American Fiction + Living Single

Alexander lays down the law in two of her most powerful, personal roles: as public defender and divorcée Coraline in American Fiction, and as high-powered attorney Maxine Shaw on Living Single.

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American Fiction (2023)
Dir. Cord Jefferson
117min, DCP
With Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross, John Ortiz

In his hilarious directorial debut, writer and director Cord Jefferson (Watchmen, Station Eleven, Succession) incisively confronts the culture’s obsession with reducing people to outrageous stereotypes. Tony and Emmy Award-winner Jeffrey Wright (Angels in America, Westworld, Basquiat) stars as Monk, a frustrated novelist who’s fed up with the establishment profiting from “Black” entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes. To prove his point, Monk uses a pen name to write an outlandish “Black” book of his own—a book that propels him to the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain. Featuring an outstanding performance from Wright, this whip-smart satire is a worthy adaptation of Percival Everett’s 2001 novel Erasure.

Living Single, Season 5, Episode 6: “Up the Ladder Through the Roof” (1997)
Dir. Ellen Gittelsohn
22min
With Queen Latifah, Kim Coles, Kim Fields, Erika Alexander, John Henton, Mel Jackson

Aired on Fox TV from 1993 to 1998, Living Single focused on the lives of six young, single professionals in Prospect Heights. In “Up the Ladder Through the Roof,” Synclaire (Kim Coles) and Overton (John Henton) get the gang singing and dancing with a pile of classic 60s records. Trying to get some work done, Khadijah (Queen Latifah) falls asleep in the hallway—and dreams she’s in an old-school vocal group. Funk icon Chaka Khan makes a memorable guest appearance as herself.

Erika Alexander will provide live commentary during the episode.