Tommy Davidson Is Back as Varnell Hill in Paramount+’s First Martin Spinoff Trailer

Did ya miss him?

Nearly three decades after Varnell Hill strutted onto Martin, hijacked the spotlight and left behind a character fans somehow never forgot, Tommy Davidson is officially putting the suit back on. Paramount+ has released the trailer for The Varnell Hill Show, the long awaited Martin spinoff premiering Tuesday, September 1, and Varnell is still completely convinced that he is the most important person in any room he enters.

Honestly, would we want him any other way?

The eight episode, half hour comedy takes the wonderfully egotistical talk show host and builds an entire workplace sitcom around him. Instead of simply recreating Varnell's memorable Martin appearance, the new series imagines what happened after he left Detroit and continued building his career. Decades later, The Varnell Hill Show is still on the air, but staying relevant in an entertainment industry that has changed dramatically around its host is becoming a job all by itself.

The newly released trailer gives fans their best look yet at that struggle, with Varnell juggling network executives, celebrity guests, family problems and a writers' room tasked with keeping his late night institution alive. Through all of it, Varnell remains remarkably confident that everyone else is the problem. That sounds about right.

Varnell Hill Has a Whole New Crew to Drive Crazy

Davidson leads a cast filled with comedy veterans, including Kym Whitley and Wendy Raquel Robinson, alongside Nick Cafero, Emmanuel Hudson and Chris Williams. The series is also bringing in an impressive collection of guest stars, with Ms. Pat, Deon Cole, Damon Wayans, Mike Epps and Omarion among the familiar faces scheduled to appear.

Most importantly for longtime Martin fans, Martin Lawrence will make special appearances, bringing the two comedians back into the same television universe that introduced Varnell all those years ago. Lawrence also serves as an executive producer alongside Davidson, while Martin executive producer Bentley Kyle Evans returns as showrunner, writer and director.

That connection matters because The Varnell Hill Show isn't simply borrowing the name of an old character and hoping nostalgia does the rest of the work. There is real Martin DNA behind the project, but the premise allows Varnell to exist in a completely different kind of comedy. The series mixes workplace humor with entertainment industry satire, cutaways and fourth wall breaks as the people surrounding Varnell desperately attempt to keep both the show and its host under control.

Good luck to them.

Nearly 30 Years Later, Varnell Finally Gets His Show

The funniest thing about this spinoff existing at all is that Varnell Hill was originally a guest character. Davidson appeared as the flashy talk show host during Martin's second season, and somehow one episode created enough of an impression that people were still quoting the character decades later.

Now Paramount+ is betting that affection can support an entire series, while giving Davidson an opportunity to explore who Varnell became after that unforgettable introduction. The idea of an aging television personality fighting to maintain his relevance also gives the show something current to play with beyond pure nostalgia. Late night television has changed, audiences have changed and the entertainment business certainly has changed, but Varnell's ego apparently survived every industry transition without a scratch.

For Martin fans who have spent nearly 30 years wondering whether Varnell would ever return, the wait is almost over. The man finally has his own show, and judging by the trailer, he still expects everybody to act accordingly.

The Varnell Hill Show premieres Tuesday, September 1 exclusively on Paramount+.