Wazzup, wazzup, wazzup!
Martin Lawrence reunited with his former Martin costars Tisha Campbell, Carl Anthony Payne II, and Tichina Arnold at the 2024 Emmy Awards on Monday night, appearing in a replica of the sitcom’s living room set at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles to present the nominees for Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.
In the segment, Payne was under the impression that Martin would at long last receive the Emmy it deserves. “A matter a fact, I’ve got my speech on deck, too,” he said.
“No, no Carl — we’re not winning an Emmy tonight. Please sit your butt down,” Campbell interjected. Arnold clarified, “We’re presenting an award not being presented with one, knucklehead.”
But, of course, Payne wasn’t wrong — “we should’ve won an Emmy during our run,” Campbell added.
When host Anthony Anderson informed the cast that they weren’t, in fact, receiving their Emmys tonight despite their contributions to television, Lawrence said, “It’s all good. I’m just excited to be here on the Emmys stage.” The dynamic foursome then presented the win to The Bear‘s Jeremy Allen White.
The cast of the beloved sitcom, which aired between 1992 and 1997 on Fox, were among many of the special cast reunions of the night, including that of Cheers, Ally McBeal, The Sopranos, and All in the Family. “It was really about, how can we celebrate 75 years of television differently?” Emmys executive producer Jesse Collins told Associated Press ahead of the big show.
“The core of it is really celebrating television and to honor the shows of yesterday while we honor the shows of today,” co-executive producer Dionne Harmon added.
Martin starred Lawrence as Martin Payne, a wisecracking radio disc jockey working in the city of Detroit. His orbit is populated by his no-nonsense girlfriend and eventual wife Gina Waters (Campbell), who works for a public relations firm alongside her bestie Pamela James (Arnold); Payne II played Cole Brown, one of Martin’s best friends since childhood.
Lawrence last reunited with the cast in 2022 for a BET+ special in celebration of the sitcom’s 30th anniversary. Affion Crockett hosted the special, which also brought the stars back to the iconic and colorful living room from the series to look back at the most memorable moments and pay tribute to late costar Tommy Ford, who died in 2016 at the age of 52. The special featured star-studded cameos from Snoop Dogg, Brian McKnight, and Tracy Morgan, among others.
