound clarity. 

“To get you [Erika Alexander] was like, ‘What?!’” Latifah told her former co-star. “You don’t give yourself the proper credit. First of all…your influence is strong, girl.” 

Joking that Alexander was a “professional maverick, kingdom, queendom urchin,” Latifah credits both of her co-hosts for being her guides as she stepped into the acting world. 

“I wasn’t used to TV. I didn’t know anything about TV. I barely knew much about acting at all,” she said, explaining how, beyond a few school plays, she was a novice to the industry. “So I was just the sponge.” 

Before her breakout role as one of the show’s four leading ladies, Latifah had built a name for herself in the music industry. As a female MC and mogul behind the multimedia production company Flavor Unit, Latifah brought some of her music and business acumen to the show. So much so that she originally created a “completely different” theme song for the show, which was originally titled “My Girls.” 

“Obviously, I come from music, and this is my show, in my mind, I’m like, ‘I gotta do this theme song.’ These theme songs are, like, what resonate in your minds,” she explained. “I did a whole theme song for the original name of the show, ‘My Girls,’ which was totally different, completely different, but very soulful, just vibe-y, and I like to sing and rap and mix it all together.”

However, when the studio decided to change the show’s name after filming the pilot, the multihyphenate star recalls having to “go back to the lab,” where she ultimately created the theme fans heard for the show’s 5 seasons: “We are Living Single.” 

Watch the full episode of “Reliving Single” with Queen Latifah below: