The Finale That Changed TV History featuring Yvette Lee Bowser

Summary

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Episode Overview

Podcast: ReLiving Single
Episode: The Finale That Changed TV History – featuring Yvette Lee Bowser
Date: November 26, 2025
Theme:
Hosts Erika Alexander and Kim Coles, original stars of Living Single, are joined by series creator Yvette Lee Bowser to revisit the first season’s iconic finale “What’s Next?” They discuss behind-the-scenes stories, the episode’s cultural significance, how real-life events shaped the writing, and the legacy of Living Single as a groundbreaking depiction of Black friendship, love, and representation on TV.

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Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: Revisiting the Finale (03:24–06:43)

• The finale (“What’s Next?”) sees Khadijah caught between two romantic options: her new boyfriend Alonzo, who asks her to move in, and the one-who-got-away, Scooter, who returns unexpectedly.
• Max gets suspended from her law firm for urging a client to get a prenup—“Max doing the most”—while Overton brings home an eyesore of a leather chair, much to Kyle’s chagrin.
• Yvette Lee Bowser on the episode's inspiration:
  “There are many aspects of this episode that come from my journals.” (06:51)

2. Art Imitates Life: Real-Life Inspiration for Storylines (06:51–08:21)

• Yvette reveals Kyle Bowser (her husband) would often bring home stray furniture, inspiring Overton’s story (“It’s very Fred Sanford-esque...” – 07:05).
• The love triangle draws on authentic emotions and ambiguity, reflecting experiences from her own life.
• Quote:
  “She’s kind of put her feelings for Scooter to the side. They’re sitting on the shelf, maybe gathering a little bit of dust. The friendship is still there...” – Yvette (08:12)

3. Women in Control – Agency and Ambiguity (08:31–08:55, 15:42–16:07)

• The finale gives Khadijah full agency: she isn’t forced to choose quickly and is shown as highly desirable, countering negative stereotypes about Black women in love.
• Memorable Line:
  Erika: “If you got a good thing, it ain’t never on hold.” (39:51)

4. Max & the Prenup: Professional Integrity vs. Office Politics (09:14–13:19, 24:44–25:24)

• Max urges her client Sheila Kelly to get a prenup, inadvertently torpedoing Sheila’s engagement.
• Max is punished at work but ultimately given an “extended vacation” instead of being fired.
• Yvette:
  “Max was doing Max. She wasn’t just being a good attorney; she was thorough but she wasn’t being a good partner to the people who own the firm.” (12:38)

5. Comedy Craft: Casting & On-Set Moments (10:43–11:44, 25:00–26:31)

• Ann Marie Johnson was the only choice for diva Sheila Kelly.
• Anecdotes about live tapings—audience reactions, physical comedy, and moments that “could not have been planned,” such as the scene where Ann Marie’s character is stuck “milking the moment” to the audience’s delight.
• Insight on the collaborative, ad-lib-friendly environment Bowser fostered for cast and crew:
  “For me, it wasn’t just my show—it was our show... It was important that we all participate in a way that we felt invested.” (26:41)

6. Black Love & Representation (40:08–43:43)

• Discussion on showing Black men as emotionally mature, invested, and respectful suitors—a purposeful counter to negative media portrayals.
• Yvette pushes back against the stereotype that Black women are “least desired”:
  “Then how come we’re loving and other people are lusting for us? ...it was just a false propaganda narrative.” (42:22)
• Erika:
  “So for anyone who would be—any woman who is believing that propaganda, she’s watching a show and seeing that it is possible. And these guys were relatable.” (42:30)

7. Cultural Responsibility & Legacy (43:43–44:43)

• Yvette feels an ongoing responsibility to create safe, affirming spaces for creatives of color: “I was trying to create a space that was safe for creatives like us that didn’t feel safe in the rest of Hollywood.” (28:02)
• Emphasizes the importance of counter-narratives and “art as activism.”

8. Behind the Final Scene: Max & Kyle’s Shocking Hookup (46:42–49:10)

• Cast and crew recall the on-set secrecy and audience “mania” filming the climactic moment where Max and Kyle wake up together:
  “It was a big deal. Ellen [the director] was like, okay, hold on. They moved [the partition]. People were like, what is going on?” – Kim Coles (47:24)
• Bowser planned the following season's opener in tandem with the finale’s cliffhanger.

9. The Art of Season Finales & Building for the Future (51:25–54:10)

• Yvette focused on creating “symmetry” with the season’s themes, echoing beats from the pilot and pulling storylines toward resolution while laying groundwork for the next season.
• Quote:
  “The last episode of the first season is entitled ‘What’s Next?’ because we were heading into the great unknown.” (61:12)

10. Real-Life Milestones Parallel TV Milestones (64:12–66:32)

• Yvette’s then-boyfriend (now husband) Kyle Bowser proposed the night Living Single premiered, giving personal resonance to the show’s themes of new beginnings and commitment.
• Kyle wrote the wedding song later used in Sinclair and Overton’s wedding, originally composed for their own.
• Yvette:
  “He wanted to give new meaning to [the day his father passed], and as the stars aligned, it coincided with the night [the show debuted].” (64:52)

11. Showrunning, Mentorship, and Building More (44:12–45:44, 62:01–63:45)

• Yvette describes her work guiding other shows, sometimes acting as “consigliere” rather than central voice.
• She’s sold over 50 pilots and put 12 shows on air, emphasizing its difficulty and persistence required for success.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Representation & Culture

• Yvette: “I absolutely felt a responsibility to provide the counter narrative every day of my career.” (42:38)
• Kim Coles on Yvette’s impact:
  “You didn’t just create a show. You shaped culture. You opened doors... you changed lives.” (68:14)

On Storytelling & Collaboration

• Yvette: “If you bake intentionality into anything you do, why wouldn’t it be as lasting and as memorable and as important?” (11:44)

On the Cliffhanger

• Kim: “They snuck us around... You could feel it, it was palpable in the audience.” (47:24–47:45)

On Art Reflecting Life

• Yvette: “...it was like a really wonderful work experience. Lots of love coming.” (27:59–28:00)

On Future Plans

• Yvette: “More life. More reading, more traveling, more life. More mothering, being the most dynamic wife I can be. ... More creativity, for sure.” (61:40)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 03:24 – Breakdown of “What’s Next?” plot and A/B/C-stories
• 06:51 – Real-life stories informing the script
• 10:43 – Ann Marie Johnson as Sheila Kelly; talk show nods and era context
• 15:42 – Max and Kyle’s “bizarre foreplay;” dynamic and character symmetry
• 24:44 – Max is suspended, not fired; parallels to Bowser’s own experience
• 39:41 – Alonzo and Scooter showdown: Khadijah’s love triangle comes to a head
• 42:04 – Direct discussion of media stereotypes about Black women; counter-narrative
• 47:24 – Behind the scenes on Max and Kyle’s surprise scene
• 51:25 – Designing season finales, symmetry with the series pilot
• 64:12 – Kyle Bowser’s proposal on the night of the series premiere
• 67:46 – Closing affirmations and legacy reflections

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The Lasting Impact

• The hosts and guest reflect on the affirmation that came with completing season one, the ongoing mission to tell relevant, affirming stories, and the joy in providing a joyful, safe space for performers and viewers alike.
• The episode closes with deep thanks and celebration for Yvette Lee Bowser’s creativity, intentionality, and contribution to television.

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Reliving Single reaffirms Living Single’s role as television history: a personal, joyful, and deliberate act of cultural storytelling whose echoes still shape representation today.

Transcript

[Eric Alexander]

Coming up on Reliving Single, let's give.

[Kim Coles]

A standing ovation to the voice and creator of Living Single, the wonderful Yvette B. Bowser.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Listen, don't know what you got till it's gone.

[Kim Coles]

Hey, Joni Mitchell.

[Eric Alexander]

Hey, Joni Mitchell Never lies. So I'm gonna ask you this magic question. It's the name of this last episode, what's Next?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

The last episode of the first season is entitled what's Next? Because we were heading into the great unknown.

[Kim Coles]

We need to talk about Max and Kyle. But TC was sent up there doing push ups before, beforehand, of course, because he wanted to make sure that he was all pumped up.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

That's what everyone does before these. And you all were lotioned up.

[Kim Coles]

Let me tell you something. They came in, out, they put out the good shea butter. You know what I mean?

[Eric Alexander]

Is this out of your journal as well?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

It might be out of my life.

[Kim Coles]

Welcome back to Reliving Single, the official unofficial Living Single rewatch podcast. Kim, this has been quite an experience.

[Eric Alexander]

It has been quite lovely, has it not?

[Kim Coles]

It has. It has. Yes. You and me and our friends. Our friends, we've gone on this journey together. They gave us our flowers. We thank you so much. Thank you for connecting with us. We're grateful that we could connect with the people who have supported us all these years. Thank you.

