In this very special pre-show episode, comedy legends Erika Alexander and Kim Coles take us back to where it all began on Living Single and your new favorite podcast, ReLiving Single. From casting curveballs to off-screen laughs, your favorite BFFs spill the behind-the-scenes tea on how this iconic '90s sitcom came to life. Before the rewatch begins, come hear how the story started. Got a burning question for Erika or Kim about Living Single? True Blue Fans, send it our way at [email protected]. Your note just might make it into the show. Follow us on Instagram and YouTube to stay in the mix. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: How did Erika and Kim start their journey with Living Single?
Girl, what's going on?
Where are you? I'm in Puerto Rico. I want to tell you that you are looking absolutely gorgeous. Your skin is skinning. You look wonderful.
What's your secret? You know, it's rest in mind of my business is my secret. And you look good too, Kim. You do. So why are you calling me? Okay, so I've been thinking. Let me just say no right now. No. Don't say no. Don't say no. Just listen.
Just listen up, okay?
Okay.
You know how the fans are always asking us all the Living Single questions, right? Like, you know, is there ever going to be a reboot?
Is Max and Kyle's baby on Instagram or has it been abducted by aliens?
So I was thinking, instead of answering the same questions over and over and over again, why don't we tell our story, how Living Single got started, all the backstage stories?
Well, I don't know, girl. No.
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Chapter 2: What was the casting process like for Living Single?
No, I had to, meaning they made the deal before you go in the room. They want to know they can afford you. They want to know that you're going to take it. You sign that deal and you sort of set yourself up.
A lot of people don't know that too, that you actually signed the deal before the final yes happened. Yes, yes. And you sometimes it's kind of onerous. Your next five years or like your salary is negotiated. Now you go and you renegotiate. But people don't know that you have to sign that deal before the final audition.
You're the only person who doesn't know anything about what's going on, who signs their life away for six years, five to six years before knowing anything or anyone. So I did. I went in and I stumbled over my feet. I did what I think is a horrible audition at Mantis and Mantis. That was back in the day when they had a ton of people in the room. That didn't bother me. I thought I'm a stage actor.
I know. In fact, when I feel energy, I'm like, good, let's do this. Right. You know what I mean? I can transpose their adrenaline, their energy and press off some of mine to them in the space. Right. But then also coming to myself because I know they're watching. So there's a little bit of sort of like you got to be a little bit of an exhibitionist. Like, OK, watch this.
Well, they watched me trip on my feet, make a fool of myself. And I was feeling down. I came out of that and I was like horrified. I cried and cried. I was with my boyfriend, Richard Lyons, at the time. He was like, don't worry, E. Get it together. You need to go back. And now you put it all into the next audition, which I had to do the next day. They were both Fox shows. Wow. Yes.
But one was the other one for Warner Brothers as a production company. So now the Fox people would see me again. But with Warner Brothers in the room at the same time, still all filled up. But I was like, whatever happened then, you got to let it go. Put on your little suit that I have. And it was a Shaka King suit I got from Brooklyn. And I did the Max thing.
I already had my braids and my locks in that new lock. I think you have Deborah Haraway and we got it going and I did it. and ended up getting the role. During that time, they kept us in a hotel because often you didn't have a place to stay in. We were bumping around people's houses and whatnot. And I stayed even with Sam Jackson, a friend, and LaTanya Jackson, who I did a play with off Broadway.
You know, at some point, I think Sam Jackson was Bill Cosby's stand-in. Not when I was there, but you know, the Jacksons had taken me in, all that. I was at a hotel and that's where I met TC. We were both auditioning. And TC was from Chicago. We had just met and TC was full of energy and we just loved each other. And that's where we met. I got the show, he got the show.
And then I think it was a weekend and there we were at the table read. So you got to know, again, our mentality is we're going to do this show and we may not be back. We're not bonded. We're not bonded to anybody in the room. We're bonded to each other. We don't even know all the dynamics that you're talking about with the package deal, nothing.
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Chapter 3: How did Kim Coles get involved with the show?
We don't find that till years later, that type of affinity. The reason I say that is because we do the... A pilot reading. And I think somebody has told me this, that they thought I didn't have enough energy at the pilot reading and they wanted to get rid of me. One of the huge executives.
How did they not even give us a chance? Like, I don't believe that you didn't have energy. I don't remember that.
Girl, do you believe that I didn't have energy?
Exactly.
That's not even. So I know it's a lie. But what they wanted was a different person. So they use that opportunity to say, I think he's looking a little lackluster. I think we got to get rid of Erica Alexander. But what they did not know is that Les Moonves had hired me in a miniseries called Common Ground years ago and was trying to get me in a deal at Lorimar.
And my agents didn't let him because they said, Erica doesn't have as many opportunities. We can't lock her in an exclusive deal for Lorimar to develop.
So you would have been the third wheel if you had said yes to that deal.
It could have been possible. Wow. But I don't know if he would see me that way because I'm very dramatic. Common Ground was pure drama. Okay. Okay. Yeah. It was very hardcore about Boston busing. But anyway, the point is there I was and he stuck up for me and I heard that he called him out and said, if you say anything about Eric Alexander, again, I'm going to kick your ass.
And if you, I'm going to fight you. He said, no one ever said anything bad about you ever again in the room because they knew Les Moonves had your back. Now, we're talking about very complicated men who in future years, you know, we hear stories. Right. But for us, This is how it went down. I'm just laying out what it is.
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