Erika Alexander and Kim Coles are pulling up the velvet rope and letting fans backstage.

The iconic duo, best known as Maxine 'Max' Shaw and Synclaire James-Jones from the groundbreaking sitcom “Living Single,” teamed up for the “ReLiving Single” podcast, and yes, it’s exactly what your ‘90s-loving heart has been waiting for.

The show isn’t just a stroll down memory lane. Alexander and Coles are opening the vault, sharing juicy behind-the-scenes stories, never-before-heard secrets from the set, and all the things they couldn’t say back then.

The ladies chatted with REVOLT about reclamation, how their iconic series shifted the culture, and Cicely Tyson saving one of them from quitting acting.

Read up!

"ReLiving Single" is more than a rewatch — it feels like reclamation. What part of your personal story were you most excited to take back, redefine, or finally say out loud through this podcast?

Erika Alexander: I'll say for me that I love that you used the word a reclamation, like reclaiming something, because up until this point, I think that we've had to speak through our characters on the show and be our characters and use our own experiences and our bodies and our faces to play someone else's vision. It is ours too because we're collaborating, but then no one really knew who we were. At the time, there wasn’t a web or any of these Internet things to talk about it. People weren't doing real interviews or longer interviews of Black performers unless you were the biggest stars, say Halle Berry and Denzel Washington. To reclaim part of it is to talk about our lives inside of this show. Kim [Coles] and I, even though we've known each other now for 30 years and have been good friends, are finding out things about what happened together and to us or separately that we didn't know. I talked about the fact that my father passed away about a month before I got cast on the show. Maybe that has a lot to do with why I don't really remember the first season so much. I might have been a little bit distant and maybe some of my off-putting jokes seem a little bit severe (laughs).

Kim Coles: I'm just reclaiming all of the moments, reliving all of the moments, and reliving moments I didn't even know were there. Erika didn’t tell us what was happening behind the scenes. There’s a lot of big reveal moments for me I haven’t shared. I’ll give you an exclusive, Ty. I haven't shared yet my weight struggles and the conversations that the studio was having with my team about my weight. I haven't talked a lot about that, but I'll save it for the show, for this show, because I feel safe here. It's a flower that's really unfolding or blooming like a blooming onion from Outback or something.

You both carry different kinds of stardom — calm, consistent, culture-shifting. When did you first realize that “Living Single” wasn’t just a show, but a seed that planted something bigger in the culture?

Coles: I knew that we were going to be big in Black households, and I knew that the Latino community was going to come along for the ride. They kept telling us that we were a Black show. I'm standing in line at Bank of America in West Hollywood, and a little Jewish man came up and grabbed my arm and told me how much he loved the show. That was when the show had far-reaching possibilities. You know Black folks will say, “Hey Synclaire,” but it’s the Armenians and the Puerto Ricans too — it's everyone that the show can relate to beyond color.

Podcasts are everywhere now. What’s one thing about podcasting culture you absolutely hate and swear will never happen on “ReLiving Single”?

Alexander: I can tell you that we are a guided ride, that it is intentional, and that I don't think that you'll hear us rambling or not knowing what we're going to talk about. We show up prepared because I think that's who we are. We're people who are often told what to do, and it's a part of me that feels comfortable in that space, having a conversation that is fluid. We know we want to deliver a certain experience to the viewer and to the listener because your time is valuable. So, I'd like to say that one thing we will never do is waste your time.

You’ve worked with John Henton in different eras on “One on One” and “Living Single.” What’s one thing about his comedy or energy that people totally miss or never give him flowers for?

Coles: Eunetta T. Boone came out of working on “Living Single” as she was a mentee of Yvette Lee Bowser, so that’s how I was hired on “One on One.” We would keep it in the family, so that needs to be said. The thing that people don't know about John or may not know about John is that John is a student of comedy. He's a student of film. He's an avid reader. When you work with him, he's bringing with him every funny movie, every funny actor, every stand up that ever was, every great writer, every nuance in comedy, every nuance in film. He brings this encyclopedic knowledge of comedy with him and that lives in him. You will always be surprised and delighted if you see John Henton on film. He’s incredible.

In one episode, Erika, you mentioned questioning your choices at times. What’s one moment in your career that made you question everything, and how did the answer eventually find you?

Alexander: That's a deep question. You’re going deep, Ty. There's been a few. I'll tell you a story and I'll try to make it quick. After we did “Living Single,” I got hired to play in a miniseries called “Mama Flora's Family.” I played young Flora, and then the great Cicely Tyson played the more mature Mama Flora... They weren't going to pay me much, and I mean not much at all. I knew that because I knew what some of the other supporting players were getting. I was like, I'm playing the lead. I've got to not only have babies but suffer through slavery and all this other stuff on the series. The salary doesn't match the physicality, the work, the emotion, depth I have to go to. I said, “Thanks, but no thanks,” and I passed on it...

They ended up finding money and I ended up playing the role, but I showed up shattered emotionally and I had a mental breakdown on set, and no one knew about it except for hair and makeup, and they didn't even know what was going on. I just went cold out of my body and could not perform... I started crying and crying and crying.

The PA saw me, and... they're like, “Miss Tyson wants to see you.” And I know that, frankly, when your elder calls, you come. I [went] to her trailer, and I just collapsed on her feet, and she said, “Erika, breathe.” I'm breathing because that's all I can do. This is the great Cicely Tyson. It was also assuring me that I was still here in my body and that she was going to guide me out of that space and along the way.

When I am facing something that is overwhelming or frustrating, I go, “You don’t have to do anything, Erika, besides breathe...” I'm so glad that, that happened because at that time, not only was I questioning my choices, I did not think I could continue in acting. I thought I couldn’t continue acting as an actor. You couldn't have told me past that day that I would be an actor past that point. I also knew I was talented, but I did not think I had the mental stamina.

She came to my rescue, and she [still] comes to my rescue. I was talking to the great Whoopi Goldberg the other day, and she said, “Erika, just breathe.” And I said, “Where have I heard that before?” So, in this moment, Ty, I say to you and all these creators and people in this moment, the Black people, in this political moment, we don't have to do anything but breathe. That's what you're supposed to do.