Sha-boing-boing, Baby! Nostalgic Martin Spinoff Is Finally Here

Dammmmmnnn, it took a long time to get here!

Martin is easily one of the greatest sitcoms, let alone Black sitcoms of its time, and it’s such a cultural staple that it still resonates some 30 years later.

In many ways, it’s the blueprint, which is why viewers were stoked to learn that The Varnell Show, a sitcom that would follow Tommy Davidson’s iconic character, would get its own series in the 21st century.

If CBS is leaning into procedurals and everything that still speaks to its core demographic in the broadcast world, then Paramount+ is definitely leaning into some of its nostalgia.

And it also has an impressive slate of series centering Black stories, whether it’s the delightfully endearing Diarra in Detroit or the ridiculously grim and action-packed Average Joe.

This Martin-spinoff landing on Paramount+ is exciting and also lends itself to the desired tone that can match just what Martin was doing on HBO in the ’90s.

The Varnell Hill Show will make its official debut on the streamer this Fall, and unlike most of the frustratingly delayed slate of series that results in shows getting pushed back into October, we’ll get to see the first two episodes of The Varnell Show on September 1.

Yes, that’s like, right around the corner, and it’s exciting to get a taste of Fall programming this early on.

The series will blessedly be a weekly drop that airs new episodes every Tuesday right up until October 13, which means Paramount+ isn’t fumbling a good thing by dropping every episode at once in a binge and leaving the return of an iconic character disappearing from watercooler conversations in a week.

Good television is something worth savoring, and dipping into the nostalgia pond to bring back two comedic legends in Martin Lawrence, who executive produces, and Tommy Davidson is certainly worth savoring.

The series will follow Davidson’s Varnell Hill as he struggles to stay relevant behind the scenes of a late-night talk show in this era wherein those are dying off.

The industry is constantly changing. We at TV Fanatic know the painful reality of that truth all too well.

Within this series, we’ll see a veteran like Varnell pushing back and trying to make sense of the entertainment industry he’s navigated for decades.

He has network executives eager to modernize the show, a chaotic writers’ room, celebrity guests, family drama, and we’ll see him obviously grappling with that sizable ego of his, too.

The tagline teases that Varnell will soon figure out that the only thing more difficult than building a television empire is keeping it together.

And the cast feels like it’ll perfectly pay homage to comedic geniuses, which is already promising.

Accompanying Tommy Davidson, we have Kym Whitley, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Nick Cafero, Emmanuel Hudson and Chris Williams as series regulars.

And the guest stars include Ms. Pat, Deon Cole, Damon Wayans, Mike Epps, Omarion and Martin Lawrence.

It’s a formula that should most certainly work and maybe find a way to recapture the magic of what Martin itself did as far as having its finger on the pulse of pop, namely Black culture — or hell, creating the culture.

We shall see. And we have some excited people who will be providing more coverage, so if you’re tuning into this, let us know below!

The Varnell Hill Show premieres on September 1 on Paramount+.