Obie-Wan Henton featuring John Henton

Summary

ReLiving Single Podcast

Episode: "Obie-Wan Henton" featuring John Henton

Release Date: October 1, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode of ReLiving Single dives deep into the legacy of sitcom Living Single through a vibrant rewatch and behind-the-scenes discussion, with a special focus on John Henton, who played Overton. Hosts Erika Alexander and Kim Coles, joined by Henton himself, reminisce over Season 1, Episode 20 ("Hot Fun in the Wintertime"), share untold stories from set, examine the importance of chemistry and comedy, and explore both the joys and real-life hardships that shaped the cast’s journeys.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Magic of Comedy Partnership (01:31–04:08)

• The hosts and Henton celebrate their dynamic as comedy collaborators. Erika praises John's deep knowledge and ability to infuse lines with unique rhythm:

  "You are a walking encyclopedia of comedy, of film, of animation. And I love how you weave all of that together and make it your own." — Erika Alexander (01:42)

• The conversation highlights a shared comedic upbringing informed by TV legends (Milton Berle, Honeymooners, Sanford and Son, Bugs Bunny, The Little Rascals, Jerry Lewis, George Carlin), setting the foundation for their on-screen magic.

2. Chemistry Beyond the Script (04:08–05:18)

• The hosts dissect what made Overton and Sinclair's relationship so beloved—respect and mutual fandom, not just scripted romance.
• Henton reveals the authenticity of their chemistry:

  "If you got respect for somebody and you admire them and you get a chance to work with them, it's like, yeah, you want this to work. So we gonna do what we gotta do to make this work, you know?" — John Henton (04:08)

3. Rewatch: "Hot Fun in the Wintertime" Breakdown (05:41–18:21)

Plot Summary (05:46–06:13)

• Sinclair wins a trip for two to the Bahamas—chaos ensues as friends and family vie to be her plus-one.
• Max and Kyle engage in a prank war, escalating their love-hate dynamic.

Authentic Reactions and Relationship Dynamics

• Lively banter unpacks character choices: Who should Sinclair take on the trip—her new boyfriend (Overton), cousin Khadijah, or friend Regine?

  "You take your boyfriend. That's a no brainer. Especially since we were newly minted...when you came through the door. Listen..." — Erika Alexander (07:33)

• The pressure Sinclair faces from both Overton and Khadijah sparks a nuanced conversation about people-pleasing, boundaries, and family obligations.

• The hosts explore the plot twist: Sinclair chooses Regine, honoring her avoidance of direct conflict and seeking “neutral ground.”

  "Regine is neutral ground, like Switzerland. I can choose her and neither one of them will be mad..." — Kim Coles (17:09)

Memorable Comic Moments

• Prank wars between Max and Kyle:

  "He got you. He pulled you right on the hook." — John Henton (28:28)

• Bittersweet laughter about Overton's authenticity and unwillingness to put on airs for love:

  "No, I wouldn't put on, you know, the smoking jacket. That's not me. I...can't be anybody but me." — John Henton (13:14)

4. The Art and Resonance of On-Screen Love (35:48–39:29)

• Erika reflects on learning about real-world relationships from Overton’s decisiveness:

  "When a man knows what he wants, he knows what he wants, right? And that was Overton." — Erika Alexander (35:48)

• John discusses the innocence and patience of Overton & Sinclair’s romance—a sharp contrast to “swipe culture” and today’s disposable attitudes toward dating.

  "It just shows how long ago this show was...Right now it's like, swipe. No, no. Okay, there you go. And 15 minutes later, Bing. Like faster than dominoes, man." — John Henton (39:29)

5. John Henton: Comedy Roots & Life Lessons (39:43–45:04)

• Henton recounts his journey into comedy: being inspired by English comedians, classics like Monty Python, and his first amateur night win in Cleveland.
• Valuable advice for young comics:

  "Do it because you love to do it...Every show is important, whether it's five people in there or sold out. And always be ready." — John Henton (42:40)

6. Triumph, Trauma, and Recovery (46:26–55:58)

• John opens up about his serious car accident, the addiction struggles that led to it, and his path to recovery.

  "I thought I was just hurting myself, but I was hurting a lot of people...I can't be anybody but me. I wouldn't have done that. But, you know, I would have tried to get on that trip." — John Henton (13:14, and various timestamps through 46:37–53:22)

• Honest accounts of pain, self-forgiveness, and transformation:

  "When my Nico got here, that was it. Because I realized that it's not about me anymore...When you got a beautiful little girl looking up to you, and I said, you know what? I'm not gonna let you down. And that was what turned me around. And that little girl saved my life." — John Henton (52:51)

• Reflections on purpose and contentment after overcoming hardship:

  "I have peace now...Content...and it's the state of peaceful happiness, and that's something that I never had before." — John Henton (53:59)

7. The Legacy of Overton and Consistency in Craft (56:50–57:46)

• Henton humbly sees Overton as his “legacy,” sharing pride in his consistent, solid work and hearing from writers that he could always “make it funny.”

  "We give it to John. He'll make it funny. And that's, like, the biggest compliment you can get." — John Henton (56:51)

8. True Blue: Fan Q&A (58:12–61:04)

• A fan asks about Overton’s love/hate for the Cleveland Browns—mirrors Henton’s real feelings:

  "Yeah, it was very real, Mikey, to say the least. And the state of the Browns now is just chaos, but that's how we like it in Cleveland." — John Henton (58:49)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "I'm a comic, so, you know, a lot of women like somebody that can make them laugh. I just be myself...if you don't like the real, then get to stepping." — John Henton (13:39)

• Erika on the value of joy vs. productivity in friendship:

  "Sinclair brings joy and childlike wonder and light...but that's not enough. Joy ain't gonna pay the bills." — Erika Alexander (21:36)

• "There was something in there. And that was the thing that really bothered her the most." — John Henton (28:29) [On Overton & Sinclair's evolving romance]

• John’s comedic self-deprecation about Cleveland sports:

  "I went to a game a couple years ago. I paid $10. I sat on the end of the Cavs bench. Almost got in the game, too." — John Henton (59:26)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Time | Segment | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:31 | The Comedy “Encyclopedia” and Partnership | | 04:08 | Chemistry: The Magic Formula | | 05:41 | Episode Rewatch Begins: “Hot Fun in the Wintertime” | | 13:14 | Real-Life vs. Overton’s Style / Comic Authenticity | | 17:09 | Sinclair’s Dilemma—People-Pleasing & Pressure | | 28:28 | Max & Kyle: Prank Wars and Deep Flirtation | | 35:48 | Overton & Sinclair—Lessons on Love and Self-knowledge | | 39:43 | John’s Stand-up Roots, Inspirations, and Stand-up Advice | | 46:26 | John’s Car Accident, Addiction, and Recovery | | 55:50 | Legacy, Consistency, and the Value of Reliability | | 58:12 | True Blue (Fan Q&A: Cleveland Browns) |

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Tone & Language

The conversation is heartfelt, witty, and unfiltered—mixing deep honesty with playful banter. The camaraderie between host and guest is palpable, with humor, inside jokes, and moments of emotional gravity.

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For Those Who Haven't Listened

This episode of ReLiving Single is a rich celebration of classic Black TV, the lives behind the laughs, and the enduring importance of friendship, authenticity, and resilience. John Henton’s journey, both on and off the screen, offers inspiration and insight into the artistry and humanity that made Living Single a television landmark.

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Listen for:

• Unvarnished stories of addiction and recovery
• Behind-the-scenes laughs from Living Single
• Candid relationship wisdom for yesterday and today
• The enduring influence of respecting your craft and your colleagues

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Transcript

[A]

Coming up on Reliving Single, John Hinton. It's gonna be John, John, John all the time. John, man, that little girl is your heart and she knows it.

[B]

And she takes all my money. No, no, don't ask me no silly questions.

[C]

Like as stronger as he goes.