[Eric Alexander]

And listen, we had our family stop through, right? We had John Hinton.

[Kim Coles]

John Hinton.

[Eric Alexander]

Dana, also known as Queen Latifah. And TC And Kim Fields. It has been just absolutely magical.

[Kim Coles]

Very truly. But here we are now at the edge of tomorrow, contemplating the verities, contemplating.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

The end, the end, the end, the end.

[Kim Coles]

And the end of one thing is always the beginning of something else. But before. Before we get to that something else, we have one last episode, y'.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

All.

[Kim Coles]

One last episode to rewatch. And it seems only right to rewatch this episode of this first season with Yvette Leigh Bowser.

[Eric Alexander]

Yvette Leigh Bowser. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. There she is.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Hello, ladies. Let's do this, shall we?

[Eric Alexander]

All right. Do this.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

This episode is brought to you by Netflix Global Superstar and comedy sensation Kevin Hart returns for his fifth Netflix special. Acting my age I'm not the same.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Man that I used to be. I go down the stairs sideways. Go ahead. You in a rush.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Go around with a fresh perspective on life, family, and getting older.

[Eric Alexander]

Older you get, the less you can have.

[Kim Coles]

Is this sesame seeds on that bun?

[Eric Alexander]

Get it out of here.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Kevin's bringing his signature high energy humor and physical comedy in a true return to his standup origins. Watch Kevin Hart acting my age now streaming only on Netflix, this episode is.

[Kim Coles]

Brought to you by State Farm. Listening to this podcast. Smart move. Being financially savvy. Smart move. Another smart move. Having State Farm help you create a competitive price when you choose to bundle home and auto bundling. Just another way to save with a personal price plan. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts and savings and eligibility vary by state.

[Eric Alexander]

It's time for the rewind where we watch and relive Living Single with you. This week we're reliving Living Single, Season 1, Episode 27. What's next? The A story. Khadijah's caught in a classic rom com crisis. A hot new boyfriend or the one who got away. The B story. Meanwhile, Max gets suspended after telling her client to get a prenup, which accidentally torpedoes their relationship.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Oops.

[Eric Alexander]

Wait a minute now. When she looks to Khadijah for comfort, she finds her bestie totally distracted. So she ends up seeking solace in the unexpected place. There's a C story. You know, this doesn't happen very often, but when you can make it happen. When Yvette Lee Bowser can make this happen. She did it. Overton gets a new leather chair that Kyle hates. Wow.

[Kim Coles]

Okay. This is written by Yvette Leigh Bowser, directed by Ellen Gitelson. The episode guest stars Cress Williams and Adam Lazar White. They are back again. We also have Richard Gantt. Richard Gantt, you know, awesome Ellis Williams. Jerome the Bus Bettis.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Yes.

[Kim Coles]

What? For you football fans, he's super bowl for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Amarie Johnson. I love you, Amarie. Hello. Actress, producer and impressionist. She's a force of nature and you've seen her in everything from Hollywood Shuffle and In Living Color. I' ma get you, sucker. Come on. Most recently, the Addiction of Hope. I'm in that with you. Thank you, girl. And yeah. Let's get going.

[Eric Alexander]

Let's get going.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Let's do it.

[Kim Coles]

Let's do it.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Keys.

[Kim Coles]

Boolga, to my apartment.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Khadijah, I want you to move in with me. You are not, I repeat not taking that domestic casualty upstairs into our apartment. Don't make me choose between you and this chair.

[Eric Alexander]

Oh, that's nifty.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Oh, yeah.

[Eric Alexander]

Good looking chair.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

I'm sorry I didn't get the matching love seat.

[Eric Alexander]

Hey, girl.

[Kim Coles]

What you doing for Sheila Kelly? What, you suing one of them tabloid rags? Or are you putting together one of them spicy little prenuptials? No, they say the good stuff for the partners. I'm doing the wedding contracts. You know, the photographer, the florist, the swan wrangler.

[Eric Alexander]

You are always on that phone giggling with Alonzo. Yes, I am.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

But that was Scooter.

[Kim Coles]

Ever since he and Khadijah got together that night, Scooter's nose has been wide open.

[Eric Alexander]

Well, I bet Scooter was heartbroken when you told him about Alonzo.

[Kim Coles]

Huh?

[Eric Alexander]

Hmm.

[Kim Coles]

You didn't tell him? Well, Scooter and I are just friends. I've known him all my life. Hey, that's Khadijah's new boob, Alonzo. And he is very smitten. He's smitten. He's so smitten, in fact, he asked her to move in. Surprise. Meanwhile, it's Kyle's worst nightmare when Overton drags home a big comfy chair off the street. And Max's new client, diva Sheila Kelly, has her working overtime on boring contracts for her wedding. Hey, you're into it now.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

And we're off. We're off.

[Kim Coles]

Here we go. Here we go.

[Eric Alexander]

So have you ever had a guy ask you to move in with him? Is that what. Okay, obviously. Did this come from your journal?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

There are many aspects of this episode that I come from my journals.

[Eric Alexander]

Do tell.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Well, here's a surprise. In an interesting twist of events, Kyle Bowser likes to bring home the occasional stray piece of furniture.

[Kim Coles]

What?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

What? It's very Fred Sanford esque, isn't it?

[Eric Alexander]

And how do you feel when he.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Brings home these pieces of like, Kyle Barker?

[Eric Alexander]

So by the time that we shoot this episode, had that happen with you all?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Absolutely. More than once.

[Kim Coles]

Wow. Okay, so. But is it cool that Khadijah's not telling her friend Scooter that she's dating somebody else? Because Scooter is a good friend. She hasn't mentioned it.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

I think it's absolutely okay. I think she's trying to figure out what the options are. And so she's not closing the door on one because she doesn't exactly know. She's not expecting Alonzo to make this proposal of moving in. She's taken by surprise. Even though they spent a lot of time together and we did an episode where they were maybe spending too much time together. And the real Overton was actually in that episode? Uh huh.

[Kim Coles]

That's right. She was in the cafe.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Right?

[Kim Coles]

Yeah.

[Eric Alexander]

I think in this episode. Does she even have a chance to tell Scooter Cause Scooter surprises her and comes to town, so she doesn't have a chance to say anything.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

She doesn't. But why would she? I mean, that's still her friend that she has some feelings for. I think the thing is, she's kind of put her feelings for Scooter to the side.

[Eric Alexander]

Okay.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

They're sitting there on the shelf, maybe gathering a little bit. The romantic feelings are gathering a little bit of dust. Oh, wow. The friendship is still there. Which is why she can giggle with him on the phone.

[Kim Coles]

Okay.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

And it's only when he shows up in person that she's like, oh, wow, I feel that pang again. Right. He gives me the goosies. He makes me feel warm and tingly.

[Eric Alexander]

Oops, my clothes fell off. Which is one of my favorite lines.

[Kim Coles]

Amazing. The woman is 45 minutes late.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Counselor, Sheila Kelly is our biggest client. And if we can wait here at $300 an hour, then you can certainly wait at120.25. Sheila's probably having fat sucked out of some part of her body.

[Kim Coles]

Look at him.

[Eric Alexander]

I love her.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Yeah, you look great.

[Kim Coles]

Thanks to Jenny Craig. And a great tailor. Max, let me show you the fabric to my gown. Feel it. Doesn't it make you want to rush out and get married?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

I love that.

[Kim Coles]

Ms. Kelly, the notes from your prenuptial agreement seem to be missing from the file. We don't have a prenuptial. You don't? Let's pick a scenario. Any scenario. Say you two are living your life. Mm. Okay. You're loving him more than what, peanut butter? Ooh.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Okay.

[Kim Coles]

And then one morning, he just packs his raggedy old duffel bag and leaves no note, no nothing. He's just gone a few years. Living in a mansion can make a person flabby and forgetful. Would he have a case? Doesn't matter. Legal fees and negative publicity alone could cost you millions. Well, I have worked too damn hard to let something like that happen. I am going to talk to Sheldon. Thank you, girlfriend.

[Eric Alexander]

The girlfriend.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Okay.

[Eric Alexander]

There's so much there.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

There's so much there. All right.

[Eric Alexander]

At Max's firm, her bosses trash talk rich girl Sheila Kelly behind closed doors, revealing their bias loud and clear. But when Max and Sheila get a moment alone, Sheila admits she doesn't have a prenup. Yikes. In the true Maxine Shaw fashion, she flips the script and urges Sheila to protect her empire. So let's talk. First of all, let's talk about the casting. There. Ann Marie Johnson in her glory. What was. Was she the Only person for that job.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

She was the only person for that job. Ann Marie Johnson absolutely had to play Sheila Kelly.

