Martin Lawrence Preparing ‘Young Martin’ Prequel

The dramatic series will take place in modern-day Detroit.

It looks like Martin Lawrence has taken a page out of his friend Will Smith’s book and will have a dramatic version of his hit show, Martin.

According to Deadline, Lawrence, along with his production company, RunTelDat, and Marvin Peart‘s WonderHill Studios will produce Young Martin, an hour-long drama. Martin, the beloved sitcom, aired on Fox from 1992 to 1997.

“Out of all the hit shows during the ’90s, there was only one Martin—a show that defined culture and positivity. Martin reflected a real group of friends from our community that wound up on TV screens all over the world,” WonderHill CEO Marvin Peart said in a written statement. “I respected and revered Martin Lawrence for creating Martin Payne and what he did for African Americans on television in front and behind the camera. In many ways, he influenced my path in the entertainment industry, and it’s an honor to partner with Martin and his younger self and share him with the next generation of fans.”

The series will be set in modern-day Detroit and will follow a young Martin Payne. The drama will showcase Payne as a spirited and charismatic teenager growing up as he transitions from a boy to the man we eventually saw on the sitcom starring Lawrence and his circle of friends.

The dramatization will be similar to how Smith presented his former half-hour sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, to its current version as an hour-long drama Bel-Air.

Young Martin will be executive produced by Lawrence, Rae Proctor, Robert Lawrence, and Stacy Lyles from RunTelDat, along with Peart, Bob Yari, David McPherson, Rosa Peart, and Greg Martin for WonderHill Studios.

Martin, co-created with John Bowman and Topper Carew, earned People’s Choice and NAACP Image awards during its run and established Lawrence as a star.