[B]

I'm still mad cause you kissed him.

[A]

But you kissed me.

[B]

This is big time stuff. Show goodness. That's it. This is before computers had hit, so I was on top of you. You hear me?

[A]

Stayed.

[B]

Dude, I was ready, but. Yeah, but I wouldn't have met you.

[C]

No, for sure I wouldn't have met you if you met me. Duckets.

[A]

Come on now.

[C]

Welcome back to Reliving Single, the official unofficial living Single rewatch podcast. And this week, we're excited, excited to have our favorite handyman, John Hinton, back with us. Bravo.

[B]

So good. So good to be back with y'. All.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Just sexiness.

[C]

Can I feel on you?

[B]

It's just too much sexiness. Just. Oh, yes.

[C]

Oh, my.

[B]

I tell you what. I tell you what.

[C]

I tell you why.

[B]

Look here. Look how much.

[C]

I'll tell you how.

[B]

All right, now, let's focus.

[C]

Let's focus. All right. Let's talk about your relationship with Kim as comedy partners. I mean, we have to talk about it. It's a stuff of legends. Let's just get into that a little bit.

[A]

I had the best. I had the best partner to be able to play with. And I've said this many times, and I'll tell you again to your face, you are a walking encyclopedia of comedy, of film, of animation. And I love how you weave all of that together and make it your own. Like, you really know your stuff, John.

[B]

You do useless trivia. That's me. I'm the king of that. But you and I both. Tv, baby. So it's like very seldom can I throw you. If I throw something out there, you gonna get it.

[A]

I'm gonna catch it, throw it right back at you.

[B]

Cause that's what's happening. Cause we grew up watching all that stuff, which is how we got into it, because our love for comedy, we watched everything from Uncle Milty, way back in the day, and Honeymooners, Sanford and Son, Bugs Bunny, anything. The Lil Ra Rascal. I'd take something from anybody. Stymie. Stymie was a genius, for sure.

[A]

And Jerry Lewis, of course. You and I both love him.

[B]

Oh, God, buddy. Love. Come on.

[A]

What?

[B]

What'll it be? No, come on.

[C]

Anyway, you know you have your own voice, but you obviously got filled up with a lot of amazing you know.

[B]

Material, just timing, just voice inflection. Like George Carlin would. His jokes would hit differently because voice inflection, the way he would just switch right in the middle of a joke. So it was just so many different ways of conveying and getting that point across.

[A]

I always laud you for your ability to take the lines and add some different musicality to them, and you have your own musicality. And we each all did that, and it just made it special off the page.

[C]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

And you were fun to play with because you not only you brought all that with you, but then you brought yourself to it, too. And you brought the little flirtation and the little loving on us, and so we would then speak, sparkle, and feel good, and then that makes you feel like we sparkle. Thank you, John.

[B]

Well, y' all supposed to sparkle. Yeah, y'.

[C]

All.

[A]

So to play with you was a great, great.

[C]

Well, you know, by the way, speaking of sparkling, y' all had chemistry.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Now, what accounts for that? Because you didn't know each other before the show, did you?

[A]

No, I was just a fan. But that's another thing.

[C]

You both admired each other, but when you got on there, you liked each other beyond even the page. And that, of course, adds. And that's lovely. But I'm saying, what makes that like you. You can't manufacture that. What do you think is in the formula for chemistry?

[B]

In my case, it was just the fact that I was a fan of hers from the start. So when you're a fan of somebody and they're pretty, you get to play the love interest. So the chemistry is just natural for us. It wasn't nothing you can manufacture. But if you got respect for somebody and you admire them and you get a chance to work with them, it's like, yeah, you want this to work? So we gonna do what we gotta do to make this work, you know?

[C]

Right.

[A]

I was gonna say respect, too. The respect piece was there first. So I was a fan. There was a respect. And I know, you know, you've got your own comic sensibility that you bring to your standup. That's all I knew about you. So I already liked that and I already trusted that. And although it may be different from mine, I knew again that if I could throw something, you could throw it back. And I was excited to see how it morphed and how it morphed and melded. Does that make sense?

[C]

Yes.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Well, you guys got a ton of stories about that. You know what? Let's get into this.

[B]

Oh, what we fixing to get into.

[C]

We gonna get into this episode and we'll talk about. And then the whole time we gonna be able to talk about you. Your background, your inspirations, obviously the chemistry between you both and the character. So let's get into it. You ready?

[A]

I'm ready.

[C]

Let's get this sham on Shamon.

[B]

Those who lead deserve a car that leads with them. Because a car that doesn't move you is a car that falls short of amazing. That's the Lexus, the standard of amazing.

[A]

It's time for the rewind where we watch and relive living single with you.

[C]

Okay. Welcome to living single. Season 1, Episode 20 Hot Fun in the Wintertime. How about that? In our A story, Sinclair wins a trip for two to the Bahamas. But she is suddenly plagued by overly attentive friends Khadijah and Overton vying for a chance to be her vacation partner. And in the B story, it's the War of the Roses as Max and Kyle go tit for tat with their practical jokes in an attempt to sabotage each other's dates. Oh, things are heating up.

[B]

Written by Bernadette Lucky be luck, my girl. And directed by Ellen Gilson. Ellie Al guest stars Miguel Nunes as Gold.

[C]

Come on, he's bad.

[B]

Some people just leave that impression. Richard Lyons. Richard Lyons is Michael. Janelle Kennedy as Rebecca. Michael J. White. He was on the show too as Steve. I don't remember that. Lawrence T. Rentz as Mark. Okay, who replaced Diana Ross?

[A]

Was it Jean Terrell?

[C]

What are you doing?

[A]

Shake.

[B]

Caller number 19, you're our party in paradise winner.

[C]

So Sinclair, where'd you win? An all expense paid trip for two to Paradise Island.

[B]

Girl, that's the Bahamas.

[A]

There would be.

[C]

You win another person other than you.

[B]

And there's nothing more romantic than going to a tropical aisle with somebody who's been working out lately and probably looks real good in the speed of it. Overton. Man, I can't go Sinclair.

[C]

Now look, you take whoever you want. Never mind about family and advancement in the workplace. Come on now.

[B]

Now who's supposed to get it?

[C]

Who would you take in this scenario? Come on now, who would you take?

[A]

You take your boyfriend.

[B]

That's a no brainer.

[A]

Especially since we were newly minted. We were locked in and the way I where you grabbed me when I. When you came through the door. Listen something.

[C]

Yeah, but wait a minute. Let me ask a question. Y' all are grabbing each other, but you just started kissing. I don't think y' all have been sleeping with.

[A]

We didn't have sex.

[B]

No, but we doing that in the Bahamas.

[A]

That's an opportunity. The son and the fun. The son and the fun.

[B]

And the fun.

[C]

But so on a vacation, you'd rather take a lover than a family member?

[A]

Yeah, certainly. So. Certainly. But, you know, but Khadijah has a, a, a A strong argument.

[C]

Has he put in enough work, Overton. Has he put enough work to warrant being the one going, you're just starting to date.

[B]

Yeah, but it going to be some work on this vacation.

[C]

You know.

[B]

Look, I. I've said too.

[A]

Much sand will get in crevices and he wants to help me get the sand out.

[B]

But. But yeah, I was going to be very attentive and take care of things.

[C]

I would think so.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

But I wouldn't want to go.

[B]

It's a no brainer. You know, the boyfriend's supposed to go.

[C]

Everyone thought that you. Your character Sinclair was wrong and you weren't. It was Gene Tyrell. Right?

[A]

Right. Yeah, it was Gene Turell once again. And that's not a popular answer like you think it was.

[B]

You know, one of the original Cindy Bird song. That's what I was thinking. I don't remember Terrell.

[C]

Me neither.

[A]

But I love that your character calls me a doofus. But I got the answer right. And certainly I'm not taking you.