[Eric Alexander]

She's the best at that, 100%.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

I mean, like, remember the time that we were in. I mean, this is a bit of a timestamp because we were. You know, it was like talk shows were everywhere. Everybody had a talk show. It was so in the zeitgeist. So we were like, let's capture that. And, of course, we came back in season two. We had another great talk show moment. So again, we're just kind of slowly weaving all of these things together. And Annemarie Johnson was just. She had to be bigger than life.

[Eric Alexander]

Please.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

And you had to get that right away.

[Eric Alexander]

And her hair should be bigger than life.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Exactly. It was perfect. It's bigger than life. And the hair became its character of its own later on. But also, I was preparing for my own wedding at this time.

[Kim Coles]

You were?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Yes. Remember, you came to my wedding and I know.

[Eric Alexander]

I.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Darling.

[Kim Coles]

My mother. My mother remembers me coming to that. She talked. It's amazing.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

So what was on my mind? What was in my personal zeitgeist? All of this planning, the fabrics. I mean, this is a garment made from, you know, a robe that my mother gave me for my bridal shower.

[Eric Alexander]

I know we're talking about a TV show or writing or creating, but it's a reminder for people watching this that if you bake intentionality into anything you do, why wouldn't it be as lasting and as memorable and as important as you've created? So we've known you for 1000 years, but to know that there was even more depth behind the depth. So thank you for that.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Thank you. Thank you. I mean, it's been a blast and a blessing to tell my stories knowing that it's not just my story, it's our story, indeed. Like, we're completely, you know, examining and unpacking the human condition in every episode. But we're doing it with humor, which I just feel is, like, kind of the best highway for, you know, stories that actually matter. I love it.

[Kim Coles]

Do you think Max was being a good lawyer to tell her about the prenup, or did she cross the line?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

I think Max was being Max. Max was doing the most. I think she felt a little diminished by the fact that she was only able to do the contracts.

[Kim Coles]

Okay.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

She wasn't dealing with important things like prenuptials. So this was Max. This was Max doing Max. This was Max doing the most. She wasn't just being a good attorney. She was Thorough. But she wasn't being a good partner to the people who own the firm.

[Eric Alexander]

What if that is the moment that then made her the partner? Like, so she could have done that. And that would have been applauded. Thank you so much for protecting our client. As, like, in a way that we hadn't even thought about yet. Like, what if it could have?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Which is the risk she's taking. Max is doing the calculus. I could do something big, which is to the benefit of this client, and maybe it will also elevate me in the, you know, the eyes of the partners here at the firm. But it doesn't go that way.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Can you believe he bought this hideous thing up here? I wish I could just get rid of it.

[Kim Coles]

Well, you know, Kyle, accidents do happen.

[Eric Alexander]

Throw some raw steaks on this bad boy.

[Kim Coles]

Let your dog tear it up.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Oops.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Oops. Overton, what are you doing? Polishing up this diamond in the rough. Gonna make it heat up. Massage, play music, the works. Now pass me that acetylene torch. Right quick.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Right quick.

[Kim Coles]

You gonna burn it down?

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

The chair is a piece of junk. Kyle's couch, Kyle's albums, Kyle's Semi Erotic literature. I just want one thing in this place that says Overton. Max, it sounds like you were just doing your job.

[Kim Coles]

Not according to the partners. They've called a meeting to discuss my conduct. That's code for don't order extra business cards.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Oh, come on, Max. It'll all work out. You did the right thing.

[Kim Coles]

I did?

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Of course. I mean, a woman as wealthy and eligible as Sheila is needs to protect herself. Because you never know somebody until you live with them.

[Eric Alexander]

This.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

This.

[Eric Alexander]

Come on.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

And even then, there's always something new.

[Eric Alexander]

We had to pay for that. Go get it.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

You gotta love Overton. You gotta love him.

[Kim Coles]

How do you not love Overton? You can't. You gotta love him. He's still obsessed with his mega chair driving Kyle up the wall. Regene's solution is slather it in steak sauce and let the dog handle it. Meanwhile, Max shows up, frustrated after a prenup advice blows up Sheila's engagement. The partners want a meeting. AKA, she might be fired. But the gonzo thing is, Kyle's actually kind.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

What?

[Kim Coles]

And gives silent advice? Maybe these two are friends after all.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

They are friends.

[Eric Alexander]

All right, maybe so. Let's unpack all of this.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

They have an understanding about the sniping? Yeah, you know, like it's a game for them. Which is why neither one of them takes it too personally. It's the thing of one Upsmanship. It's a little bit of a. It's a little cat and mouse. It is. It's a little bizarre. Foreplay.

[Kim Coles]

Foreplay.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

100%.

[Kim Coles]

Yeah.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

100%.

[Kim Coles]

No doubt.

[Eric Alexander]

Is this out of your journal as well?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

It might be out of my life.

[Eric Alexander]

Okay. So.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Not that we snipe at each other, but we keep it real.

[Eric Alexander]

Okay.

[Kim Coles]

And it's fun with Overton's chair. He's, like, pimping out his ride. Like, he's got, like, speakers and everything. I mean, he's a handyman. He can do it. But one nation under a groove.

[Eric Alexander]

Was that muzak, or was that the real song?

[Kim Coles]

That was the.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

We paid for it. We paid for that.

[Kim Coles]

Come on.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

That's it. That's the intro.

[Eric Alexander]

And was that because that's John's favorite kind of music, or was that something.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Oh, it was Overton's, too. Yeah. I mean, that's one of mine. Yeah. P. Fun. Come on. Come on.

[Eric Alexander]

Yeah. It sounded like the real thing to me. And so you. How much does something like that cost? Do you remember?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

You know, that's a really good question. I don't recall.

[Eric Alexander]

And does it have to get paid for every time that episode airs?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Yes. We have to pay for the sync licensing, of course, because you're going to continue to exploit this in syndication and other streaming and all that.

[Kim Coles]

People don't know what goes into. Like, when they say, oh, why don't you do your own thing? We talk because everyone thinks that you have more power than you do. And you said, well, you could do your own thing, but you don't know how much it costs to do. And there's the funding, and then there's the expertise, which is harder than, I think, even anything. But then also being able to play in a world that there's so many levers of power and people you have to pay just to even get on the stage. It's crazy.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

It is crazy. I mean, we just saw Sanford the Puppy there. We couldn't afford him in season two, so we just kind of quietly let him go away.

[Eric Alexander]

Just hope nobody asks.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

But we skipped the traumatic episode where he ran away.

[Kim Coles]

Two trains coming and getting ready to collide. And that's the Max. And you're kind of setting it up here a little bit just by softening.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Him up, but being the friend that he always is, ultimately, when push comes to shove, Kyle is there for all of these ladies. Even Max. Especially Max.

[Kim Coles]

But I don't think people are seeing what's coming. Cause I think y' all Handle that really well. There was nothing in previous episodes to.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Tell you that, but it was in this episode. Yeah. And again, I think there's that symmetry from the pilot. He says, you want me.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

All this women's rights stuff just proves one thing.

[Kim Coles]

What?

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

You want me.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Oh, God.

[Kim Coles]

Oh, God.

[Eric Alexander]

That was your response?

[Kim Coles]

Did I say that? Yes, you did.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

That is exactly right.

[Kim Coles]

Really?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Okay.

[Kim Coles]

There's symmetry for you 30 years later.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

But it was intentional. Shoot. I'm like, what are those again? What are those things that are planted. What are those seeds that are planted in the pilot? What are those things that we've threaded through the season that could really benefit from a nice little payoff in the finale?

[Eric Alexander]

Oh, Khadijah, I have a feeling it's for you. Another gift from Alonzo.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

I can't bear living without you. Love, Alonzo.

[Eric Alexander]

You look a lot like that running back for the Rams, Jerome Bettis.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

You kind of remind me of Queen Latifah.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Please stop looking for tips.

[Kim Coles]

I love that.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

I love those winks before he sends.

[Eric Alexander]

His class over again to sing Froggy Winter. I don't know about you, but Alonzo's.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Winning big points with me.

[Eric Alexander]

Yeah, he is making it awfully hard to say no. Oh, look, Khadijah, more flowers.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Baby, I'm back.

[Kim Coles]

Oh, my God. It rains, it pours.

[Eric Alexander]

Scooter, hey. Alonzo's love bombing Khadijah to get her to move in. But just when she's ready to answer, boom. Scooter shows up like, baby, I'm back. Now Khadijah's not just choosing an apartment. She's choosing between the past and the present. Whoa. So much going on in this scene.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

I'm excited seeing it again.

[Eric Alexander]

Isn't it nice?

[Kim Coles]

It is.

[Eric Alexander]

We've got Jerome Bettis as the delivery man. How did it turn out that we had super bowl, you know, winner, champion?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

It was all part of, you know, the Fox NFL package. Like, can you bring some of these, you know, stars from that universe into the show and perhaps bring some more eyeballs to the show and have fun with real people?

