After 30 Years, The Cast of Martin Is Back To Ask, “How Y’all Feel?” In Upcoming Reunion Special!
TheRoot.com, By Alexandra Jane, Posted March 21st 2022
The cast of Martin is officially back to say “wazzup, wazzup, wazzup!”
In a world of unwanted samples, reboots, and reunions, there’s one show the culture has actually been asking after for decades. After 30 years, the cast of Martin will be making a return to the small screen for a BET+ reunion special.
The show will be hosted by actor and comedian Affion Crockett, and will feature most of the stars from the original cast including; Martin Lawrence, (Martin), Tisha Campbell, (Gina) Tischina Arnold, (Pam), and Carl Anthony Payne II, (Cole). Unfortunately, Thomas Mikal Ford who played “you ain’t got no job,” Tommy, passed away in 2016.
“To be able to sit here thirty years later with this amazing cast that has had such an impact on pop culture is truly a blessing,” Lawrence says. “I am always humbled that the fans still want more of the show and its characters.”
Although producers have hinted at there being additional “special guests” to make an appearance, fans are wondering if they will include other characters also played by Lawrence on the 90s sitcom classic. I mean who could forget snotty Roscoe, Jerome, the original playa from the Himalayas, or Sheneneh who was forever beefing with Gina and Pam?
As for Martin’s core cast of characters, well there was quite the real life beef that took place behind the cameras as well. Similar to the Fresh Prince of Bel Air reunion that aired in 2021, it’s nearly impossible to reunite a cast with any amount of emotional baggage without addressing the elephants in the room. If you recall, one of the biggest points of contention among the Fresh Prince cast was between Smith himself, and Janet Hubert who played Aunt Viv. The two were fortunately able to reconcile during the special after years of public feuding.
In the case of the Martin crew, a reconciliation between Lawrence and Tisha Campbell apparently took place off air, after Cambell sued Lawrence for “repeated and escalating sexual harassment, sexual battery, verbal abuse and related threats” in 1997 according to PEOPLE.
“I took a day, and I said, ‘I’m just gonna hit him up.’ So I hit [Lawrence] up. He called me within a minute … he was like, ‘Don’t read into what it is, there’s a lot of people that’s trying to bring up the past, and trying to make it news today. But, you know T, we’re good. I love you, I love your family,’” Campbell told PEOPLE in 2020.
There is no word on whether or not the famed tv couple will address the situation on the BET+ special.
“Martin is one of the most beloved sitcoms in our community, both because it is hugely entertaining and because it played a pivotal role in changing the narrative of Black voices in entertainment and in culture through the portrayal of young, ambitious Black leads and healthy Black relationships,” said Scott Mills, CEO of BET.
“Decades later, that representation is still just as important, which is why we’re so excited to honor a series that put Black culture front and center on our platform that embraces Black culture everyday.”
While no official date has been announced for the airing later this year, the reunion is set to tape on Sunday, February 20th. In the meantime, you can get your Martin fix with all five seasons of the show currently streaming on BET+.
