Tisha Campbell and Tichina Arnold say ‘Martin’ reboot won’t happen
Arnold said that some things are "best left alone"
During an interview on the Tamron Hall Show on Friday, actresses and friends Tisha Campbell and Tichina Arnold said that a Martin reboot is unlikely to happen.
“It’s something that we wanted to happen,” Arnold, 51, said. “It’s something that we tried very hard for it to happen, but the way it looks to me, realistically, it’s not going to happen. Not unless it’s an animation.”
Arnold, who played Campbell’s best friend Pam on the show, credited her for the idea of an animated re-imagining of the beloved sitcom.
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She continued, “I always say a show can never ever be rebooted without the original cast. Now, we may be able to have a rebirth, maybe. As far as a reboot, I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
“Or a reunion,” Campbell added.
Martin, which aired for five seasons from 1992 to 1997, centered around Detroit radio and TV personality Martin Payne, played by comedian Martin Lawrence. It followed his relationship with girlfriend Gina Waters, played by Campbell, and her best friend, and his friends Tommy and Cole, played by the late Thomas Mikal Ford, and Carl Anthony Payne II.
It remains one of the most beloved television sitcoms in Black culture with a devoted following even 24 years after leaving the air.
Arnold acknowledged the loss of cast member Ford, who died in 2016 at age 54, and said that a reboot wouldn’t be the same.
“Tommy is no longer with us. The show is never going to be the same. And some things are best left alone.”
In 2018, Martin, Campbell, and Lawrence were asked by TMZ if the sitcom would return to which the comedian and actor answered, “Never say never. We don’t know nothing right now but never say never.”
During a 2019 appearance on the Sister Circle, Payne said he spoke to Lawrence about doing a show that “won’t be a reboot” and said the original cast wishes to add on to the legacy rather than remake it.
“We all just collectively felt like it wouldn’t be the same without Tommy plus we don’t wanna mess up that legacy but we can create a new one,” he said.
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