EXCLUSIVE: Comedy veteran Kym Whitley has been cast as a series regular opposite Tommy Davidson in the upcoming BET+ series The Varnell Hill Show, a spinoff from Martin Lawrence’s hit 1990s sitcom Martin.
The eight-episode multi-camera workplace comedy is set behind the scenes of the long-running late-night talk show, The Varnell Hill Show. Delving into the chaotic world of television production, the series explores Varnell’s journey to remain relevant in an ever-evolving industry and the corporate dynamics of network executives, business stakeholders and creative teams involved in the making of the show.
Davidson plays the titular Varnell Hill, reprising the beloved character he played as a guest star on Martin. Whitley will play Kim Jones, Varnell’s (Davidson) longtime assistant, emotional bodyguard, professional fixer, and the talk show’s unofficial executive producer.
Varnell Hill is co-created and executive produced by Martin co-creator, star and executive producer Lawrence and Martin executive producer/showrunner Bentley Evans with Evans, who wrote the pilot and will direct, serving as showrunner. He will executive produce Varnell Hill via his Bentley Evans Productions alongside Martin Lawrence, Stacy Lyles, Robert Lawrence and Rae Proctor of Runteldat Entertainment and Jesse Collins, Dionne Harmon and Andy Horne.
Lawrence is poised to reprise his Martin Payne role in multiple episodes of the series, which has started production in Los Angeles.
Whitley can be seen in Netflix’s Happy Gilmore 2. Her other credits include the movies You People, Hubie Halloween and The Weekend and series Loot, The Upshaws, Twenties, The Bay and The Neighborhood. She is repped by Innovative Artists, Vault Entertainment and Fox Rothchild.
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