Nearly three decades after audiences first fell in love with him on the hit sitcom Martin, the iconic Varnell Hill is finally making his return to television. Premiering September 1 exclusively on Paramount+, The Varnell Hill Show sees legendary comedian Tommy Davidson reprise his beloved character in a dynamic new workplace comedy.

Starring and executive produced by Davidson, the series mixes the chaotic backstage realities of a long-running late-night talk show with front-row access to the broadcast itself. Viewers aren’t just watching the behind-the-scenes madness, they also get to see The Varnell Hill Show as if it were airing live on television, complete with real musical performances and celebrity interviews.

The show uses a mockumentary-style format, in which characters break the fourth wall to deliver confessional conversations directly to the camera, revealing the raw friction, fragile egos, and hilarity driving the production.

The narrative picks up with Varnell navigating an ever-shifting entertainment landscape. Trapped between network executives eager to modernize, a chaotic writers’ room, family drama, celebrity guests, and his own legendary ego, Varnell quickly realizes that holding onto a TV empire is even tougher than building one.

Supported by a hilarious main cast, including Kym Whitley, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Nick Cafero, Chris Williams, and Emmanuel Hudson, and feature appearances from stars like Martin Lawrence, Doug E. Fresh, Kirk Franklin, Damon Wayans, and Omarion.

The idea for the show can be traced back to a single conversation with Kid, of the hip-hop duo Kid ‘n Play, who pointed out to Davidson that late night was missing genuine live performances and suggested he revive Varnell as the host of a full talk show built to welcome anyone. That one phone call, paired with Davidson and Martin Lawrence’s decades-long friendship and nearly identical career arcs from stand-up to television to producing, set the seven-year journey to bring The Varnell Hill Show to life into motion.

QG sat down with Tommy Davidson to discuss bringing Varnell Hill into the modern era, the seven-year journey to bring the project to life, and what it was like assembling a legendary room of talent.

How long have you been working on this show? Was this a matter of finding the right time, or is it something you’ve always wanted to bring out?

Tommy Davidson: It took us seven years to do it. Me and Martin [Lawrence] both came from Washington, D.C. to Hollywood at the same time. So this happened 30 years later. We were both on the same trajectory, from stand-up to TV, from TV to movies, from movies to producing. Varnell is a combination of both of our careers and where we are right now and our capabilities. So if you’re going to take two producers to do a show like this, we’d be the perfect ones, and we’d be the perfect stars to do our own thing. It’s a natural thing, and so this became natural, but kind of unnatural too, because it took seven years to do. It was one phone call from Kid, from Kid ‘n Play, who said, “Hey, there’s no good live performances on late night, why don’t you call Martin and ask if you can take that character, Varnell, and do a late night talk show, man, because you can have everybody on it.” And it worked. He was right. And me and Martin did their first music video. So that’s how they know us. So we get to bring the ’90s into now and then now into the future. What show will do that?

When it came to picking those guest stars like Doug E. Fresh and Kirk Franklin, was it intentional to bring all these specific aspects of industry and life together at once?

Tommy Davidson: Heck yeah, that was the idea. If we’re all floating in the ocean and a raft comes by, we got some good chances of surviving if we all grab it at once. It really was about coming up with something really unique and hoping they pick it up, you know what I’m saying? We can do good in Pop Warner, and then be JV, and then go to Senior, and then go to the Combine. And then in that process, maybe go to the pros. And it all comes with work on every stage.

In watching the show, a lot of series try too hard to be modern with forced slang, but here it felt like older generations authentically navigating new technology. How did you make sure the dialogue stayed real and avoided feeling cheesy?

Tommy Davidson: It was just the timing of the show. We didn’t really have to work that hard because we’re in that mode where we’re making up for lost time. While we were working, technology, the cell phone, social media, was evolving, and in our children, it was already in them. So we had to complete the circle ourselves and accept that, accept that that’s a fact. If you want to get exposure, you’re not going to be able to go to the comedy club only. It’s going to have to be put through that system, because that’s how people communicate now. There’s a lot of acceptance that had to happen on that show in order for that show to happen. That’s why the writing room is important, because it’s the think tank of the future and the past. So everything had to be based on that. It’s a lot in one room; it’s everything that’s come to now and everything that’s happening in the future. We got that kind of elasticity where other stars can come in and fit into the storyline, and for artists to come in and turn it out, just like they did with In Living Color, with Martin, with D-Nice, Amoré on it.

The Varnell Hill Show premieres with two episodes on September 1 on Paramount+. New episodes will air every Tuesday. Check out the full interview.

Photo Credit: Paramount+