[Eric Alexander]

Whenever you did that, by the way, it was always a sweet surprise, and they were always so happy to be there with us, and we were happy to have them. So thank you.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

That was so great. And you all were so good to them. So thank you for that because you got. You could have terrorized them who are already afraid to be on camera like myself, but so many people wanted to come and be guest stars on the show.

[Kim Coles]

Is that right?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Yes. We would get requests all the time. Really? Yes. And we would accommodate as many as we could. That we thought would bring more eyeballs to the show. For sure. For sure. I mean, people we thought would also just be fun for y' all to play with.

[Eric Alexander]

So why. Why is Alonzo putting the pressure on Khadijah? There's pressure.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Cause he knows a good thing when he sees it. He wants to lock it up. He wants to get cuffed.

[Kim Coles]

Why didn't he? Well, then she's expecting a ring. That would have been premature, but it was keys, I guess. That's major.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Yeah, that's major. Moving in is major. It is major. Also, I think that's people. Some people have a sixth sense. He felt like if he didn't lock it up, someone else was gonna swoop in. And that was part of, like, the story breaking process. We're like, why is he doing this? And I'm like, I think he senses something else. And then that something else shows up.

[Kim Coles]

People don't. People don't be out there all the time. You either get on it or it's gotta move on. Because energy, attraction, the law of attraction.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

And he's a guy who wanted stability. Yeah, that's what he was looking for.

[Kim Coles]

We should go to the next clip.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Bo, what are you doing here?

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

That's what I kept asking myself in la.

[Eric Alexander]

Really?

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Yeah. Listen, I got a job interview. If it works out, I'll be back in New York.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Oh, New York.

[Kim Coles]

That's here.

[Eric Alexander]

Perfectly framed.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

But the job isn't really why I want to come back. You know what I'm saying?

[Eric Alexander]

I think so.

[Kim Coles]

He's pressing up on her from behind.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

And she's having memories of when they were first in this office.

[Eric Alexander]

I love how she softens in his.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Okay, okay. Please hold.

[Eric Alexander]

Khadijah, that's Alonzo on the phone. He wants to know if you got the bear girl. It's raining men.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Counselor, because of your unsolicited advice regarding prenuptial agreements, Ms. Kelly has suffered a great personal loss.

[Kim Coles]

Do you know how long I've waited for a man like Sheldon? Do you know how old I am? Doesn't matter. I can understand that you're upset. Upset? Aren't you listening to me?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Okay.

[Kim Coles]

I wanted to get married. As long as she's here, I can't work with you. You just don't know how old I am. It doesn't matter.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

This.

[Kim Coles]

Look at how she's running. Like, smart.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Oh, my God. She's the great amber milk.

[Eric Alexander]

And you have to do this without Laughing. We're gonna talk about.

[Kim Coles]

Look at them. Look. Everybody's holding.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Nobody broke. Nobody broke. Character.

[Kim Coles]

Showbiz types. You're not mad at me because you think I gave Sheila Kelly bad advice. You're mad at me because I was doing the job you should have.

[Eric Alexander]

Now.

[Kim Coles]

Go ahead and fire me.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

We'd like you to take some time off. Effective immediately.

[Kim Coles]

You're suspending me?

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

No, let's just call it an extended vacation.

[Kim Coles]

You sure you don't want to give me a raise?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Are we gonna. We're gonna watch more, though, right?

[Kim Coles]

No. Of course. So Scooter drops by Flava with big news. Big news. He might be back in New York for. And one kiss with Khadijah reignites old sparks. Meanwhile, Alonzo's still full speed ahead, pressuring her to commit. At the firm, Max braces to be fired, but gets an extended vacation instead. They know that she's way too sharp to lose. Hey, Anne Marie Johnson.

[Eric Alexander]

Ann Marie Johnson.

[Kim Coles]

Flipping that hair, that hair. Flipping that hair.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Stuck.

[Kim Coles]

Runs. Keeps running like she's in some weird cartoon.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Just staying in the moment.

[Kim Coles]

Staying in the moment. Pop it off. Everybody stays still. And locked in.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Boom.

[Kim Coles]

Great moment.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Comedy gold.

[Eric Alexander]

How did you sit there and not break up and laugh?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Me?

[Eric Alexander]

You. How did you. How did you. And you knew what to do. You had to go release her from that moment. Cause she could have said, okay, guys, we gotta redo the scene. She's a pro, so she knew what to do. You're a pro, so you're like, let me go unhook her. And you sat down and did nothing. No, but all these reveals, you know, the two. You know, the other two actors knew to hold.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Completely stoic.

[Eric Alexander]

And thank goodness the hair come off.

[Kim Coles]

It didn't matter. I mean, that's.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

But, yeah, she was not tugging. She. She was milking that moment in the most magical way. It is one of my favorite moments of the series, not just of the season of the series, because that was also the magic of shooting a show live in front of an audience where anything could happen. And then you could also experience this wonderful acting where everyone stayed in the scene and we could keep it. And we let it roll. We let it roll. I'm sure we had to cut something else to let that happen because the audience lost it. We were in the booth. I think I literally was rolling on the floor.

[Kim Coles]

Oh, my God.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

We could not have planned it. And that was also what was beautiful about it. I mean, again, you guys did some, you know, made some amazing contributions and added so Many laughs to the show. So much physicality, so many just twists on a line. So many things we could not have planned that we could not have planned it. And so you just. When it's just such a perfect gift like that, you just accept it and say thank you.

[Eric Alexander]

How did you feel when we would ad lib and add more and do that? Cause we did that quite a bit. Cause we got to know each other so well that we wanted to play. How did you.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

You were living in the character.

[Eric Alexander]

It was.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

I mean, the spirit with which I come to all of this is always collaborative. You. I think some people are not used to that, but, you know, I mean, some of you who had theater experience were kind of expecting that, but it's not common in television. When from the very beginning, we'd say, I said, like, let's have the table read. We'll get the notes from the executives. You know, we'll talk amongst ourselves. And then you guys put it on its feet. Then you give us feedback because you're now living in it. Right? You know, if that cross feels awkward, you know, if that line doesn't feel genuine and you have. You. You've worked to try to make it feel authentic or like something organic, you would say, and if it's not, then we would change it, you know, and we, you know, clearly we had differences of opinion, but we were never, like, intensely disagreeable with each other, which I think is really important. And I mean, for me, it wasn't just my show, it was our show, you know, and it was a show that we were together, giving to the world. And so it was important that we all participate in a way that we felt invested. I mean, I wanted that from the actors, I wanted that from the writers. I wanted that from everyone on the crew. I mean, people still have such fond memories. Some people are, like, on my, you know, DMs or my social timeline saying, it was the best time of my life. It was like a really wonderful work experience.

[Kim Coles]

Lots of love coming.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

And I'm like, that means the world to me. That's the best.

[Eric Alexander]

Yeah, that's the best.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

That you provided a safe creative space. Because that was what I was trying to create first and foremost. Not just a show that people were talking about three decades later, was trying to create a space that was safe for creatives like us that didn't feel safe in the rest of Hollywood.

[Kim Coles]

You did it.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

We did that.

[Eric Alexander]

So in this scene, we see that. Let's talk about Max. Knowing that this moment, a moment is about to Come. And she's like, if you're gonna do it, I'm gonna say what I have to say. Now fire me. Like, I'm not going out like a sucker to use your tongue. I'm not gonna go. I'm gonna say what I have to say. So if you're gonna fire me, take it.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Go.

[Kim Coles]

That's right.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Exactly. And so much better than I imagined, because you do imagine that I'm sitting in my quiet room like this, and I'm writing the lines, and I'm doing a little of my own really bad acting as it was.

[Eric Alexander]

Yeah.

[Kim Coles]

Oh. Oh, well, thank you.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

You know, I'm writing. She holds, you know, stands her ground. That's what I'm writing.

[Kim Coles]

But she wasn't. She was surprised when they said, no, you too good to go.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Right. Well, what happened with me in the pilot? Well, if you take Max out of the show, that's taking a big part of me out of the show. I'd rather not do the show. It's that moment for me. Oh, that's it. She called my bluff and said, okay, next writer who's coming.

[Kim Coles]

They sure could.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Next. Yvette, you're on an extended vacation.

[Eric Alexander]

Extended vacation.

[Kim Coles]

Were you willing to stand your ground on it?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Well, I did.

[Eric Alexander]

She did.

[Kim Coles]

You did? I did.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

But that's what I was saying, like, in the story. Like, for me, emotionally, I was reliving that because I felt righteous in taking such a strong stand. But then as a storyteller, I'm like, well, what if it goes sideways when she takes that strong stand? Oh, that's kind of funny. It's kind of funny.

[Eric Alexander]

And don't we all make decisions like that all the time? You have to go decide. I'm gonna 10 toes down. That's it. I'm gonna. And you have to be willing to take risks. Take the risk.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

You have to be willing to take risks personally, creatively. That's what living is.