[C]

I love it. Oh, well, I love the word. She's the doofus. Sinclair was right. Hey, Kyle. Oh, Kyle, your wife was here, man. But don't worry, I covered for you. Don't even think.

[B]

Okay, okay, okay. Look, this is what it is.

[A]

Let me explain it to your wife.

[C]

Yo, Kyle, what you up to?

[B]

What? I'm just making conversation, baby. Yeah, Max, relax.

[C]

Oh. Oh, wait. He got to you too, didn't he? Oh, you two in this together. Okay.

[B]

Max, I think you've been working too hard. Come on.

[C]

Yes, yes, yes, yes, I have. In fact, let me take a rain check on that. I'm not going out like that.

[B]

Whatever you say. And give me a call when you're feeling better.

[C]

See, I don't know what you had planned, but it's not going down tonight.

[B]

It just did. Your man is gone.

[C]

How about that? Tit for tat.

[A]

Tit for tat.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

First of all, it's that iconic laugh that he added to the show. He's got that beautiful bass voice and it was a part of Kyle's character.

[C]

Right, right. And he sounds like he came from Transylvania. Do you enjoy seeing him dress up and do his thing? Because it was different from what you were rocking.

[B]

Yeah. He's got money. He's doing his thing. And he was always dressed impeccably. You know, once in a while, you might see Overton in the suit. Not often.

[C]

And that's when it was really nice. Because we only saw it once in a while. When you did, it was like, pow.

[A]

Whenever we went to church. You look Deacon fresh.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Well, yeah.

[A]

And here we have this, of course, Richard Lyons, who's your real life boyfriend.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

Gets to play Michael again on the show. Looking great, Looking adorable.

[C]

Good. Was young and fresh.

[A]

And young and happy.

[B]

Right? And happy.

[A]

And this love hate relationship that. That you and Kyle have, he takes you down. He takes you down and messes up this date for you. And that was his plan, Right. Manipulated.

[B]

So now you got to get him back. You ain't going out like that. He ain't going out like that. And that's how this madness continues.

[C]

It's true. But, you know, that's foreplay for them.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

All of this is, you know, how they stimulate each other. Isn't that horrible? It's such a sickness.

[B]

It really is weird. But that's how y' all get down.

[C]

That's how we get down. Oh, by the way, want to give a little shout out to Richard Lyons, who played Michael, because he's always collateral damage in these episodes. Every time we look up, he's being left for Christmas. Or he's.

[B]

You know. That's right.

[C]

Yeah. Michael is kind of plays a little clueless.

[A]

Right, Right.

[C]

Yeah. And he did that well. Cause Richard is not clueless.

[A]

Not at all. He was taking. Taking the prize home. All right, what happens then?

[B]

So how was your day?

[C]

Well, honestly, Overton, all I've been thinking.

[A]

About is who I'm gonna take to the Bahamas. Khadijah really, really wants to go.

[B]

More wine?

[A]

Oh, no, I don't think so.

[C]

You know, it goes straight to my head. All righty.

[B]

Oh, hell, I can't do this. I mean, this isn't me.

[A]

Well, then who is it?

[B]

It's him. Look, baby, I really want to go on this trip, but not like this. And definitely not in this jacket.

[A]

I love when he's tying your ascot.

[B]

The flare. The flare.

[A]

The flare. And you wore it well. You wore it well. Even though it wasn't really you.

[B]

It wasn't me. That's why I had to come out of it.

[A]

You did.

[B]

And he had to be. Because that's the thing about Overton. He's. He's honest. You know, he wants to go. It's like, you know, like you said, not like this. You know, so he's just gonna be real, and, you know, whatever happens, happens. So I always, always dug that about it by this character. And I think that's what a lot of people dig about us, about the relationship. That it was just real and. Yeah, it was open, honest.

[A]

Are you like Overton in that respect, or would you have, you know, schmoozed and smooth?

[C]

Yeah. Would you put on the jacket?

[B]

No, I wouldn't put on, you know, the smoking jacket. That's not me. I. You know, I can't be anybody but me. I wouldn't have done that. But, you know, I would. I would have tried to get on that trip.

[A]

You would have used your charming way.

[B]

I would have. I would have. I'd have said something smooth, some flowers, you know, something. I'd have did something. But smoking jacket? No, that's not.

[A]

Okay. Okay. You wore well. How is your Mac style different from Overton? How is John's Mac style different from Overton's?

[B]

Don't really have a style. It's. My thing is always just being real. You know, it's like, if somebody is into you, then you don't really have to do anything. But for me, I'm a comic, so, you know, a lot of women like somebody that can make them laugh. I just be myself. I'm just doing that on the real. And then the rest of the way, I don't do. I wasn't good with the macking and stuff. You know, I just go with the real. And if you don't like the real, then get to stepping.

[C]

Did you figure that out in high school where, like, you good in high school, like, you were surrounded by women because you were funny and guys, like, you were, like, popular.

[B]

I was. I was really shy for a long time, but the laughter always helped. And, you know, any relationship that I did have, which was mostly. Oh, God. Which mostly. Most of my relationships.

[A]

Reveal.

[B]

No, it was mostly waitresses at comedy clubs.

[C]

Oh, wow. Okay.

[B]

That was just. It was just like shooting fish in the barrel. It was a natural thing that they dare shoot. They were in the comedy, and I was into pretty women and had a few cocktail waitresses, which is why I tip. I always tip big.

[C]

Mm.

[A]

I bet maybe the real tip was getting to date you.

[C]

That's what I said. That's what she said. Tips big.

[B]

Oh, behave. Oh, ladies, stop it.

[A]

Well, I love out of integrity, he abandons this plan and goes back to just being sweet. Overton.

[B]

Cause that's what works.

[A]

Just A little migraine.

[C]

Well, maybe you should see a doctor. I've seen the doctor. Basically, he says I need a vacation. Sure, I could clear my schedule next week, but where would I go?

[A]

Oh, Khadijah, I feel so sorry for you.

[C]

Oh, man, stress comes with the territory.

[A]

No, that you would stoop so low to try to get a free trip out of me.

[C]

The Sinclair character. You're confused.

[A]

Well, I love that she plays this whole migraine thing. And the way Ellen shot it was that we see her, you know, perspective of what she's really like. I'm gonna try to fool her into this. And Sinclair is not fooled. And I love that. That's why I say she's not dumb. She knew what was going on.

[C]

All right, let's get into the dilemma next.

[B]

Dej, I thought I saw you. What y' all talking about? Nothing.

[C]

Unless Sinclair has something to tell me.

[B]

Or me.

[A]

Or me.

[B]

Or I.

[C]

Yes, I've made my decision, fought long and hard. I'm taking Regine.

[B]

Do you see what happens when all you think about is yourself?

[C]

I'm going to the behind.

[B]

Plot twist.

[A]

Plot twist.

[B]

Who saw that one coming? No one.

[A]

Because she really wasn't trying. I don't think Regine was trying and vying for herself in that place. So it really was just a pure place. Do what you need to do, girlfriend. And when faced with these two coming at her, she's like, I'm going to go a completely different direction.

[C]

I think she's wrong for that. Family versus boyfriend. Yes, I get it. But she's afraid to disappoint. That's one thing I think Sinclair is a people pleaser.

[A]

100% a people pleaser.

[C]

And Regine is neutral ground, like Switzerland. I can choose her and neither one of them will be mad, but she only makes things a little worse, which.

[A]

Is rare for her because, you know, Regine, we see her as very self.

[B]

Centered and, you know, she's always got an angle.

[A]

Always got an angle. And she has no angle this time. She's pure.

[C]

And that's why she gets the prize.

[A]

And starts dancing with the album.

[C]

Do you think that Overton is selfish?

[B]

Not really. I mean, Overton probably thought this would be a great vacation with my girl and we can really get some stuff started here.

[C]

But I feel like the pressure is still on because there's Khadijah who's pressuring her. You think that overstudden should have said, man, you know, pick your cousin, go.

