erika alexander
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Living Single's Erika Alexander Reveals She Almost Wasn't Cast in Role of 'Maxine'
“Maxine Shaw, Attorney-at-Law” is one of the beloved main characters from the hit ‘90s sitcom Living Single, as portrayed by Erika Alexander. The show would be entirely different without Max’s playful energy, and a new Facebook video interview with Alexander reveals that at one point, she wasn’t sure if the role would be hers to…
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T.C. Carlson Reveals He Was Fired From Living Single, Says He Served as Spokesperson When Cast Felt Disrespected
This year will mark 27 years since the first episode of Living Single aired in August 1993. The popular comedy series starring Queen Latifah, Kim Fields, Erika Alexander and Kim Coles has ranked among the most revered television shows universally embraced by the black community. As we reminisce about the beloved series, the concept of…
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Erika Alexander Calls Out The Erasure of Black Art
Over the past couple weeks, we’ve seen the unlikely rekindling of the Friends vs Living Single beef. Things got started when Friends actor David Schwimmer was asked in an interview about a Friends reboot. He gave an answer saying he’d want to see an all-Asian or all-black reboot of the show. While well-meaning, it ignored the…
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David Schwimmer Responds to Erika Alexander
For some inexplicable reason, Friends has seen a resurgence in the last five years. This was mainly due to it being easily accessible on Netflix until recently. I don’t get it, but hey, I’m not white. As a result of this resurgence, it seems like every week a former Friends star is asked about a…
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Erika Alexander Reminds David Schwimmer That He Starred in a Lily-White Reboot of Living Single
Imagine spending 10 years playing a character on a lily-white show that was a direct and complete appropriation of a black show already in production for a year when yours started, then pretending to know nothing about that show’s existence. In what can only be described as a case of either lying his white ass…
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Erika Alexander's an Iconic Actor, but Life in Hollywood Ain't No Crystal Stair
This just in: disparities persist in Hollywood. Beyond a lack of inclusion and pay inequities—which are both critical—the ways that we see black women, as well as the breadth of our roles and even the level of imagination assigned to the specific characters we play, can be stifling. “I think that black men [in Hollywood]…
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Maxine Shaw Ain't Nuthin To F' With: A Black Ass Game with Erika Alexander
Erika Alexander will forever be a staple in black television and is still on top of her game. You may know her best as Maxine Shaw from Living Single or Cousin Pam from The Cosby Show but now she’s starring as a young RZA’s mother in Hulu’s Wu-Tang: An American Saga. We put her ’90s…
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In a ’90s Kind of World, I’m Glad I Had My Girls: Living Single at 25 and Me
Growing up 55 shades of gay in the ’90s, there were not a lot of places for a young whippersnapper like me to draw inspiration from what life could be like as an adult. Friends? Too unseasoned. Seinfeld? I don’t know her. Fraiser? Cute, but for a six-year-old with a serious Princess Ariel obsession, not…
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This Is Not a Drill: Living Single Starts Streaming on Hulu Thursday, Jan. 11
Mama, we made it! Our internet-streaming-service dreams have finally come true. Living Single, the groundbreaking ’90s television show starring Queen Latifah, will begin streaming on Hulu on Thursday. Hulu made the announcement Tuesday evening from its official Twitter account, saying, “It’s a ’90s kind of world. Again. Living Single, the entire series, streams January 11,…
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Living Single Cast and Creator Reflect on Legacy 20 Years After Series Finale
Since leaving the air 20 years ago today, Jan. 1, Living Single continues to resonate in the hearts of loyal fans. Its legacy alone has dismissed critics (i.e., Newsweek’s 1993 article with its “booty-shaking sugar mamas” comment), paving the way for shows like Insecure, and still reigns as a beloved fixture of black entertainment and…