[Eric Alexander]

She took a risk, but they just laid her off for a little bit. But they didn't fire her, so.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

And little did she know it was gonna get riskier. Mmm.

[Eric Alexander]

Say what?

[Kim Coles]

Well, by the way, speaking of risky. So if Khadijah. If Khadijah settles for Alonzo, that, you know, very safe. But maybe this, instead of the passionate thing she has with Scooter, would that be settling?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

I mean, I think that's one of the reasons why she didn't tell Scooter about Alonzo, because she wasn't ready to kind of settle into this other thing that she was A little uncertain about. She knows. I mean, he shows up and her knees buckle. She knows that that's still living in her when she's in this relationship with Alonzo. But she's also still trying to move on with her life. Yeah, she's still trying to move. She's not waiting for him by the phone. She did that already. She waited for his calls, and she got her face cracked. So now, you know, in that episode. And he kept calling.

[Eric Alexander]

Perhaps he wasn't fully ready either. Right. So he needed to go away, realize how much he missed her. Oh, my goodness. This is my homegirl and the girl I need to be with for the rest of my life.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Let me come back and then make the big romantic gesture of coming back primarily for her. I'm going to take a different job to come back for you, because my job and our situation before was dictating that you come and be with me, which is a big. Too big a sacrifice.

[Kim Coles]

So sometimes you gotta go away to come back.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Listen. Don't know what you got till it's gone.

[Kim Coles]

Hey, Joni Mitchell always, never lies. All right, let's see what's next. Kim, I do everything out of my car. I do everything. It's my office, it's my studio, it's.

[Eric Alexander]

My nap pod, and shockingly, not where we're recording this podcast.

[Kim Coles]

Don't spoil season two. Oh, but seriously, I take my calls, I write scripts, I do table reads. All from the car.

[Eric Alexander]

I know. I do the same thing. My car is like my home, just with better acoustics and less judgment. You know I don't sing.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

I do.

[Kim Coles]

I do. And that's why your car can't just be functional. It has to fit your whole vibe.

[Eric Alexander]

That's right. And Lexus understood the assignment. I mean, I'm talking about the lx. Woo. Luxury to the max. There's poor wood trim, massaging seats, and. Wait a minute. Retractable ottoman.

[Kim Coles]

Come on. A whole ottoman, y'.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

All. Come on.

[Kim Coles]

Plus, it's hybrid, so it's smart, sustainable, and the storage, Chef's kiss. I even have a table for writing.

[Eric Alexander]

And it's a rolling sanctuary that helps you move through life with excellence.

[Kim Coles]

And, you know, Lexus has always been excellent, even back in the 90s, just like us.

[Eric Alexander]

Because that's the standard of amazing.

[Kim Coles]

Cooler days are here. And, baby, that means layers. Good layers. And for me, that means quints. They're $50 Mongolian cashmere sweaters. Soft as a whisper and fine as fall wine. The premium denim fits like it was tailored by somebody who knows you personally. And don't get me started on the wool coats. I'm eyeing their oversized pea coat and navy designer vibes, but for a fraction of the price. Here's the thing. Quince works directly with ethical factories and skips the middleman. So you get luxury quality for way less. It's smart, it's sustainable, and it looks damn good. I've got their cashmere crew neck on rotation. And that mulberry silk robe. Well, let's just say my mornings are upgraded. Find your fall staples at quints. Go to quince.com single for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q-U-I-N C E.com single extra value meals are back.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

That means 10 tender juicy McNuggets and medium fries and a drink are just.

[Kim Coles]

$8 only at McDonald's for a limited time only.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Prices and participation may vary.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Prices may be higher in Hawaii, Alaska and California. And for delivery, every holiday shopper's got a list.

[Kim Coles]

But Ross shoppers.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

You've got a mission like a gift run that turns into a disco snow globe. Throw pillows and PJs for the whole family, dog included.

[Kim Coles]

At Ross, holiday magic isn't about spending more.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

It's about giving more for less. Ross, work your magic.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

I came home and found Safford attacking my chair. And the upholstery smells suspiciously like steak sauce.

[Eric Alexander]

Accidents happen.

[Kim Coles]

Oops. I'll get it.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

How you doing, Regine?

[Kim Coles]

Oh, no, I'm good. I'm fine.

[Eric Alexander]

Yeah, I'm never better.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Just abandoned grammar. I'm never better.

[Kim Coles]

Yeah, good eye.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

What's up?

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

What's up, man? I'm Terrence Alonzo.

[Kim Coles]

All right, man, I had the day from hell. Come on, Khadijah, let's do this. Max, this is not exactly the best timing. Can we talk later? Oh, well, all right. Ray Jean, come on.

[Eric Alexander]

You'll do.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Okay. Max.

[Kim Coles]

Maxine Shaw. Whatever happened to you today isn't nearly as juicy as what's about to go down here. So Khadijah's in a bind. Doesn't anyone care about me? Damn, if I only knew some people in my own building. Alonzo's a new friend.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Who you're getting ready to live with. Live with.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Live with.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Then why am I trying to move here? To be with you.

[Kim Coles]

I'm kind of thirsty.

[Eric Alexander]

Y' all want some soda?

[Kim Coles]

That's so hilarious.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

I'm kinda thirsty.

[Kim Coles]

I love it.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

She becomes eight.

[Kim Coles]

Yeah, exactly.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

What the hell is going on?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

I'm sorry.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Me too. I did just drop in there unannounced. I don't know why I expected your life to be on hold.

[Kim Coles]

Maybe because there's something between us that's just not going away.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

No maybe about it.

[Kim Coles]

So now what?

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

How about this?

[Kim Coles]

Come on, lean in.

[Eric Alexander]

Come on, now.

[Kim Coles]

Come on now. Sexy.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Yes. Okay.

[Kim Coles]

That'S great.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

No, I really hope I get that job here. Cause there's just some things you can't do long distance.

[Kim Coles]

He revved up for that. Yes, he did, y'. All kisses.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Cloth.

[Kim Coles]

But look at all the. The kente cloth.

[Eric Alexander]

All the kente cloth.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

But the slow unfolding of this is. Well done, event.

[Eric Alexander]

Well done. Do I dare read this? Alonzo, Scooter, and Max all come looking in for Khadijah, each wanting something. But when Alonzo and Scooter realize that they're in the same love triangle.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Woo.

[Eric Alexander]

No. Regine grabs a popcorn or spaghetti. Alonzo demands clarity and bounces. Scooter stays chill, leaving the door open. And just as Khadijah is sorting her heart out. Boom. Max and Kyle wake up in that nasty chair together.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Yep.

[Eric Alexander]

That happened. Well, okay. Where do we begin? Where do we begin?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

I don't know. You tell me.

[Eric Alexander]

Let's go chronological, shall we?

[Kim Coles]

Oh, my goodness. Alonzo shows up at the house, and he's sort of pushing it, like, you.

[Eric Alexander]

Know, hey, baby, let's go pack your things. You ready? Right, let's go.

[Kim Coles]

But what he doesn't know, that makes, you know, Khadijah uncomfortable. She goes into the kitchen, but here comes Scooter.

[Eric Alexander]

Here comes Scooter. And here comes Regine saying, ooh, it's about to go down. Let me watch. And then here comes Max. You know, everybody's coming. Friend in need. Everybody's coming to Khadijah. Coming to Khadijah. I love you. All right, Regine, you'll do.

[Kim Coles]

Come on, Regine, let's do it.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

No. Right?

[Kim Coles]

Ain't nobody want to do this with.

[Eric Alexander]

Me, and nobody wants to do this with you. But we find out in a minute that somebody wants to do this with you. But let's keep talking about the men. So I. It was so civil, you know, there's like, who's this guy? This guy. Babe. Babe. So there's this fight over her, but not really a fight. They seem to be both very gentlemanly. It was very classy.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

And the suitors particularly evolved and sexy.

[Eric Alexander]

Let me tell you who this guy is.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

He's like, oh, wait, who was I to think that you Would be on hold.

[Kim Coles]

Come on.

[Eric Alexander]

Love that.

[Kim Coles]

If you got a good thing, it ain't never on hold.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Right.

[Eric Alexander]

If you got a good thing, it's never on hold.

[Kim Coles]

No, no, no. Sorry. Meaning that you better keep other people's.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Interest if you don't show your own recognition.

[Eric Alexander]

But it was very mature of him to do that. Not to be jealous and. Cause it could have. Again, what if it could have turned out very different.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

But again, a lot of it is like dreaming on what you'd like to see in your life and in the world. So you put it on screen and hope that people see the representation of a non toxic guy and relationships that are functional.