[B]

Take your cousin and stuff like that? Well, the fact that it was New. You would think the family men would back off because it's got a new relationship Here. Take your man on down there and see what you got. See if it's something she should have backed off, not me.

[C]

That's true.

[B]

No, no. Don't ask me no silly questions.

[C]

As stronger as he goes.

[B]

I think everybody knows the answer to this, but it's a no brainer, a nerve view. How you gonna ask me?

[C]

So you Blaze and Claire.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Do you feel like they were wrong for doing that?

[A]

Absolutely wrong. You know, to pressure knowing that I am a people pleaser. Know that knowing that I want to please everyone and that I can't know someone's going to be mad at me. But I also agree that Khadijah should have said, going down there with your man, have a good time. Was she jealous that I had a man and she didn't? I don't know. Ooh, right.

[C]

Wow.

[A]

Like I ain't got nobody to go away. Go away with.

[B]

That's what I'm saying. You would step up in between somebody, a new relationship. Oh, girl.

[A]

Have a good time. Tell us all about it. Is what I would say if I were Khadijah. But she wants a break too. Is an entrepreneur. She doesn't have the money to go take a trip. She's working all the time and she's.

[C]

Paying you, you know, so in a way, don't you owe her? Khadijah's really, you know, put herself out on the line for.

[A]

I could see one paradigm. One paradigm, I owe her. But in one paradigm, I just want to get it on with my new man.

[C]

But that sounds like you just got hot pants. You are selfish for not helping your cousin who's been helping you all this time.

[B]

And that was the dilemma.

[C]

I absolutely see that you're trying to get on. And he's right. It's a new relationship. But also she works so hard and she's always so stressed. And there you have a free trip. Maybe she'd be thinking about her health and wellness.

[A]

Welcome to my dilemma.

[B]

I wonder how this turns out.

[C]

So you having a good time? No.

[A]

Ask me why I'm scared to. What did I tell you?

[C]

I can't believe you're not taking me.

[B]

I'm your own cousin.

[C]

Oh, Khadijah, really, you're being a little petty now. Let me explain something to you, Lucy. I am family. And fam means you take care of.

[A]

Them when they sick, you help them.

[C]

When they're down, and you take them to the Bahamas.

[A]

That little Dance move.

[C]

Yeah, come on. The dance move.

[A]

Come on. I'm sure that was Latifah's idea.

[C]

It was.

[A]

It was, wasn't it?

[C]

Yes. Then you got into it.

[A]

All I had to do is, you know, get into the groove, and that's the comedy. That again, it's on. It's not on the page. It's what we add to it and.

[B]

Just throw it away.

[A]

And why were we dancing like that?

[C]

Because y' all are crazy.

[A]

Yeah, because it's almost like a.

[B]

It was the angry dance.

[A]

It was the angry dance.

[B]

Right.

[C]

But we were also always referencing old shows, and I'm sure she got it from something and they just started doing it. And I think once you guys start making yourself laugh, I mean, it's over.

[A]

But we made ourselves laugh all the time.

[C]

There's no doubt. Do you think the truth hurts when Khajija tells Sinclair that you're a burden and you owe me?

[A]

Of course it hurts. And I don't think in that moment, she's trying to. In that moment, that's not a ploy to take the trip. It's just, I need you to know that you've been a burden. I'm doing a lot here, and you're not, I guess, holding up your end of the bargain or whatever it is. And that's an ouch.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

For real. Sometimes what people really think is like, oh, I didn't know that was brewing under the surface. Wow.

[C]

But is she a drain? Is Sinclair a drain?

[A]

Here's the thing. I think Sinclair brings joy and childlike wonder and light and trolls and all the things, but she's not the most efficient in the office. Joy is always wonderful, but that's not enough. That's gonna. Joy ain't gonna pay the bills.

[C]

So that would be a yes. Sinclair is a drain.

[B]

A drain.

[C]

Yeah. You just listed some really great.

[A]

Well, she's not adding to making the business move forward, but she's Joyful. You're gonna have fun while you're going down.

[C]

She'd like to put Joyful on a check right. When it's time to pay.

[A]

Right. Right.

[C]

Joyful ain't gonna work. I mean, listen, it's some truth in it. Perspective is good. Right.

[B]

You really have been a bit of a burden, you know, it's like I'm holding you up. The least you could do is this so.

[A]

Right, Right.

[C]

Yeah. But she contributes. Let's be clear. Sinclair contributes to the office.

[B]

Yeah, absolutely.

[C]

And we've already gone through that because she fired you once.

[A]

Right.

[C]

And hired to know who's your friend yeah, baby.

[B]

Flavor.

[C]

Flavor.

[B]

Excuse me. Aren't you Kyle Barker? Well, yes, I am. For you. What's this? Subpoena for non payment of child support. What? This one's for indecent exposure.

[C]

Excuse me.

[B]

By order of the Honorable Maxine Shaw.

[A]

Boyaca. Boyaca. Max, there you are.

[C]

Kyle is behind this. Look, look, I ain't got time for this, Max.

[A]

Look, when you and Kyle have finished.

[B]

Playing your little games, why don't you give me a call?

[C]

Goldie.

[B]

Goldie. Goldie.

[A]

Goldie.

[B]

Miguel.

[A]

Miguel.

[B]

Miguel Nunez.

[A]

How did he get the number?

[C]

Okay, so if you can remember anybody that seen the show straight through when they go to the club. Max is trying to get rid of Goldie. So she gives Goldie her phone number. But it's not her phone number, it's Kyle's. And so I think the writers use that, knowing that Goldie. Sorry, Kyle has the number. He set up that Goldie gets invited to the party.

[A]

Come on over here, girl. Yeah, I can't. I can't.

[C]

Drinking a 40.

[A]

Right, right, right.

[B]

Always.

[C]

So even though Kyle and Max are going at it, by the way, they are matched. They're both toxic. So that's kind of cool. There's never a conversation about morality between them?

[A]

No.

[C]

Somehow that's kind of nice that your characters are having it right. But no one ever says that about Max and Kyle.

[B]

No. Did y' all do anything? Oh, yeah.

[C]

Welcome to the terror dome with him.

[A]

I think there's probably integrity at work. There's integrity in what you do and integrity what he does at work. But between the two of you, the events are off.

[C]

But what are they afraid of?

[A]

Vulnerability. And somehow, I think each of you thinks that to give yourselves over to this attraction, this potential love thing would mean losing something. And it's too bad that you don't find out. Well, you find out when you find out that giving into it is actually not losing anything at all. But I think we, as human beings, we think we're gonna lose so much if we give in to this. And there's nothing to be lost. Even if it doesn't work out, there's nothing that's lost.

[B]

Neither one wants the other one to have the upper hand. And that's the thing, because you're just two strong people. And you know that the other person is strong, too. And there's no how this is going to work out. Somebody's going to have the upper hand. Y' all just scared because y'. All. Y' all crazy.

[C]

One of the things we never talk about is how being ambitious and being successful can blur sometimes or limit your happiness. Because once that falls away, who are you? And I think that they don't stop long enough to contemplate who they are. So of course they're battling because they don't want to be seen, they don't want to be vulnerable, they don't want to give in. Power struggles. But also they don't know who they are, especially Max, without all the stuff that precedes her, her conviction. And all of these things have driven her to be fantastically successful and, you know, prominent. But who is she?

[A]

Well, we also have found out by this time that she's 25, which we've done the math on that. For her to have to be a partner and to have all these successes means that she started early, means she peaked, or I'm not saying you don't have another peak, but I mean, you. You've been going at it. You're probably a great scholar. You, you know, probably skipped a few grades, and who knows, you might have gone to college at 16 instead of 18. And so there's this pressure to hold on to that. And that's, That's, That's a lot. That's a lot to hold on to.

[C]

So between, you know, Max serving Kyle two subpoenas and Kyle bringing in Goldie, whose pranks were better to see a hand. Show of hands for Goldie. Hands up.

