Martin Lawrence will soon bring the beloved character of Martin Payne back to television.
According to Deadline, the actor-comedian and his production company, RunTelDat Entertainment, will co-produce the upcoming hour-long drama series Young Martin with Marvin Peart‘s WonderHill Studios. The show, which doesn't yet have a scheduled premiere date, will follow a teenage Payne who's "navigating the complexities of transitioning from youth to adulthood" while in Detroit. Lawrence played the original (and adult) version of the character from 1992-1997 on former FOX sitcom Martin.
"Out of all the hit shows during the 90’s, there was only one Martin — a show that defined culture and positivity. Martin reflected a real group of friends from our community that wound up on TV screens all over the world,” WonderHill CEO Marvin Peart stated. "I respected and revered Martin Lawrence for creating Martin Payne and what he did for African Americans on television in front and behind the camera. In many ways, he influenced my path in the entertainment industry and it’s an honor to partner with Martin and his younger self and share him with the next generation of fans."
Martin nostalgia hit the 75th Emmy Awards stage in January, when the show's original main cast, excluding the late Thomas Mikal Ford, did an onstage segment.
It's possible that Lawrence ideated the show with advice from his Bad Boys co-star Will Smith, as the Oscar-winning actor is co-producer of Peacock drama series Bel-Air. The show is a reimagination of the former 1990s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which Smith starred in as the titular character.