[Eric Alexander]

So that means you had both Kyle and Overton who were non toxic. They were, you know, of course you all had this interesting relationship, but there was still love and respect. Right? Love and respect. And now you have these other two men that you're bringing in and showing Black men being gentlemen and being wanting relationships. And look at the messaging.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

I just wanted to reflect more of what I wanted to see in the world. Men who were evolved and mature and acting what I thought was appropriate for their age and just showing that chivalry is not dead.

[Eric Alexander]

Right.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

That you can come back and, you know, lay your heart on the line for another person so that they know exactly how you feel.

[Kim Coles]

That's what I like is that they say out of their mouths what they want.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Yeah. Why the guessing games?

[Kim Coles]

Well, you know, nowadays people are texting everything and.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

And then you can't even tell the intention. No. You can't tell the tone or the vibe. Right. You don't know.

[Kim Coles]

Right. Or they'll send you an emoji. Don't tell me you love me or tell me, blah, blah, blah. And I think that with young people especially, they don't necessarily get the skills or the social skills. So that can help you, especially when you're young. Like how does that. Okay, you actually we imitate people and so we need television and stories that's. They give us some.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Absolutely. And also to see Khadijah be desired because I think a really wonderful statement to make. Talk about that not just Khadijah, but any of the women. But in this story, Khadijah specifically juxtaposed.

[Eric Alexander]

Against the news that you hear or the reports that you hear that black women will never get married. They'll never. There's not enough men to go around. And she's got two good ones. Two good ones.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Several times. I'd been proposed to several times.

[Eric Alexander]

As have I. That didn't work out.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Right, right. But that's what I'm saying. But again, so you need. There was a period of time, and I think it was kind of the 90s, early 2000s, when it was like, you know, black women are the least desired women in the world. And we're like, we are?

[Kim Coles]

Really?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Then how come we're loving and other people are lusting for us? What is that about? Like, it was just a false propaganda narrative. Exactly. Exactly.

[Eric Alexander]

And so for anyone who would be. Any woman who is believing that propaganda, she's watching a show and seeing that it is possible. And these guys were relatable.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

And I absolutely felt a responsibility to provide the counter narrative the every day of my career.

[Kim Coles]

Did you read that? That you're saying that black women were the least.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

It was on the news. It was on Nightline, Newsweek. You're there with your man, and they're like, what's the news? That's the news. Well, why we doing all. What we doing here and having a wonderful life and, you know, having, you know, lunch with one guy and dinner with another. How come that's what our lives are looking like and you're telling us something else.

[Kim Coles]

But if you put that narrative out in 1994 and it becomes.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Right.

[Kim Coles]

Fifteen years later, meaning it starts to be. It's because you can build a narrative around a lie.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

You can. Yes, you can. But you can also create the reality that you want to see.

[Kim Coles]

That's right.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

As artists, we can do that.

[Eric Alexander]

And so that's part of the deprogramming you were doing. So thank you for deconditioning and the.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Culture and the rewiring.

[Eric Alexander]

Right, Done. That's good work.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

It's art as activism. Even though we're not talking about a protest or, you know, whatever ailed people in the day, you know, it's topical. It's important.

[Kim Coles]

Well, we talked about that with Uhura on Star Trek, that she wanted to lead the role, and Martin Luther King heard that and said, no, you have to stay there.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

We need you there.

[Kim Coles]

We need you there.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

I've had those moments. A couple of them, yes. I mean, there was a time in the early 2000s when multicam and sitcoms in particular that featured us kind of went away, and I felt a responsibility to stay in the game.

[Eric Alexander]

Do you still feel that responsibility?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

I do. Of course I do. I mean, I'm happy to be here in a variety of roles, whether it's, you know, creating my own show or helping others launch theirs. Because that's something I've Done. Actually, I think 12 times now.

[Eric Alexander]

I heard you say on an interview that there's a show that you worked on, that you sat on the sofa and so that your mentorship and your vision and your help was felt. You weren't at the table. You weren't sitting at the head of the table, but you were sitting there on the sofa in the role that was needed and requested of you.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Exactly. Exactly. Because sometimes it's not even about what you think of yourself or how you see yourself. It's how other people respond to you. So literally, I've decided I'm going to sit in the second row so that I'm not distracting. So that I'm not the person that they're looking to when I really think they should be looking to whoever's running the room. There were times in that situation where I was running the room, where I wouldn't be running the room from the couch. But I wanted to make sure that people knew where their focus should be. And again, I don't say that with arrogance. I say that with just an intentionality to make sure that people knew where they were supposed to be looking. Because I was a person who seem to have a lot of answers, you know, but you do. You do. You do, you know, so people's eyes will naturally go to you if you put yourself kind of in the spotlight. And that wasn't my role. My role was kind of to be the consigliere, to advise, to contribute meaningfully, but to advise and not be the central voice.

[Eric Alexander]

Or as Kim Fields would say, not pulling focus.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

You didn't need to pull focus. Oh, no.

[Kim Coles]

I mean, let's finish up talking about Khadijah, because she gets there, and you write, it's a beautiful male relationships, but they settle it out between them, and she quickly makes her decision, and there she is in the arms of the man that she's chosen. And he's already kind of given her up, too. But he didn't leave mad. He went and helped. Her friend came down. You saw he had taken off his jacket. So he was like, you're not getting rid of me that easy. Meaning we're still gonna be friends. But then he sees that it's. She's the only one coming out of that kitchen.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

That's beautiful. And he's very excited that she's alone. Yes.

[Kim Coles]

Yes.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

He was hoping that guy would leave, of course.

[Kim Coles]

Okay.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

But he's her forever friend, so he's gonna be there regardless of whether or not he leaves with the romance that he came Here for. He was gonna be there. He's that kind of guy.

[Kim Coles]

We need to talk about Max and Kyle. Well, who's that kind of guy upstairs.

[Eric Alexander]

Who Max is with?

[Kim Coles]

Because, you know, we saw her leave. She was upstairs.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

She said, oh, back up.

[Eric Alexander]

If only I knew some people in my own building.

[Kim Coles]

And I actually like that she turns toward there. Because that's the correct thing to do.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

It is.

[Kim Coles]

Because it's not misleading. And you play fair with the audience only to be just when you. As you say, we think it's over and we've forgotten about her too. Now she's like a little, you know, gadfly. Forget her. And then we open up and frankly, I actually blush. I blush because it was. Yeah, because it was a big deal when they filmed that, you know, they had us, had me in like one of whatever.

[Eric Alexander]

And they like a tank top, like a bare minimum tank top or something.

[Kim Coles]

They snuck us around. They had this big partition and then, you know, they waited. It was a big deal. Ellen was like, okay, hold on. And then they moved it. And you could see people like, what is going on? What is going on? Because you were hidden, perfectly hidden.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

You could feel it, it was palpable in the audience. You could feel kind of the ripple of the response. Feel it, feel it just swelled.

[Kim Coles]

You really could.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

I mean, and again, we're just in the booth, like losing it because we're like, oh, this is so good. Feel it. It's so much better than you could have imagined. You knew it was gonna be good, but it was just.

[Kim Coles]

Why did you decide on the Kim T shirt? I think it was. I don't know if TC asked for it. Cause TC just sounds probably so.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Don't you think it was there? It's in the apartment.

[Eric Alexander]

Yes.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

It wasn't a new piece of set dressing.

[Kim Coles]

It wasn't. But I just feel like tc. But TC was sent up there doing push ups before, of course. He wanted to make sure that he was all pumped up.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

That's what everyone does before these. And you all were lotioned up. Oh, they were oil.

[Kim Coles]

Let me tell you something. They came in, out, they put out the good shea butter. You know what I mean? Just like I felt like they were buttering me up. You know how they see in those, those Roman weddings and they grease you up and everybody's like, you ready, girl? Get the fuck out my face. I'm sorry. I mean, like, it was too much. Were you thinking it was too much anticipation? I'm like, let's get, let's make It. I always like to live on the other side of doing it. Like, I'd rather be behind it. And it's not. Cause I don't. It's just that it's almost too much energy to have. So you want to. You want to pull it off, but you also want it to be done. And so, yeah. And then we also did it again, and the audience knew what they had to do. They still, you know, did their thing.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

They cooperated.

[Kim Coles]

They cooperated each time, but the first time. Each time, it was just mania.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

It was so good.

[Kim Coles]

So it was really fun. And you really gave them a great cliffhanger.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Yeah. And without social media, we know what the audience wants. That's our job.

[Eric Alexander]

I'm asking. It was a cliffhanger. We know. But obviously you shot the end of that scene in that moment. Or did you wait till the next season?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

We shot the completion of that scene. And what was really fun for me was because I had to write that. I actually, while writing the first scene part, I wrote the whole season opener.

[Eric Alexander]

So you could have this anchor piece already put in.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

So hopefully they were going to pick up the show because I'd already written the script.