[A]

Really?

[C]

For subpoena. Hands up. I think it's a subpoena. Okay. You don't see everybody in the room, but subpoena wins.

[B]

Okay. Okay.

[C]

Subpoena wins. Only you guys like the Goldie move, but.

[B]

Yeah, because the Goldie tell you why I like it because just like you explained it, you gave Goldie Kyle's number.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

He took that and used that against you.

[C]

Right. Well, that's a long play.

[B]

Yeah, that's a long play. And that's what I'm saying, the subpoena thing. I mean, you a lawyer, you know, you can. You can do it all.

[C]

I know, but it was brilliant because.

[A]

He probably hand wrote it really quick because he didn't open it until the girl walked away.

[C]

Well, but it's kryptonite. That girl would never, ever come near him. You got.

[A]

But now Goldie knows exactly how to find you.

[C]

Yeah, well, he knows how to find y'. All.

[A]

I'm across the street and you are with us all the time.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Oh, touche.

[A]

He doesn't know that. He doesn't know that. But that means you can't come over.

[B]

Oh, he's gonna watch. He's gonna watch the brownstone. He's gonna find you.

[C]

Great. You know what?

[B]

He's gonna find you.

[C]

So now I have a stalker with a gold tooth. Nice.

[B]

Max, why do we keep going at each other like this?

[C]

It's some sort of twisted compulsion.

[B]

Is it possible that perhaps underneath all the layers of contempt and animosity and bitterness that we feel for each other, that there lies a small bit of respect, Perhaps even, dare I say it, some affection? Gotcha.

[C]

Suck your mind, your booty shine. Nope.

[B]

Suck your mind your booty shine.

[A]

I haven't heard that in a hundred years. Nope. But I've forgotten what happened after that moment. I was really drawn in, thinking, like, okay, Kyle is going to sort of go for it and say, so I really. I'm into it. There might be something here. And he decided to. Nope. But he got you. He pulled you right on the hook. Right on the hook.

[B]

But there was something there.

[A]

There was something in there.

[B]

And that was the thing that really bothered her the most. There was something there. And she was thinking it, too. You know, you're getting subpoenas and stuff like that. It's like, come on, man. It's not normal. That's y' all flirting. That's the sickest part of it. This is y' all flirting. Y' all both appreciated that. To where he just said, you know, maybe there is something.

[C]

Yes, it's toxic rivalry.

[A]

And there's a lot of relationships out there that are like this. Like, you know, we see things like this play out, especially on reality shows. Yeah, on reality shows, that this toxic way of being, even, as in friendships and relationships, and it's like, why would you put your business out there like that and. And be willing to something that's so sacred? You know, it'd be different if you all were attracted to each other and it didn't work out. That's fine. But there's something sacred about a relationship, and people just blow them up and blow them off.

[C]

Sacred to you? Ah, I guess to each their own. Not everybody feels like that's a sacred space. Have we devalued relationships in this day and age?

[B]

Well, it depends on the person. But I mean, as far as relationships go, people still doing what they've always done, you can't really think about in terms of Max and Kyle. Cause that was just. That's just toxic. Just crazy.

[A]

You use that as an example.

[B]

Yeah, that can't be. So you can't even Think about that. But I think relationships overall are pretty much the same. People are.

[A]

People are the same.

[B]

And just like in your case, some people don't like to give up the power. Some people have always been in charge. And like, you think about the way that Richie Rich was played in that. It's like you dominated that relationship. You called the shots on that. Now, you know you wasn't gonna be able to do that with Kyle Barker.

[C]

No.

[B]

And he knew that he wouldn't be able to play you like the little girls that he was messing around with. So that was. It was the control factor. That's what. I figured this all out, so we should move on. What's next? I got this. We don't. We don't need. You know, this is a yacht here. You can put your cars down now. Let's go. Let's just roll on with this. I got this.

[C]

Bravo.

[B]

Listen to me. And we can get this a lot quicker.

[A]

Sinclair does not really want to take.

[C]

Me to the Bahamas. I'm just a convenient way out.

[A]

So I am willing to sacrifice my.

[B]

Week of fun in the sun so.

[A]

That she can take one of you.

[C]

You giving up something for someone else?

[B]

Yeah, I'm a little dubious myself. Regine. I just booked that condo in Aspen. Were you able to get out of that Bahamas thing?

[C]

Let's go, Steve. So who's it going to be? I'm taking over tonight.

[B]

My baby's coming to her senses.

[A]

Oh, now I've hurt your feelings.

[C]

No, it's not that. It's just you never dissed me for a man before. My little cousin's growing up.

[B]

A. Like, it's supposed to go. I told y'. All.

[A]

Supposed to go.

[B]

You know. You know what supposed to happen.

[A]

She comes to her senses finally. I love it. And Michael J. White. A moment for Michael J. White. Maybe you just have a moment, spawn.

[C]

Oh, come on.

[A]

Come on, now.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

And didn't you say you worked with him on something or he helped do something?

[C]

Michael J. White helped me get into shape. I don't know. There was a time on Living Single, like, end of second, third season, where I was in amazing shape. I'm telling you, you can look on. At least it's locked in. And that's because he got to me on my diet. He said, erica, this is how you eat. This is how you work out. And he just refined it. Next thing you know, my body said, do, do, do, do, do. He's genius at that stuff. Great acting.

[B]

Second, third, you always had body. What are you talking about second, third.

[C]

Let me tell you something.

[B]

When y' all was. When y' all was running up to the hills backwards and stuff. Yeah, that was, that was year one.

[A]

A fitness journey that had us in the morning, six o' clock in the morning, running up and down Hollywood Hills backwards. Backwards.

[B]

Yeah, you got your mad.

[A]

Yeah, you got so mad. Cause I fell and injured you and.

[B]

You hurt your knee.

[C]

But Michael J. White is a really great martial artist. He and AJ Johnson would work out and they would teach people how to eat. And at the time, that was pretty revolutionary.

[A]

Oh yeah. Because they weren't nutrition piece of it.

[B]

No.

[C]

And they were doing it wrong because there were a lot of anorexia in Hollywood. And he was like, no, you're gonna eat more than you ever have in life. And he did. He just upped my diet. But then also, you know, corrected it. And what happened was I got muscle and suddenly my body looked different. It wasn't just sort of lean, it was like muscular. Woo. I look good. And I know why. Because Angie Bassett asked me for tips.

[B]

That's what I'm talking about. She did.

[C]

She showed you to anime, whatever. And I told her this was right before what love got to do.

[B]

That's what I'm saying. She had guns and that.

[C]

She had guns and she has an amazing behind. You know, her booty is just, you know, something the Lord made. No, I'm just bragging just a little bit. But anyway, good. You finally made the decision. And she's gonna take her man, which I think it's great. Picking your man is a big deal from breaking from your cousin.

[B]

From cousin.

[A]

Right. Cause she's naive and she's been sheltered and this is a very grown up decision to make.

[C]

Exactly.

[B]

It was a big step.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And it was the right step. As I said earlier.

[A]

Yes, it was the right step. You win. You win.

[C]

Overton is the big winner right now.

[A]

It's gonna be John. John, John all the time John and more John.

[B]

That's right.

[C]

On the reverb.

[A]

On the reverb.

[C]

Okay, Erica, talk to me.

[A]

Black excellence. Go. I'll start living single.

[C]

Okay. Our beautiful melanin in all shades. Family cookouts, hip hop, R and B. Basically every genre of music.

[A]

Okay. You know how we invented all them line dances and people know the songs and they know how to do all the line dances. How do we do that?

[C]

Black Excellence. I don't know. And our hair, our hair, the way it grows from our scalp, we can do so much natural locs, cornrows, and it Fades.

[A]

Exactly. See, black excellence has layers. You see what I did there?

[C]

I saw it.

