Friends was recently released on Netflix and it’s arguably one of the best sitcoms of all time. Now, I love me some Friends, but I think Living Single is better.
Living Single provides a more realistic view of New York. In Friends, Monica and Joey spend a significant portion of the series unemployed, Joey more so than Monica. I don’t know where in New York you can afford rent when you don’t have a job. In one episode it even mentions that Monica was out of savings, but at no point was she in danger of losing her apartment for a lack of funds. I don’t care how good the rent control is. I don’t see that happening. Somehow Monica was unemployed and Rachel was a terrible coffeehouse waitress, and they managed to keep their apartment. At least Chandler had a good paying job, which makes me wonder why he didn’t kick out Joey in the first place. And don’t get me started on Phoebe. Who knows when Phoebe has a job, but she somehow manages to live in her grandmother’s place after she dies.
At least in Living Single, they let the struggle be known. Those girls didn’t know where the next rent check was coming from, but they worked their butts off making sure they kept a roof over their heads. Khadijah was a business owner and still struggled, because that’s that New York life. Kyle and Overton’s situation was understandable because Kyle had a good paying job and Overton was the handyman, so he probably got a discount on the rent. Where was the discount on Friends?
Both Living Single and Friends featured two relationships between main characters: Synclaire/Overton, Max/Kyle, Ross/Rachel, and Monica/Chandler. Both series had the “Will they, won’t they?” and the surprise hookup. While the Monica/Chandler romance was epic, Ross/Rachel fell flat for me after a while. Meanwhile Synclaire/Overton and Max/Kyle both gave me life. Max and Kyle’s snide remarks kept the passion alive, and Synclair and Overton’s naïveté and good nature was heartwarming.
The characters in Living Single were also better than the one in Friends. Really all I need to make my point is to say Maxine Shaw, Attorney at Law AKA The Maverick. She is easily one of the best characters in sitcom history. But the rest of the characters in the Living Single could hold their own, too. We have Khadijah, the mother hen, owner of Flavor Magazine, a magazine that needs to exist in real life. There’s Kyle, the successful stockbroker, who’s able to go toe to toe with Max. There’s Overton, who’s fulfilling his dream of being a master of tools. Synclaire is a talented actress (unlike Joey) and eternal optimist. Even Regine manages to turn her vanity and selfishness into a lovable quirk and a promising career. Plus Overton’s mama was Gladys freaking Knight.
A lot of the storylines that occurred in Friends happened in Living Single first. Of course there was the intergroup pining/relationship. Overton and Synclaire was doing it before Ross and Rachel. The surprise hookup between Max and Kyle happened before Chandler and Monica. Max got pregnant with Kyle’s baby years before Rachel got pregnant with Ross’s baby. The same applies to even small story lines. Max had a relationship with a younger man (Terrence Howard) before Monica had her tryst with a younger man. Even one the friends dating the sibling of another friend happened in Living Single first (Kyle dating Overton’s sister vs. Ross dating Rachel’s sister or even Joey dating Phoebe’s twin).
The discussion of which is the better sitcom could go forever, but I’d take Living Single any day of the week. I’d watch an episode of Living Single for the theme song alone. Friends may have been on the air for twice as long, but Living Single still managed to do so much in the time it had. Living Single is often considered as the Black Friends, but Friends is definitely the white Living Single. Which sitcom is your favorite?
If you wanna relive the glory days, you can find the first season of Living Single here. Too bad it’s the only season we have on DVD.
