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American television sitcom (1992–1997) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Martin is an American television sitcom that aired for five seasons on HBO 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 HBO's highest-rated shows during the sitcom's run. In 2024, the cast reunited at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards.[1]
Martin | |
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Genre | Sitcom |
Created by | John Bowman Martin Lawrence Topper Carew |
Starring | |
Theme music composer | Steve Keitt for Kid Entertainment, Inc. Joey Kibble II Mark Kibble Paul Wright III |
Composers | Bill Maxwell (season 2-5) Greg Poree Paul Jackson Jr. (season 1) |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 5 |
No. of episodes | 132 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers | John Bowman Topper Carew Martin Lawrence Bentley Kyle Evans Billy Van Zandt Jane Milmore Samm-Art Williams |
Producers | Walter Barnett Terry Crotzer Mark J. Greenberg Cheryl Holliday Bennie R. Richburg, Jr. Robert Lawrence |
Production locations | Universal City Studios, Universal City, California |
Cinematography | William Updegraff Gary W. Scott Alan Walker |
Camera setup | Multi-camera |
Running time | 22–24 minutes |
Production companies | You Go Boy! Productions (1994-1997) (seasons 3-5) HBO Independent Productions |
Original release | |
Network | HBO |
Release | August 27, 1992 – May 1, 1997 |
Season | Timeslot |
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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 |
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]
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]
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 |
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.
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 |
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]
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