[A]

And Lexus, well, they understand and deliver the luxury that we deserve.

[C]

Because when you embody excellence, you need a ride that moves like you do. Smooth, smart, and impossible to ignore.

[B]

Aw.

[A]

From the moment that you touch that wheel, Alexis says, I didn't just show up, I showed out.

[C]

Oh, it's more than a car. It represents how you walk through the world. Intentional, grounded, fly without even trying.

[A]

Because that's what Alexis does. It makes you feel amazing and look good too. Well, then there's that.

[C]

Welcome to the Reverb brought to you by Lexus. This is where we reflect, connect, and talk about how the episode's themes still echo in the culture. Because just like our stories, Lexus keeps raising the bar. That's the standard of amazing. Okay, we gotta talk love, American style. Because this is one of the great romantic relationships on tv. Sinclair and Overton. Let's talk about it.

[A]

The sweetness, the romance, the little names that we had for each other. And what I learned from you, John, you know you're playing a character, right? But what I learned to learned about men from watching you is that when a man knows what he wants, he knows what he wants, right? And that was Overton. He knew what he wanted, and early on he was like that one right there. And so I later learned, because other men will tell you, oh, no, that's the thing. Like, when we know, we know. Can you talk about that? Talk about that in your life as well?

[B]

When we first met, you know, he knew that, you know, we were similar. You were attractive, and it was just something that had to be. He probably might have had a couple relationships. We had the one relationship where Tammy Townsend was on and she played Melody and she hurt me real bad in Cleveland. But that's the only other, probably, maybe the only other real relationship he had.

[C]

Cree Summer came on and played a really beautiful relationship that seemed perfect.

[B]

Yeah, she did. But I was still hung up on her. When you know what you want, then you just go on and get it. And not even Cree Summer. Little bad stuff.

[C]

That's what's up. It's innocent and old fashioned and you court each other.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

The one show I was thinking about that I really liked was when we were. We were trying not to have sex and everything around us was like, yeah, y' all need to do it. And it was all this pressure and stuff and we didn't want it. We wanted to wait. And so we were in the apartment and we said, we're not going to do anything. And we were just, just being romantic. And every song that came on was about girl, I want to do this. And we had just cut off and I just started singing Frank Sinatra. I just shoo be doobie doo. I just love that. That scene that was just such a Overton Sinclair moment. I. I really enjoyed that.

[A]

I did too.

[B]

I enjoyed you great, both of you great actresses. But it was one scene to where I got jealous because Shamar Moore rolled up on you.

[C]

That's right.

[B]

And I wasn't having it. It was a great scene. But the thing that I really appreciated out of that. When you kissed him and that was the one where I said still kissing, kissing, kissing, kissing. It was only five seconds. I kissed. You know, doing that. I love that part. But I loved your acting because when you kissed him, you did about five, six different emotions in two seconds. It was. I remember, you're like her eyes, your eyes did so much. And I'm talking about 3, 4. It was no time at all. But it was just. You saw everything register and it was.

[C]

Just like she was entertaining.

[B]

What a great actor. I was still mad cause you kissed him. But yeah, anyway. Yeah, yeah, he kissed me. Anti way diamond dancing clown.

[A]

Hey, big fella.

[B]

Still kissing, kissing, still kissing.

[C]

You know, it's nice because nowadays everything seems so disposable. Like, next, next, next. But what we're finding out is that this is the great age where they're saying people don't date anybody. In fact, they're not only afraid to, they don't know how. And they don't have the. What you. You both seem to have in spades, which is the self discipline of allowing.

[A]

It to unfold and the patience because there's a bigger payoff later on.

[B]

It just shows how long ago this show was. Cause right now it's like, swipe. No, no. Okay, there you go. And 15 minutes later, Bing. Like faster than dominoes, man.

[C]

I'd like to talk about John Henson.

[A]

Now let's talk about you.

[B]

There's no reason to do this.

[C]

We've got to comedy, man.

[B]

Oh, Pushaw, who are some of your.

[C]

Please.

[B]

Your influences? Yes, I was really influenced by English comedy. I loved English comedy.

[C]

I loved English comedy. You're right.

[B]

For various reasons. You know, like, I love Monty python. Come on, Mr. Bean, Rowan Atkinson, Blackadder. It was a lot of English stuff that I really love. It was like the standup is like, I love George Carlin. Everybody loved Richard Pryor, but it was just different people like Rodney Winfield. That was the first one I saw. He was opening up for the dramatics. I'd heard Richard Pryor and Flip Wilson, all the pyg meat Martin, all of them. But when I saw that guy there and I was like, man, I'd like to do that. And that was the guy.

[A]

What were you doing at the time that you saw? Was this when you were young or were you 9 to 5?

[B]

I probably was still in college. And then I took a break. And it was right about the time when I guess I started doing stand up because I took a break. I was going to the Ohio State University.

[A]

There you go. What did you want to do? What were you studying?

[B]

Systems analyst. Computer science. That was my thing. I was going to be a systems analyst. I was going to travel around the country setting up computers. And this was back in the day. This was before computers had hit. So I was on top of it.

[C]

You should have stayed there.

[B]

I was ready. But yeah, but I wouldn't have met you.

[C]

No, for sure I wouldn't have met you. If you met me, you'd have had duckets and I need them. Duckets. My God. Good for you. Oh, my God.

[B]

Well, actually, I did all right with this. You did all.

[C]

Some people might say I'm talking about that. You know what I'm talking about.

[B]

Some people might say I did all.

[C]

Right, but you excellently with this.

[B]

But yeah, that's. That's what I was gonna do. I got a chance to do Cleveland Comedy Club. Sunday night is amateur night. Anybody can come down. So all my friends dared me to go down. Ernie, Ernie Horvath, he. He dared me to go down. And I went down. And I didn't win that first night, but I went back the following week and I won. And I was like, that was it.

[A]

That's it.

[B]

That's it. I mean, I'm show business. That's my name now. Show business. That's it. You can't tell me nothing. This about to happen. I love it.

[C]

And did you go on the road and what was the grind like on the road?

[B]

I was an opener for a while, you know, 50 bucks for the week and, you know, something like that. This was right when comedy was booming. And it was a new comedy club called the Funny Bones. They had just opened. Cause the club I was in, it was only a few comedy clubs at the time. Most of the people they were doing in bars or clubs or something like that, but Funny bones had just started. In the course of a couple years, I played like these brand new venues. Cause about eight or nine of them opened up. They were all over the place. So. Yeah. So I started doing comedy at the perfect time.

[A]

I'm gonna ask you, what is some of your best advice you would give to someone starting out as a standup right now?

[B]

It's the same advice I always give. It's like, do it because you love to do it. Because the thing is, it's like a lot of times you're not getting paid, but you just want that stage time. I just want to make people laugh. I want that crowd response, and that's more important than anything. So every show is important, whether it's five people in there or sold out. And always be ready. Like, when I got to Tonight show, the way that I got it was because I was in Atlanta and I was doing the comedy act theater. I got into Atlanta airport and I saw Bud Freeman. He was in town, too.

[A]

Tell him who Bud Friedman is.

[B]

Bud Friedman was the owner of the Improvs. So this was like, this is big time stuff. So I did an audition for him like, a couple months earlier, and it was horrible. We are horrible. Oh, my gosh. I went over there and I said, hey, hey, Bud, look, I did a showcase for you a couple months ago. It was horrible, and I'd like to one day, I'd like to do another showcase for you. He said, well, just so happened, I'm in town. They were doing this comedy search called the Johnnie Walker Comedy Competition in Atlanta, and they were doing the finals there. And he said, if you want, I can check you out tonight. Went down there that night and won the Johnnie Walker in Atlanta. And from. From that, we went to LA and I won the whole thing. And after I won that, then the Talent Coordinator, Jim McCauley, came up to me and he said some of those things, some of those jokes you can do, some of them you can't do. But you got the Tonight Show.

