Social media has been buzzing all day with many people giving their flowers to the classic ’90s sitcom Living Single.
Following the much-talked about series finale of HBO’s Insecure, many were simply giving credit to the show that came before for inspiring Issa Rae to deliver a proper successor that fits into the Black female-oriented comedy realm also occupied by Girlfriends and more recently Run The World, Sistas and Harlem.
However, while those shows each gave us standout lead performances by Black men, a debate began around whether a similar show centered on a cast of Black men in the vain of a Living Single or Insecure could actually make it past one season.
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The conversation was sparked by Mike Hill, husband of former Real Housewives of Atlanta star Cynthia Bailey. While giving his respect to the aforementioned shows, he questioned whether men could ever have an equal show to relate to, writing, “We’ve had Living Single, Girlfriends and Insecure…shows about positive black women & their relationships with each other. Has there ever been a good, successful tv show about black men like this? (One that lasted at least 4 seasons?).”
The question soon led to many people chiming in with their own opinions, with some pointing to the fact that Living Single also starred T.C. Carson and John Henton as iconic Black male characters Kyle Barker and Overton Wakefield Jones, respectively. Others made note of more recent examples like Donald Glover’s Atlanta, but Hill felt that cast didn’t reflect his vision of “college educated, positive brothers navigating life together & their relationships.”
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Overall it created an interesting dialogue surrounding the viewership power of Black men when it comes to television. Take a look below at a few standout reactions and then think about it: could an all-male Living Single work?
