Sorry to 'Friends,' But this 90s Sitcom With the Same Concept Is Better

In the early '90s, showrunner and creator Yvette Lee Bowser was finishing up her time on A Different World when she began working on her next project. Bowser drew inspiration from her personal life, stating, “I just decided to rip another page from my diary and create Living Single — tell personal stories of myself and my friends trying to make sense of love and life in the big city.” And on August 22nd, 1993, Living Single premiered on FOX. The show, following the lives of six Black singles in their twenties living in Brooklyn, was well-received thanks to the star power of Queen Latifah and Kim Fields. The show was "an unexpected hit," surpassing expectations while simultaneously hinting at what a show led predominantly by Black women could accomplish. Thirteen months later, another series premiered on NBC called Friends, about six white singles in their twenties living in Manhattan. Quite the coincidence, isn’t it?