“And then he created…”: Queen Latifah Said Her Show Unwittingly Created the Most Legendary Sitcom in TV History
The American sitcom FRIENDS is undoubtedly one of the most celebrated sitcoms of all time. The show is still as popular even today and has found new audiences every time which has made it relevant. The camaraderie between the entire cast of the show, the fun characters, and the hilarious writing all contributed to the success of the show which has helped it pass the test of time. The show never fails to impress audiences and make people laugh. The show was a breakthrough project for all the actors involved including Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer.
While the show has become iconic, it is still believed that the idea of the show came from another sitcom that had a similar style and narrative. Another sitcom called Living Single is believed to have highly influenced the concept of FRIENDS and contributed to it being a huge success.
Queen Latifah Says Her 1993 Sitcom is the Reason for the Creation of FRIENDS
Before FRIENDS, a sitcom that had the same concept and narrative as the popular sitcom came out in 1993 called Living Single. The show revolved around a group of African-American individuals sharing a flat in Brooklyn, much like how the characters in FRIENDS were. Actress Queen Latifah who starred in Living Single talked about how her show served as inspiration for NBC to create FRIENDS. She talked about it on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen (on YouTube),
“It was one of those things where it was a guy called Warren Littlefield that used to run NBC, and they asked him when all the new shows came out, they said, ‘If there’s any show you could have, which one would it be?’ And he said ‘Living Single’. And then he created FRIENDS.”
It seems the cast and makers of FRIENDS have a show to thank for their humongous success and popularity. Even though Living Single did not achieve the level of fame and success as FRIENDS, it still served as an impetus for something like FRIENDS to happen.
A Revival of Living Single is In the Works According to Queen Latifah
Queen Latifah starred in one of the most influential sitcoms of the 90s called Living Single. The show also served as a huge inspiration for the highly popular American sitcom FRIENDS. In 2017, Latifah revealed that the cast and the makers are developing a revival of the show. She talked about it on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen (on YouTube) saying,
“Funny you should ask. We’re actually working on it. It’s not there yet, but hopefully, we can get it happening.”
As of now, nothing further is revealed about the potential revival of the show. Fans can watch the NBC reimagining of the show, FRIENDS on Netflix.