‘Poppa’s House’: First Look at Marlon Wayans’ Episode With Essence Atkins Reunion (PHOTO)
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Marlon Wayans is coming to Poppa’s House. The White Chicks alum is guest starring alongside his brother, Damon Wayans, and nephew, Damon Wayans Jr., in the March 24 episode of the CBS sitcom, and it’s a found family reunion for him as well as he shares the screen once more with Marlon‘s Essence Atkins, his longtime friend and frequent costar. TV Insider is debuting the exclusive first look at Marlon in the episode.
Marlon plays the “rambunctious” Melvin in the installment, which will see him arrive to Poppa’s (Wayans Sr.) looking for investors in his latest business scheme. Poppa warns Junior (Wayans Jr.) not to get involved, as Melvin’s always been a scammer, but Junior must learn the hard way. Melvin’s not all smoke and mirrors, though. He shares a sweet bond with his brother and nephew, much like their real-life relationships.
The Wayans Bros. star tells TV Insider that he pitched this character to his big bro himself. He told the In Living Color alum, “‘I want to come on your show and have some fun!'” whether that be “punching up scripts” or acting. When Damon asked, “Do you have any ideas?” Marlon says he replied, “Everybody Loves Melvin.” Damon instantly liked the pitch, wrote it up, and the rest will be seen on CBS. “It was just that simple,” Marlon tells us.
See Marlon with his nephew, Atkins, and Tetona Jackson (Nina) in the photo below.
Sonja Flemming / CBS
Like Damon and Junior’s characters, the essence of Marlon is baked into Melvin. They’re both “the little brother that’s not trusted” because no one knows “what the hell [they’re] going to do” next, the Scary Movie alum jokes.
Melvin will be intrigued by Atkins’ Ivy, who may be starting to have feelings for Poppa, her podcast cohost. Marlon shares what it was like to costar with Atkins again, saying that Atkins and his sister, Kim Wayans (writer, director, and executive producer of Poppa’s House), are “two of the most underrated artists and actresses in Hollywood.”
Atkins is “like family,” Marlon shares. “She makes everybody on a set feel great. And she’s just really good when you improvise. She knows how to listen and then come with something that’s going to elevate the joke. Her reactions are always right. She never takes away from what you’re trying to do.” He reveals that he told Damon that he would “love” Atkins immediately when Poppa’s House was casting.
“I was like, trust me, when she comes in, you’re going to meet with her and you’re going to be like, I love her. And you’re going to be like, Marlon was right, except you won’t say Marlon was right, because I’m your baby brother. You’re going to say, ‘Ugly had a good thought.’ That’s his nickname for me.”
Atkins shares on-set stories of watching Damon and Marlon work.
“I had such a good time. It was interesting though, to be between the two of them,” she tells TV Insider. “They’re almost 12 years apart [in age]. Damon’s one of the oldest of the 10 [Wayans siblings]. Marlon is the baby. And you definitely see that dynamic, especially since Kim directed his episode. The sibling dynamic was hilarious to me. But one of the things that I found to be a high compliment from Damon, actually, was he said, ‘You understand him really well.’ And I was like, exactly. It’s part of the reason why I’ve worked with him on so many projects. I mean, up until Poppa’s House, I’ve worked with Marlon five times.”
Make that six!
Poppa’s House, Mondays, 8:30/7:30c, CBS
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