[Kim Coles]

I remember thinking to myself, oh, no, no. I got to keep my hair like this because I wanted to grow it out.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Which is why we also had John Henton in a hat. And then he revealed the bald head because he came back and didn't tell.

[Eric Alexander]

Nobody he was going to be bald.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

You know what? That's interesting that he said that, because I knew you did. We'd been talking about how, like, the clothes were getting messed up from this hair they were spraying on, which I didn't know. I didn't realize he was like, baby, losing my hair.

[Eric Alexander]

Yvette, Yvette. Do you mind that he calls you Yvette?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

People on the Interweb, on the Internet are calling me Wyvette. You know what's really sweet about that is that they now feel like they have a little bit more insight and a little bit more intimate relationship with me. And I love that it makes you accept that. I love it.

[Kim Coles]

If they're a fan of the Vet, that's why Vet.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

But if they're fans of the show, they know me. It's like, I don't live a public life, but my life has played out publicly, globally. Wow. So I treasure those relationships, those conversations with the audience.

[Eric Alexander]

We asked them, why do you call it? Because there's a Y there. It makes no sense.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Why is that?

[Eric Alexander]

Why is that, Yvette?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

It's Yvette. It's French, of course, like Yves Saint Laurent. You don't say wives, but John Hint is going to do that. I also do that.

[Eric Alexander]

He's the thing about John, John loves giving people nicknames. Anyway, that's just his way. Like, I think as soon as he learns your name, he's going to give you a nickname. So that's it.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Absolutely.

[Eric Alexander]

This episode is the final episode of this season. So you as the showrunner and the visionary have to now wrap up a lot of loose ends, a lot of pieces. So what's the process in going to make an episode like this?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

It's really fun. It's really fun in a kind of a very, you know, when you have a very well intentioned and specific pilot like we did, I felt like it was really important to make sure that there was symmetry in the season finale and that it really felt like the culmination of all of the building blocks that we, you know, laid out prior to that. So tying up a lot of loose ends and then creating another story thread to pull in the second season.

[Eric Alexander]

So good. So good.

[Kim Coles]

And you did it really well. Cause all the trains have kept coming to the station on time and there's.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Some little things in there. Like Sinclair obviously would often speak in lyrics. So in the pilot, I'm trying to remember what she says in the pilot, but in the pilot she has, oh, hear me roar. Right? That's Helen Reddy. In this episode she says, it's raining men. Khadijah. And your favorite line, which is, everybody plays the fool sometimes. But I'm saying Sinclair had that very specifically and I wanted to make sure. Oh, that moment from the pilot also was echoed in the finale.

[Eric Alexander]

How do you know which things you're gonna take and which elements you're gonna take and put into the episode in.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

A case like this? Well, like I said, it's kind of like we laid things out in the pilot that we then built on throughout the season and it was our job to wrap it up. That's what you do. Like it's the end of the season, you wrap it up and then hopefully, you know, create a new foundation and then the launch pad to catapult you into the next season, which we knew we were getting based on the ratings. We hadn't necessarily been officially picked up, I don't think.

[Kim Coles]

But we knew you hadn't been picked up. Officially picked up by 27 filming.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

I don't think we've been picked up for season two. I don't think we Knew, like, it hadn't been made official because they don't make it official until they're at the upfronts. We didn't know, but we knew we wanted to give them something to continue. I mean, it's funny. I've actually worked on a couple of shows where we've done series cliffhangers. They were unfortunate, but we knew this was a season cliffhanger that we wanted to do that was gonna catapult us into the next. And I thought it would be interesting for me to kind of echo the challenges that I had in getting the series made by fighting for Max and then giving her this moment where she was challenged for doing what she thought was right. You know what I'm saying? So it's like I was really examining, like, her standing her ground, like her standing 10 toes down. But then what if the outcome is different from what happened with me where I actually won? So that, again, as a writer, part of your job is to not just rip pages from your diary and just tell the stories, because sometimes you go, oh, really happened. Well, sometimes what really happened is boring. But you have to think of a series of interesting what ifs? What if she makes that bold move? What if she goes out on that ledge and it doesn't work out?

[Kim Coles]

Got it.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Right.

[Kim Coles]

Well, let's see.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

But that was how I felt emotionally. It wasn't what happened on the pilot, but that was how I felt. Like, if you don't want Max in the show, then you don't want me. What's it going to be? What is. You took that risk, and so I wanted to echo that in the show.

[Kim Coles]

All right, y', all. We did it.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

We did it.

[Kim Coles]

There's at the end of season one, show 27, and we gotta now go to the Reverb. Oh, reverb.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

The Reverb.

[Eric Alexander]

Let's go to the Reverb.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

The Aftermath. Yes.

[Kim Coles]

The Aftermath.

[Eric Alexander]

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, Lexis keeps raising the bar. That's the standard of amazing.

[Kim Coles]

All right, Yvette, that's it. Season one. It is over. It is over. So fast.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Only 27 robust, hilarious episodes.

[Kim Coles]

Yeah, we worked real hard on those.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

We did.

[Eric Alexander]

We did.

[Kim Coles]

Wow. Wow. Feeling good. So right now, for the two of us reliving single, and then all of us then at living single. That was 30 years ago. That was 30 years ago. Well, 32 years.

[Eric Alexander]

30 plus.

[Kim Coles]

What did completing season one feel like then?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Tremendous affirmation, you know, kind of doubling down on what I believed to be true, which was that I had a story to tell that didn't just belong to me, that would be embraced by others who didn't only look like me, but those who dared to peek in and know more about us and our culture and how we move in the world. Incredibly affirming.

[Eric Alexander]

When this is not on the cards. This is from my heart. When did you know that this was gonna be a hit? And I don't mean, you know, because the numbers said so or the network was really happy. Like, when did you know that this is it?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Well, the night we shot the pilot was magic. I knew we had something special. But then it's always up to the gods to decide whether or not you actually get on the schedule, and then will the people tune in? And they did. So I felt like I knew after we'd shot a few episodes and then the show got on the air, it was pretty clear to me that we were there to stay, There to stay. We're gonna have a little good run.

[Kim Coles]

Mm.

[Eric Alexander]

What were your goals for season two?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

To be better than season one. To bring more of what we did and then some.

[Kim Coles]

Well, by the way, let's say this very clearly, that this is the number one show in black and Latino households, so you're killing it. So you say to bring more. The truth is, you're the best in terms of audience, you know, embracing and engagement, but you're still saying, hey, how can we do more? And where would you think that that would be as a showrunner?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Well, to just have bigger numbers than they ever had on the network, and I'm not sure, keep building, achieve that. But also, I wasn't chasing the ratings. Just like, how can we top ourselves creatively? How can we surprise and delight the audience even more? How can we give them more of what they're. They're asking for? So, like, Max and Kyle giving their relationship a little brief trial, you know, those are kinds of things that we were feeling like the audience wants that having Overton and Claire start to fill out, feel out rather this beautiful, you know, kind of unencumbered love. And then some plot twists there with certain, you know, tutors. Shemar Moore.

[Eric Alexander]

I was like, why did you give me Shemar Moore? And I happily took it.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

But the way you all, like, just took to and protected and embodied your characters was just extraordinary and exquisite and the gift that keeps on giving.

[Eric Alexander]

I didn't want to cheat on him. But thanks for Shemar. Thanks, Shamar.

[Kim Coles]

I remember thinking, I think TC thought the same thing, that we had gotten together too quick and the audience may have wanted it, but I think it took a while for us to even adjust because we didn't know how to be together, not even as, like, performers.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

That's why we teased you in the second season. But we did feel. And I know we had this conversation in real time by season three. Trust us, we're watching every day.

[Kim Coles]

Definitely.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

But season three was when we had the conversation where the two of you didn't think that they should be together. And I was like, no, they should, I think.

[Kim Coles]

Cause we struggled so much during two. So it was one of those things that happened. And it just is surprising for us to read, you know, so we're getting it on the tail end. There's a summer, and then you have to work it out. And you don't even know if you're working it out that well. So you're just trying to figure if it's right in your body because you are playing a part and you are tooling someone else's toolbox. But it's also, you're using your own sort of energy vibe.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

And we were trying to find the right balance to have this beautiful. Will they, won't they? Because Sinclair and Overton was. Will they, will they? And how they gonna.

[Eric Alexander]

Yeah. And you needed that other contract.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Exactly. Will they, won't they, will they? Right.

[Kim Coles]

Yeah.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

That more complicated.

[Eric Alexander]

Should they.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Yeah. Struggle. Love. I mean, television, I love it so much because. Not only because of its mass appeal, but because when you're telling a story over many, many seasons, you really get to have the characters evolve in fun and surprising ways. And the way we evolve as humans, like, we're all evolving. We're all becoming what we ultimately will be. Some of us never quite get to. Right. But if you're on your way, you know, to watch these young people do that was really a treasure.