[A]

You didn't even know you were trying for it.

[B]

I didn't know. So I say all of that because the bottom line is just be ready. Like, I just went up to Bud and he said, all right, come on. That night. That night. That's it.

[A]

Even though you had been horrible a few months. Horrible.

[B]

Did I tell you that enough? Terrible.

[C]

You know, you're kind of a man of mystery. Cause I was thinking about mystery. Yeah. Because what I really respect about you is your private life. Is your private life. But you're a dad.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, has 700 sisters.

[C]

Three.

[B]

Three.

[C]

And you obviously had nine to fives. And thanks for telling us how that happened. Cause it seems so quick. Suddenly you go here, here. And then suddenly the universe divinely pushes you out in front and you just happen to be ready.

[B]

You're so driven that, you know, it's like you never stop. You. You've always been, you know, you like the shark. You got to keep swimming and you always swimming. And things have happened. Look at like these past. Past few years. I was just watching because I sent you a text and you didn't respond to it. So I guess you ain't get it. I texted you. Look, I'll tell you what.

[C]

Oh, my God.

[B]

I texted you. Cause I was watching that American fiction.

[C]

Fiction.

[B]

Oh, my goodness.

[C]

What?

[B]

I love that film. That movie film. And I sent you a text and I said, let me see if I can.

[A]

They're actually checking the text.

[B]

No, no.

[A]

Cause see, I sent even as we speak.

[C]

Love your work. Love your smile. Hope all is well. You right. I didn't say you didn't see it. And you showed me.

[A]

And he took a screenshot of her beautiful picture.

[C]

Oh, wow. I'm so impressed.

[B]

I'm sending her love. And I'm just saying, oh, I love your work. Beautiful smile. Cause I always love her little. She got like a third grade smile. Like, it's just so cute. And then the hair was all luxurious and stuff. And it's like, yeah, thank you. I really enjoyed it. But anyway, no response though, by the way. None. Because she got movies and stuff. She big. She hollers, do your thing, baby. I ain't mad at you.

[C]

Listen, you know what I do.

[B]

What you do.

[C]

You know what I love about you?

[B]

What? What you love about.

[C]

You're so forgiving.

[B]

You know, after a while, it take a while. But I'm gonna make you. I'm gonna make you feel a certain way first. Then I'll forgive you.

[C]

Let's talk about resurrection, because I don't want to mention that you had an accident and that you've come back from that and you rebuilt your career from that. Can you talk a little bit about how that went?

[A]

And the time frame of that.

[B]

The time frame from that was actually. It was quite short because I felt so bad. I was hurting a lot of people. I thought I was just hurting myself, but I was hurting a lot of people. When it happened, I was in the middle of the show. We were taping. I was on the Huglies, and we had this party. The Hughleys had went from ABC to upn, the underpaid Negro Network.

[C]

That's right.

[A]

Underpaid Negro network.

[B]

So we did that. That. And I don't know. Forget you said that. It's true, though, which is brilliant, this one. And so we had. There was a party, and it was free liquor where, you know, this ain't gonna turn out well. I just drank and drank, and we had a limo that took me back to my dressing room. I was gonna sleep in the dressing room because, you know, that would have been the smart move. And then, you know, you. You. You get up and just do the rest of the show. That. That's what normal family. What happened. But I was. I was. I laid down in. In the. In my dressing room, and my friend called up and he said that our. The drug dealer had just got some new. Some fresh coke. So I was. It just so happens I was out of coke. And so I got up. I didn't drive the car. It was. It was my habit that drove the car. So anyway, I got up, up and drove. I'm drunk. I'm drunk as hell, but I put my seatbelt on. I'm drunk. But safety first.

[C]

Sorry.

[B]

Safety first.

[A]

Safety first.

[B]

So I get in the car and I drive. I'm blacked out somewhere because I hit a car somewhere on Highland, right by the Hollywood Bowl. And then I got on the 101 and I ended up hitting the wall at about 100,000,000 miles an hour.

[A]

You had a very fast car.

[B]

Yeah, it was until that night. And then I hit the wall, and it took him four hours to cut me out the car.

[C]

What?

[B]

And, yeah, it was four hours. And the reason why I know that is because I had to do community service afterwards. Right? You know, where you got to do on the. You know, the road work. And my. The supervisor for my community service, he was there that night and he told me. He said, man, you cost me a hundred dollars. I said, what are you talking about? Oh, I was there that night. I saw you. And I bet my boy I said, $100. Ain't nobody coming out of that car alive.

[A]

Oh, my God.

[B]

And I said, well, I'm glad you lost that.

[C]

I know that's right.

[B]

Sorry about that one, bro. You know, I'll pay you back. And so I felt so bad because I let so many people down, you know, like, I got a show to Huglio. I mean, we in the middle of this stuff, man. And so I really didn't miss a lot of time because we only did three shows a month. And. And I think I might have missed like a month and a half or so that's amazing. I had to get back. So when I came back, like, my eye messed up my eyes. So I put some glasses on. I had two walking casts and they were shooting me from the waist up. But I had to get back because I had let so many people down. So I tried to do as much as I could immediately because I just felt so stupid.

[C]

I gotta say something about the. The feeling inside of performers that the show must go on almost to our detriment, because I feel that way a lot. I'm exhausted a lot and all these other things. And yet you go, there's people depending on me. I have to show up. I can't break down now. I must move forward. And I think that, that also, if you are in a space that you might have an addiction and. Or an addiction to sometime drugs and. Or work, you know, we're probably. Sounds like both that. That one stops you physically almost. And yet your first thought is, I'm letting people down. I have to get back, you know, and all that other stuff, which is kind of nuts.

[B]

Yeah, well, that would be me. So. Yeah.

[A]

Can I offer another perspective?

[B]

You ain't just met me.

[C]

No, but.

[B]

Yeah, that's. Look.

[C]

But that's deep, though.

[A]

Can I offer another perspective, too? And then we're going to talk about how we came to the hospital. We saw you. And I'll get there in just a moment. Yes. So I. I'm grateful that you're sharing this piece of. I didn't want to let people down, but I wonder if that drive got you up and back on your feet even sooner. So there's another perspective there that you decided I'm letting folks down. Let me go to my physical therapy. Let me, you know, put on these glasses, let me get myself healed, let me do whatever exercises I need to do to get back to work.

[B]

And I didn't do the exercise.

[A]

Oh, you.

[B]

No, no, I did just enough to get back on that set. You know, that's it. Because I was still a mess. Because after it happened, now I'm sitting there like, I was really confused as to why I was still here. My God helped me out on that one, Jack.

[C]

Because I know that that was also the times. Everybody needs to understand that there was a lot of. For our generation especially, there was just a lot of substance abuse. And so people who can tell the tale and live to tell the tale. Thank you.

[A]

Yeah, thank you.

[C]

Thank you.

[B]

But I have to thank you because last time I saw you, I told you this story about some. Some really wise, like Erica's the youngest. We call her baby sister. But. But you. Like, the wisest of us all. She was. She would sit me down and talk. And you said some things to me that really resonated. Not at the time, but when I was trying to get myself together and I told you this last time, it's like you. You really helped to save my life. Because I took that. I took that information and turned it into something. And between that, like I said, God pulled me out of that car. I know that you helped out. And when I had my daughter, my baby girl got here. Because when my Nico got here, that was it. Because I realized that it's not about me anymore. It's because, like, I'm a comic, I'm an actor. Everything is selfish. It's all about me, me, me, me, me. But when you got a beautiful little girl looking up to you, and I said, you know what? I'm not gonna let you down. And that was what turned me around. And that little girl saved my life. You know, if I kept getting high and I OD'd or something, she would never understand, you know? And you can't do that to no kid.

[C]

Wow.

[A]

What an incredible, incredible story. What an incredible, incredible man. And somebody will be watching this and listening to this, and their lives will be changed because of that testimony. John, you're amazing.

