Martin is an American television sitcom that aired for five seasons on Fox from August 27, 1992, to May 1, 1997. The show stars comedian Martin Lawrence as the titular character. Lawrence also played several other characters. Martin was one of Fox's highest-rated shows during the sitcom's run. In 2024, the cast reunited at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards.[1]

Martin
GenreSitcom
Created byJohn Bowman
Martin Lawrence
Topper Carew
Starring
Theme music composerSteve Keitt for Kid Entertainment, Inc.
Joey Kibble II
Mark Kibble
Paul Wright III
ComposersBill Maxwell
(season 2-5)
Greg Poree
Paul Jackson Jr.
(season 1)
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes132 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersJohn Bowman
Topper Carew
Martin Lawrence
Bentley Kyle Evans
Billy Van Zandt
Jane Milmore
Samm-Art Williams
ProducersWalter Barnett
Terry Crotzer
Mark J. Greenberg
Cheryl Holliday
Bennie R. Richburg, Jr.
Robert Lawrence
Production locationsUniversal City Studios,
Universal City, California
CinematographyWilliam Updegraff
Gary W. Scott
Alan Walker
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time22–24 minutes
Production companiesYou Go Boy! Productions
(1994-1997)
(seasons 3-5)
HBO Independent Productions
Original release
NetworkFox
ReleaseAugust 27, 1992 (1992-08-27) –
May 1, 1997 (1997-05-01)

Broadcast history

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Season Timeslot
1992–93 (season 1) Thursday at 8:30–9:00 pm
1993–94 (season 2) Sunday at 8:00–8:30 pm
1994–95 (season 3) Thursday at 8:00–8:30 pm
1995–96 (season 4) Saturday at 8:00–8:30 pm (September 9, 1995 – October 28, 1995)
Sunday at 8:30–9:00 pm (November 5, 1995 – February 4, 1996; February 18 – 25, 1996)
Thursday at 8:30–9:00 pm (February 8 – 15, 1996; February 29 – May 2, 1996)
1996–97 (season 5) Thursday at 8:00–8:30 pm

Episodes

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SeasonEpisodesOriginally airedRankAverage viewers
(in millions)
First airedLast aired
127August 27, 1992 (1992-08-27)May 13, 1993 (1993-05-13)#4111.40
227August 22, 1993 (1993-08-22)May 15, 1994 (1994-05-15)#649.29
327September 1, 1994 (1994-09-01)May 18, 1995 (1995-05-18)#928.11
427September 9, 1995 (1995-09-09)May 2, 1996 (1996-05-02)#1046.70
524September 5, 1996 (1996-09-05)May 1, 1997 (1997-05-01)#1106.00

Premise

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Martin Lawrence played the role of Martin Payne, originally a disc jockey who lived with his girlfriend Gina Waters (Tisha Campbell) in the city of Detroit, Michigan. Martin worked for the fictional radio station WZUP; in later seasons, he became the host of the talk show Word on the Street.[2]

Characters

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Main characters

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Supporting characters

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  • Reginald Ballard as Bruh-Man (Brother Man) (seasons 2–4)
  • Tracy Morgan as Hustle Man (seasons 3–5)
  • Jeri Gray as Ms. Geri
  • Maura McDade as Shanise McGillicuddy (season 5)
  • Sean Lampkin as Nipsey (seasons 3–5)

Recurring characters

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Other roles played by Lawrence

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  • Sheneneh Jenkins
  • Edna (Mama) Payne[5]
  • Ol' Otis (seasons 1-4)
  • Jerome (seasons 1-4)
  • Roscoe
  • Dragonfly Jones (seasons 1-3)
  • Bob (seasons 1-2)
  • King Beef (seasons 1-2)
  • Elroy Preston (seasons 2)

Lawsuit

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In November 1996, Campbell left the series during its final season, citing "intolerable" working conditions. She filed a lawsuit against Lawrence and the show's producers in January 1997 for sexual harassment and verbal and physical assaults.[6] The series explanation was that Gina was "out on business", though in the two-part episode "Going Overboard" it was stated that Gina had arrived too late to board the boat for the trip alongside everyone else.[7] By April 1997, Campbell had settled the lawsuit and returned for the last two episodes of the series under the condition that she would not share any scenes or interact with Lawrence.[8] Campbell and Lawrence have since reconciled, and repaired their relationship.[9]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Result Category Recipient
1993 People's Choice Awards Won Favorite TV New Comedy Series
1994 NAACP Image Awards Won Outstanding Comedy Series
1995 Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Martin Lawrence
Outstanding Comedy Series
1996 Nominated Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Marla Gibbs
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Carl Anthony Payne II
Thomas Mikal Ford
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Tisha Campbell-Martin
Outstanding Comedy Series
Won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Tichina Arnold
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Martin Lawrence
1997 Nominated Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Tisha Campbell-Martin
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Martin Lawrence
Outstanding Comedy Series
1995 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Nominated Favorite Television Show
Favorite Television Actor Martin Lawrence
1996 Favorite Television Actor Martin Lawrence

Syndication

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Martin went into second run syndication on August 8, 1995 through Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution; it airs multiple times a week on the networks of Paramount Global, including MTV2, VH1 and BET, with Max and Netflix also carrying the full run of the series.

Home media

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Besides being purchasable on most digital video retailers, HBO Home Video released all five seasons of Martin on DVD in Region 1.

DVD Name Ep # Release Date
The Complete First Season 27 January 4, 2007
The Complete Second Season 27 May 15, 2007
The Complete Third Season 27 November 6, 2007
The Complete Fourth Season 27 April 1, 2008
The Complete Fifth and Final Season 24 October 7, 2008
The Complete Series 132 February 4, 2020

Young Martin

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On July 11, 2024, an hourlong prequel series to Martin, titled Young Martin, was announced to be in development by Deadline Hollywood. The series is executive produced by Martin Lawrence, Rae Proctor, Robert Lawrence and Stacy Lyles from RunTelDat, with Bob Yari, David McPherson, Rosa Peart, Greg Martin for WonderHill Studios,

Young Martin follows a teenage Martin Payne residing in a modern-day Detroit finding his path to success as he transitions from childhood to adulthood and is described as both an origin story and a reimagining of the character.[10]

References

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  1. ^ Gajewski, Ryan (January 16, 2024). "'Ally McBeal,' 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'Martin' Casts Reunite for Emmys Ceremony". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  2. ^ "A Macho Image for a Sensitive Soul". The New York Times. November 3, 1992. Archived from the original on January 16, 2018. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  3. ^ "'Martin's' Wife Leaves Fox Series". Los Angeles Times. January 7, 1997. Archived from the original on October 24, 2014. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  4. ^ "'Martin,' Campbell reconcile". Variety. March 21, 1997. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  5. ^ "John Amos Says He Was Kicked off Good Times Because He Didn't Agree with the Shucking and Jiving". June 4, 2015. Archived from the original on July 25, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  6. ^ "Tisha Campbell Files Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Martin Lawrence". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. January 27, 1997.
  7. ^ "TV Notes". The New York Times. January 15, 1997. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  8. ^ "Martin Lawrence Ends Sitcom, 'Martin', In Fifth Season". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. April 28, 1997.
  9. ^ "Martin Lawrence and Tisha Campbell Say They're 'Good' Despite Harassment Lawsuit in the '90s". Peoplemag. Archived from the original on May 29, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  10. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (July 11, 2024). "'Martin' Prequel Drama Series In Works From Martin Lawrence, Bob Yari & WonderHill Studios". Deadline. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
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