[Eric Alexander]

How do you lay out your seasons? Lay out your characters, build your characters? Is that a visioning process? Do you. Where do you start? Do you start with a name? Do you start with a. Do you start with your journal? Like, your vision? Like, how do you layer it?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

I will be honest with you and say that I can't recall 30 some odd years later, what the theme, what came first?

[Eric Alexander]

The this.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

But it would start with a theme.

[Eric Alexander]

Okay.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Theme.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

It would start with a theme like, what are we gonna explore this season? You know what I'm saying? Like, are we gonna explore the Unexpected. Are we gonna explore more matters of the heart? You know, and then also, like, what does each character need? It wasn't just kind of, like, thematic. You had to have thematic for the series and the season, but also for each character. What did they need? What haven't they touched upon? What haven't we touched upon with these particular characters? What does Maxine Shaw, who values her career look like? Who does she become when she doesn't have that to focus on?

[Eric Alexander]

And then you're speaking to the audience because they're asking themselves the same questions. If they fall in love with the characters, like, I know that have. And like, they tell us all the time, you know, they resonate with, well, what would I do in that situation? Who do I need to become? Is that a decision that I would make? So your, you know, life gets to imitate art, and you get to also teach and inform and be impactful.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

I mean, the last episode of the first season is entitled what's Next? Because we were heading into the great unknown, and then, like, question is, what do we need to explore the next season? What are some things that we haven't touched upon? And trying to kind of give people more of what they enjoyed in season one? And then some.

[Eric Alexander]

And then some.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Yeah, yeah.

[Eric Alexander]

So I'm gonna ask you this magic question. It's the name of this last episode. What's next?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

More life. More reading, more traveling, more life. More mothering. Being the most dynamic wife I can be. These are the important things. That's true. More spiritual journeys.

[Eric Alexander]

Yeah, right.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

More creativity. For sure. For sure. I'm working on some things. But you can't tell us. Keep those in the box.

[Eric Alexander]

Okay.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Because you also never know what's gonna. You know what's gonna pan out. And so then why. You know, it's like you see so many things in the headlines. It's like this is being developed. That's being developed. I mean, I've sold over 50 pilots.

[Eric Alexander]

You've sold over 50 pilots?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Absolutely. I know how to pitch and sell a show.

[Eric Alexander]

I want you to say that again. You have sold over 50 pilots.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

But again, I've been doing it since I was in my 20s.

[Kim Coles]

No, but just because you've done it once or twice doesn't mean you're gonna do it again. Not everybody. You have a work ethic. Not only that. I mean, you're just. It's. You should know that people used to brag about. Not just used to brag about you and go, everything she touches turns to gold.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

I wish that were true. No, because I only put 12 shows on the air, and they weren't all shows created by me.

[Kim Coles]

12 showed 50 pilots. That means 50 pilots developed. 50 pilots, you know, that you stood up for and that you did the.

[Eric Alexander]

Work and probably more. Those are just the 50 that you sold. So how many more did you create that didn't even get sold?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

I was just talking. I had dinner with David Jannollari, who was the development exec at Warner Brothers when I created the show. And we had actually, some years later, probably, I'm gonna say maybe 10 years ago, we actually developed something together. And he was just going on and on and on and saying, I just love that script so much. Like, we need that show. It was a show called Smothered, and it didn't get picked up to series, but, like, people love the script, but they just didn't greenlight it. It happens all the time, but you just keep mining your life and mining what's happening in the world and hope you come up with something relevant at the time in which the executives who are the gatekeepers say, you. This is your turn.

[Kim Coles]

Yvette, we have a viewer, a friend, a Fran, who wants to ask you a question.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Oh, boy. Oh, Y' all in these surprises.

[Eric Alexander]

Oh.

[Kim Coles]

Oh, look.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Oh, Lord.

[Kim Coles]

Oh, Lord.

[Eric Alexander]

Who that?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

And that's a picture of 27 year old me right there. That's right.

[Kim Coles]

So we don't want.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Hey, sweetie. We got engaged on the same day that Living Single premiered. I know you believed in us, but did you think the world would be celebrating your show three decades later?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

I couldn't have dreamed it. I couldn't have dreamed it. And I think that's part of the beauty that I dreamed just enough to make it happen.

[Kim Coles]

So who was that?

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Please tell us that's Kyle Bowser. That's my husband, the icon.

[Eric Alexander]

But wait, you just reminded us that he. He asked you to marry him on the day that we premiered.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

He did. He did.

[Eric Alexander]

He was like, I need to lock it down.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Locked down.

[Kim Coles]

We locked it down. He said, let me stop shucking and Jack.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Right, right. Well, this is the interesting personal and emotional story behind that. It also happened to be the anniversary of his father's passing, and he wanted to give new meaning to that particular day. And it just happened as the stars aligned. It coincided with the night. So it was like just after midnight the night before. So I hosted a big, you know, premiere party for all of us. And I showed up with. I had on a fancier gown than I would have ever thought to have, but Because I had to have the right dress with that ring. I showed up and shared that we had just gotten engaged.

[Kim Coles]

Kyle Bowser, who is also a creative executive and at one point even managed me, known him for a long time and went to school with Nicole Pollard, his sister. He's very, very smart and creative, and he wrote the wedding song that St. Claire and Overton. I commit to.

[Eric Alexander]

You.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

I'll be good to you. I said, I do to only you for the rest of my life. Well, you know what? He wrote that for our wedding, but never sang it or performed it. And so then it kind of got rejiggered a little bit for the episode.

[Kim Coles]

It was.

[Eric Alexander]

So you donated that to the show? You gave. He gave it to the show, Absolutely. I didn't know that. I knew that he wrote it, but I didn't know that that was meant for y'. All. He said, I'll put it on the show, sweetie.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

But it was, again, a spirit with which the show started. It started out as kind of like me being placed in this really adverse environment. That was the universe that put me on that show where they didn't want to hear anything I had to say. And I was like, I know some of what I have to say has value, but if this is what the rest of Hollywood looks like, I'm not going to be around for long. Not one to suffer fools. I'm going to go and create my own environment and therefore my own show. But I hadn't been thinking about it, contemplating about it. Cause I was pouring everything I had into a different world. I wasn't thinking, oh, what am I going to create next? Because I also. I didn't know any other show creators, so I wasn't thinking, oh, that's what you do when you've been writing. You know, you've been on a show for five years, but you've been officially writing for, like, three and a half years. You don't think, oh, I'm going to create my own show. Everyone now thinks that because everyone's doing their own shows on the Internet and all these other places, which is great, but it just wasn't the mindset. But it was really. It was out of necessity. And luckily, I had been equipped with the skill set to get it done.

[Kim Coles]

Thank you.

[Eric Alexander]

Thank you so much.

[Kim Coles]

Thank you very much.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Thank you.

[Kim Coles]

This is lucky number 27, ladies and gentlemen. They did it. We all did it.

[Eric Alexander]

You did it.

[Kim Coles]

Let's give a standing ovation to the voice and creator of Living Single. Single, the wonderful Yvette D. Bowser for everybody who's not in the room. We are standing. They're all standing.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

I am bowing to you all, giving you Yvette.

[Kim Coles]

Thank you so much.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Thank you, ladies.

[Kim Coles]

Thank you so much. Yvette, I adore you. I am so thrilled that you are.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Being honored in this way because you are so deserving. That brain of yours is just so.

[Kim Coles]

Filled with brilliance and joy and unapologetic blackness. And you have poured all of those.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Superpowers into living single. I mean, you didn't just create a show. You shaped culture.

[Kim Coles]

You opened doors, you changed lives. You showed us what beautiful black friendships and ambition and really, community could look.

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Like on the screen and in the world.

[Kim Coles]

So I love you. Thank you, Yvette.

[Guest or Additional Speaker]

Your work, our work together on prison means so much. The ability that you have to be in the trenches and get the work done no matter what speaks to the extraordinary commitment that you have to the work, to the culture, to all of your colleagues, and that you don't sleep until it's done. And I have such immense respect for you, Yvette. Always will. And one of the highlights of working on Unprison was getting to know you, getting to work together and experiencing your quest for excellence, which is unrelenting, and your quest to tell our stories with complexity, heart, vision and love. God bless you, sis.

[Kim Coles]

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.

[Eric Alexander]

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

[Kim Coles]

The show is produced by Kim Cole.

[Eric Alexander]

Amber Watson is our senior producer.

[Kim Coles]

Our associate producer is Kenny Jackson.

[Eric Alexander]

Our other associate producer is Electra Telesforce.

[Kim Coles]

Our sound engineers are Eric Hicks and Cedric Wilson.

[Eric Alexander]

Production supervision by Razak Boykin and Brett Calkins.

[Kim Coles]

Additional production support from Alex Atkins and Z. Taylor.

[Eric Alexander]

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

[Yvette B. Bowser]

Johnson. SA.