Living Single
To Catch a Thief
TV Flash files “To Catch a Thief” as hour 117 of 118 in the TV Flash guide — Living Single (1993–1998) on Fox, season 5, episode 12, aired 1998-01-01.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S05E12: listed hour 117 of 118 in the Living Single guide, hour 12 of 13 in season 5. It aired 1998-01-01. The listed hour before it is “In Your Dreams” (S05E11). Next is “Let's Stay Together” (S05E13).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Synclaire's embittered colleague Marco steals her act and uses it in his one-man show. Synclaire is furious, but agrees to back off after learning that he needs money to pay his child support. Phil, the head of the Gotham Players, informs Synclaire that Marco has no children; and collects substantial alimony payments from his ex-wife, Joyce DeWitt of TV's Three's Company. Synclaire and Overton bring Joyce to one of Marco's performances, where she rips up their alimony agreement because he failed to report income. When Marco begins to bomb, Synclaire takes the stage to help him out. She catches the eye of Tony Jonas, president of Warner Brothers Television, who offers her the chance to audition for the role of a renegade nun in a new series. Max reveals that she has become pregnant through a sperm donor. Khadijah chastises her for behaving so impulsively, but agrees to support her. She remarks that the child might force Max to grow up. Roni and Tripp flirt shamelessly during a game of Monopoly, and while walking Max's new--and uncontrollable--dog.Music:"What the World Needs Now Is Love" (Jackie DeShannon), performed by Kim Coles and Sam McMurray
Viewer FAQ
Where does To Catch a Thief sit in the Living Single guide?
S05E12 is listed hour 117 of 118 — hour 12 of 13 in season 5, season 5 episode 12.
When did Living Single S05E12 air?
To Catch a Thief aired 1998-01-01.
Is this "the Black Friends"?
That comparison is the discourse, not the origin story. Bowser's brownstone ensemble premiered in 1993 and treated Black professional friendship as default sitcom physics.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Four women, a Brooklyn brownstone, and sitcom chemistry that never needed a Central Perk comparison to land. Queen Latifah’s magazine hustle, Kim Coles’s comic spark, and an ensemble that treated Black urban friendship as default, not special episode. The friend-com with better clothes, sharper mouths, and a legacy still arguing in group chats.
Flash: four women, a Brooklyn brownstone, and a group chat that still thinks *Friends* stole the furniture. Yvette Lee Bowser's Fox sitcom (1993–1998) put Queen Latifah's magazine hustle at the center of a Black professional twenty-something ensemble and treated urban friendship as default, not a special episode. Someone's publicist will call the comparison a compliment. **It is the discourse, not the origin story.** Bowser's room premiered in 1993. The other couch can wait in the lobby.
Filed against
- Queen Latifah as Khadijah James
Queen Latifah played Khadijah James on Living Single, the 1990s Brooklyn brownstone friend-com of four women and sitcom chemistry that never needed a Central Perk comparison to land. Magazine hustle, Kim Coles’s comic spark, an ensemble…
- Kim Coles as Synclaire James
Kim Coles's Synclaire James sparked Living Single from a Brooklyn brownstone — four women, sitcom chemistry that never needed a Central Perk comparison, Queen Latifah's magazine hustle, Black urban friendship as default. TV Flash files…
- Erika Alexander as Maxine Shaw
Erika Alexander made Maxine Shaw Living Single's sharpest brief — Brooklyn brownstone, four women, Black urban friendship as default, not a special episode. Queen Latifah's magazine hustle had a lawyer who would not soften the joke. TV…
- Kim Fields as Regine Hunter
Kim Fields grew up on camera as Tootie Ramsey on The Facts of Life — roller skates, Eastland wing, very special episodes as a feature — then walked into Living Single’s Brooklyn brownstone as grown sitcom chemistry. Girls-lead multi-cam,…
- John Henton as Overton Wakefield Jones
John Henton’s Overton Wakefield Jones gave Living Single its super’s heart — four women, a Brooklyn brownstone, Queen Latifah’s magazine hustle, Kim Coles’s comic spark, an ensemble that treated Black urban friendship as default.…
- T.C. Carson as Kyle Barker
T.C. Carson charmed Living Single as Kyle Barker — four women, a Brooklyn brownstone, sitcom chemistry that never needed a Central Perk comparison to land. Black urban friendship as default, not special episode. TV Flash files him as…