The Varnell Hill Show Is Fighting Back Against TikTok Culture – And It Just Might Work

How do you create a spinoff for a series 30 years later?

That’s the first question that came to mind when I first heard about the Martin spinoff, which would focus exclusively on a notable character: Varnell Hill.

And I can be the first to say I had my doubts, but then the trailer reveals an angle that feels more prescient and relatable than ever: trying to adapt to an evolving industry on the cusp of becoming obsolete.

And isn’t that something that we can all relate to?

Even here at TV Fanatic, we’re navigating an always-changing industry where what we do starts taking a backseat to bite-sized clips on an app that appeal to the populace’s rapidly decreasing attention spans.

The Varnell Hill Show knows it’s coming decades late, and instead of playing from behind, it intends to tackle that head-on. That may be its biggest strength.

Instead of simply trying to pick up where things left off, it’s taking on the tumultuous space of uncertainty in the talk show industry, and it puts a man who has been in the business for decades in the driver’s seat, trying to figure out how to stay “relevant.”

And nothing is more relevant than the constant desire we have to remain that way.

It places Varnell Hill as a Gen X-er, a generation infamous for being overlooked and ignored in the first place, stubbornly trying to navigate being himself unapologetically and doing what he does well while being dragged into the times.

Can he adapt to bullcrap like TikTok culture and revamp and rehabilitate his image to appeal to those younger than him? Sure, maybe, but Varnell Hill doesn’t damn want to, and that’s where the humor of this story lies.

He’s in a precarious place in the television world, a legend in his own right, trying to understand why the current era can’t simply respect its legends.

He doesn’t want to bend, which makes it harder on his new executive producer, Rachel Perkins, played by Wendy Raquel Robinson.

She can admit he’s an icon and is willing to give him his flowers, but that comes with a healthy dose of telling him he’s stuck in the past, his show is too dated, and the ratings are down.

But there’s something to be said for Varnell wanting to celebrate his icon status by being unabashedly himself, clashing with a business plan that would involve chasing new audiences that probably won’t even stick around.

That’s where the pointed pushback on TikTok culture is so interesting. Ironically, the culture itself thrives on taking everything old and making it new again, with younger demographics exposing themselves to nostalgic content because what’s current doesn’t always satisfy them.

There’s an avenue for The Varnell Hill Show to explore the deep irony in all of that—in an industry that’s telling him he needs to evolve and change to stay relevant and appeal to an audience that will likely flock to him precisely because he refuses to do so.

Authenticity. That’s where it feels like The Varnell Hill Show went from a concept that was potentially three decades too late to one that’s arriving just in time.

And that nostalgic factor is also why the series is operating as a showcase for Black comedic icons themselves. Obviously, Tommy Lee Davidson is running point on that front, with Martin Lawrence, who executive produces it, also appearing.

The trailer alone teases appearances by Mike Epps, Ms. Pat, Deon Cole, and Damon Wayans, to name a few.

It’s a celebration of how, when you’re iconic in your own right, you create the culture and trends; you don’t chase after them.

At its core, The Varnell Hill Show potentially addresses something head-on: that even TikTok culture, everything that his industry is pushing him to adapt to, is molding itself after his culture, Black Culture, Gen-X culture.

Why do you need to adapt to something when you’re the freaking blueprint?

But that’s my takeaway from the trailer. I’d love you to check it out and tell me how you feel!

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