[B]

Thank you. Just made a lot of mistakes, but.

[C]

You didn't make one with her.

[B]

No problem.

[C]

She's part of you recovering. You're healing. Healing.

[A]

And you do a great job with her. We've seen you with her, man. That little girl is your heart, and she knows it.

[B]

And she takes all my money as well. See, that's the thing. See, when you tell somebody they saved your life, oh, they. They got you now. They gotta make you pay for it, right? Right now, I. I can check that credit card. I got it right now. I guarantee you. I told her not to spend no money this month. She is. She can't. Cause she knows she got me.

[A]

She got your heart. She got your heart.

[B]

She got me. Come. But, you know, let's. Baby girl. So I put everything together, and it's a much better person now. I. I like to think that, you know, I got God in my life now, and. Which is. Which is a big thing for me. And when you. When you have that and. And you. I have peace now, because that's something that I. I never had before. I. I was feeling a certain way because it's like when. When you. When you get got, when you're Doing the right thing, by God, I was feeling so good, and I was like, I never felt this way before. And I was like, feel content. And I'm like, I've never said that before. Content. And I looked in the dictionary, and I was like, what is content? And it's the state of peaceful happiness, and that's something that I never had before. I like to think that I'm a much better person now. I gotta take care of baby girl, and I gotta take care of my responsibility, and I gotta be. I gotta be a man of God and do what I'm supposed to do. So that's what I'm trying to do now. And. Yeah. So what's the next question, by the way? What's the next question?

[C]

No one taught us how to do these things. No one taught us how to balance, you know, as you say, our thoughts and anxieties, the things that we can't say and subconsciously. But here you are, and you're able to deliver a masterclass. You just did. You just did. So thank you. Because we need that. We need people being honest about where that is because they think that we're out here. These.

[A]

Oh, you're just blowing in these glamorous.

[C]

They don't know. They don't know.

[B]

Just so glad to be here with you.

[A]

I'm sorry that you went through all that pain, and your pain is now turned into purpose. And someone watching this. You will. Someone is praying for this message you're delivering right now. You're a generous man, and what you just did was very generous. Sharing your heart with us, sharing pieces of the story that we didn't know.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I always say that. I'm grateful that that night that social media wasn't available. Oh, gosh, I'm so grateful. I'm grateful for your cousin. Cousin Dre.

[B]

Oh, he shut it down on the.

[A]

Police force, who made sure there was a cone of peace around you until. Until you were ready to tell the story. Until the story was ready to be told. We all found out. Phone call to Dana. Dana gets on a plane and comes. We're all there with you. And it was scary to see and watch, but I felt that you would pull through. You were strong even in that moment, in those moments, you were strong in your way of fighting back to a you that you didn't even know you. And so I'm glad that we got to meet this man. We already love the other guy, and we love this guy, too. And thank you.

[B]

Thank you for saying that.

[C]

Your legacy.

[B]

What would you Say, I guess Overton is my legacy. You know, just. Just the fact that that was my first gig and just. Just some steady, solid work. I would hear from writers and they would say, you know what? We give it to John. He'll make it funny. And that's, like, the biggest compliment you can get. Get John Bowman, who was the first year on the Huglies, and he did Martin, and, you know, he's great. He passed a couple years ago, but he gave me the best compliment. He said, you do your lines the way we write them, so consistency. And I was always. I was always on, you know, and. And that. That's it. Nothing special. You know, I'm just. Just straight up, I'm. I'mma do the gig, man. Man. And.

[C]

And that's pretty special.

[B]

Yeah, and that's special.

[C]

That's extraordinary.

[B]

And that's it. When you. When you get that type of compliment, and it's just like, okay, cool. You know, we gonna make it happen. You know, I. I can do the funny. I can do that.

[C]

You know, you are the funny.

[B]

You are the funny. I do. I do the best I can, you know, And I've said way too much.

[A]

You said it all. Thank you.

[B]

See, that. That's what I'm saying. You. No, stop it.

[C]

No, it's real. We gonna do True Blue now.

[B]

True Blue, yes.

[C]

I'm gonna ask a question.

[A]

Hey, you know, this is the part of the show where we do something called True Blue. And True Blue is about the fans, okay? And they write in and they call.

[B]

And they got questions.

[A]

They got questions.

[B]

They got, like, the ladies man. What is your query? What is your query, ladies man? Tim Metals. Oh, my gosh. All right.

[A]

Go, Amber. What is our latest query?

[C]

All right, so this one is from Mikey, and this is for John specifically. He says, hello, my name is Mikey, and I'm a huge fan of the series. Was Overton's gripe about the Cleveland Browns autobiographical? And what are your current thoughts on the Cleveland Browns?

[B]

I was so mad about them taking the Browns and then they go to Baltimore, and then two years later, they win the Super Bowl. They ain't win nothing in Cleveland. They leave Cleveland two years later, they the hottest team. Yeah, it was very real, Mikey, to say the least. And the state of the Browns now is just chaos, but that's how we like it in Cleveland. But we got Shador Sanders, we got Coach Prime's son. We got him in the fifth round, so I'm hoping he can. We got Flacco now. We got a quarterback now we got defense. We'll see how it all plays out. But nobody's expecting anything now, look, he's serious about this. Yeah.

[C]

I don't know what he's talking about.

[B]

That's all right. Just pay some attention. You'll be all right. Now, we got. We got said this, so I'm hoping he comes through. We get. We got a. A great draft. We got boy from Ohio State. We got the running back from Ohio State. We got junkins. We got linebackers. We got help, and we'll see what happens. You know, ain't nobody expecting anything. We see what's happening. That's all. Because it was like. It was no sports in Cleveland for a long time. LeBron took sports and brought them out here to LA. When he left. Sports. Sports just. You know, it was just nothing. We didn't have nothing, you know, because when LeBron was there, it. It was happening. We had all kind of stuff. I'm. Look, I'm just writing it. Mikey started. Mikey started, and we gonna. We gonna finish it. Look here. This is what happened. When LeBron was there, he brought money downtown, like Cleveland. You go to Cleveland now. We got hotels and stuff. We got nice stuff down there. We didn't have that before, but he brought that all up, and it was good. And it's like we went to the final three years in a row. And then them seats was expensive. If you wanted to sit court side, them seats was $2,500 a piece when LeBron was there. I went to a game a couple years ago. I paid $10. I sat on the end of the Cavs bench. Almost got in the game, too. Well, ladies and gentlemen, it's the tie with the joke. You see what I did there? You see, Mikey started all of this.

[C]

But anyway, that's our show, y'.

[B]

All. Mikey liked it. That's our show. All right, we done. I'm finished talking now.

[C]

That's enough for all of y'.

[B]

All. This is.

[C]

That was bravo.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Listen, John, thank you so much.

[B]

No, thank you. Like I told you, thank you. I'm family forever.

[C]

Thank you forever, and we love you forever. Make sure to follow us on all our socials at Reliving Single Podcast and listen and Watch us on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[A]

Like, subscribe, watch all the way through, and we'll see you next week. Listen, I hope y' all are having fun, because you could tell that we.

[C]

Are Reliving Single is hosted by me, Eric Alexander, and me, Kim Coles. Reliving Single is a production of Heartbeat in association with Color Farm Media, Executive.

[A]

Produced by Kevin Hart, Jeff Clanagan, Eric Eddings, Leslie Guam, Erica Alexander and Ben Arnon.

[C]

The show is produced by Kim Coles.

[A]

Amber Watson is our senior producer.

[C]

Our associate producer is Kenny Jackson.

[A]

Our other associate producer is Electra Telesford. Our video editor is Nee Kirschman.

[C]

Our sound engineers are Eric Hicks and Cedric Wilson.

[A]

Production Production supervision by Razak Boykin and Brett Calkins.

[C]

Additional production support from Alex Atkins and Z. Taylor.

[A]

Special thanks to BK Augustine and Dr. E.J. johnson.