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Marlon and Shawn.

We're brothers!
We're happy and we're singing and we're colored!
* beat*
Gimme a high-five!
(Shawn and Marlon look at each other in disapproval
)
Director: Alright, cut and print. Beautiful, guys. Dyn-o-mite! That is...
(Marlon trashes the camera)
Opening theme

The Wayans Bros. is a sitcom that aired on The WB from 1995 to 1999, staring real life brothers Shawn and Marlon Wayans. The series premise is pretty simple: the two brothers live in a shared one-bedroom apartment in New York. Said apartment is above their father's restaurant, called "Pops' Joint", which the two would visit on occasion during Season 1.

In Season 2, Pops moves his restaurant to the Neidermeyer Building, where Shawn manages to acquire a newspaper stand and works alongside Marlon. The rest of the series takes place here. The newspaper stand comes with a security guard (Lou in the second season, Dee for the remainder of the show) who becomes a close friend of theirs. The boys also move into a brownstone which still had one bedroom.


This series provides examples of:

  • Acquired Situational Narcissism:
    • Even though he always have been a bit arrogant, it happens to Marlon who, after embarking on a successful tour with Keith Sweat, acts like a total dick until he screws up and the play is cancelled.
    • Shawn in the Season 1 episode "I'm Too Sexy for My Brother," in which he steals Marlon's thunder and becomes a model. Of course, Shawn's then-girlfriend Lisa calls him out at the end.
  • Actor Allusion:
  • Age-Inappropriate Dress: In "Hip-Hop Pops", Pops starts dressing and acting like someone in his 20s:
    Shawn: (to Pops) You look like the Grinch that stole hip-hop!
  • Amusing Injuries: Some of the cold opens in Season 1 have Marlon electrocuted from fixing a toaster, burned alive from trying to cook French fries and having his head explode from blowing up the hundredth balloon for a party. Shawn usually reacts nonchalantly about these situations.
  • Annoying Younger Sibling: Marlon is this towards Shawn.
  • Are You Pondering What I'm Pondering?: Frequently invoked before Shawn and Marlon set out on a scheme.
  • The Atoner: Marlon becomes this at the end of "Marlon's Return." After the play has a successful run across several cities, Marlon tries to take over the other actors' lines in a production in a local theater, and in frustration, they quit mid-show, causing the play to end its run. When Shawn states that it was Marlon's ego that shut the production down, Marlon responds that Shawn never had faith in him being an actor, to which Shawn shoots back that he gave the acting company the money he was going to invest in new newsstand so that Marlon could go on the road. At the end, Shawn and Pops find Marlon working as a pirate in a kid's birthday party, and when they ask why he lied about his new "acting gig," Marlon says he's trying to earn back the money Shawn spent on the play, and since he was a labeled difficult to work with, this is the only type of acting jobs he can take.
  • Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: If an episode consists of Shawn and Marlon butting heads, then it will usually end with them making up with brotherly love.
  • Bad "Bad Acting":
    • Shawn and Marlon do this when trying to lure a burglar back to their apartment to catch him.
    • They do it to sweet talk Pops to give his brother the loan:
  • Big Applesauce: The series takes place in New York.
  • Big Eater: Dupree and Dee.
  • Big "WHY?!": Used as a running gag whenever someone shouts out this verbatim when they think someone has died. The one who uses this the most is Marlon.
  • Blame the Paramour: Marlon's new girlfriend in "Pulp Marlon" turns out to be married. The husband is a rather large and violent fellow with a history of being a notorious hitman. The guy fully acknowledges that his wife keeps cheating on him, and he's devastated by that, but he takes it out as violently as possible on the unaware guys she fools around with.
  • Boxing Episode: Marlon fights Hot Pepper Lopez, who was played by real life boxer Héctor "Macho" Camacho.
  • Burger Fool: Shawn temporarily works at a fast food restaurant to keep up with the rent since the newsstand burns down and is in need of repairs. This becomes particularly embarrassing when an old teacher of his stops by with her class and doesn't believe him when he tries to explain why he's there.
  • Butt-Monkey: Just about all of the characters are this to some extent.
  • The Cameo: In the first episode, Garrett Morris appears As Himself and someone the brothers wanted to be celebrity spokesman for their new hair product. Morris refuses, both because of his standards and because Marlon essentially kidnapped him.
  • Captain Ersatz: Everybody Loves Everybody seems to be a blend of Friends and Everybody Loves Raymond.
  • Catchphrase:
  • Celebrity Lie: While Shawn and Marlon do know Busta Rhymes, the rapper doesn't like them because Shawn insulted his girlfriend when they were kids. The brothers trick him into performing in a benefit to save Dee's church from foreclosure.
  • Celebrity Star: Including R&B singer Keith Sweat, En Vogue, Erik Estrada and Jerry Springer.
  • Christmas Episode: Santa Claus holds the gang at gunpoint because they lacked the Christmas Spirit.
  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Lou, Monique, White Mike, Dupree, T.C. and Pop's cook Bennie/Hop Sing.
  • Citizenship Marriage: Shawn in one episode.
  • Clip Show: The 100th episode "Three on a Couch."
  • Continuity Nod:
    • A Season 2 episode has Pops mention that a Cajun restaurant ran by a rival cook named Rick had opened up across the street. This would be a plot point in the Season 5 episode "Romeo & Jeleta" where Shawn dates the rival's daughter.
    • The aforementioned "Three on a Couch" is filled to the brim with these.
  • Cool Old Lady: Grandma Ellington.
  • Courtroom Episode: Marlon sues Shawn. Hilarity Ensues.
  • The Ditz: Marlon is this most of the time.
  • "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune: The theme for the last two seasons was produced by Shawn and Marlon themselves, with help from Omar Epps.
  • Don't Make Me Take My Belt Off!: Pops says this when he gets mad at Shawn and Marlon.
  • Double Standard: Pointed out by Marlon in "Ho's on First," in which he dates a girl who, as the title suggests, really got around. He realizes how he and Shawn have dated a bunch of girls in their day and they never got called on it just because they're guys. He still loves her no matter what and sees that it's in the past, but his suspicions get the best of him and they break up.
  • Embarrassing First Name: It's revealed in one episode that T.C.'s actual name is Thelonius Capricornio.
  • Everyone Has Standards: Despite favoring Shawn, Pops never hesitates to call him out for his antics or to encourage him to be more supportive of Marlon.
  • Fake Band: Pops was once the lead singer of The Temptones. Their hit? "When My Love Goes Bang, Bang, Bang."
  • Fallen-on-Hard-Times Job:
    • At the end of "Marlon's Return," Shawn and Pops find Marlon working as a pirate for a kid's birthday party. When they confront him about having lied about his new acting job, first Marlon says he's willing to do what he can to pay back the money Shawn wanted to invest in second newsstand that he gave the acting company to take the play on the road. Second, after his disastrous attempted take over of the play in the final function, due to his massive ego, he was labeled a difficult actor, and no one wants to hire him for a serious acting gig.
    • In "Brother can you Spare a Dime?" Shawn gets a job at a burger joint to get some of his dignity back after Marlon lands a gig on sitcom, and starts paying for everything. Also, Shawn's newsstand burned down (accidentally as determined in the previous episode's investigation) soon after finding out that the money manager he hired didn't pay any of his bills and emptied his bank account, leaving him penniless and drowning in debt.
  • Flanderization: In earlier episodes, Marlon wasn't exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he still had a good degree of common sense and worldliness about him. In later episodes, not so much.
  • Flashback: Parodied. Marlon begins to have one when he and Shawn visit the house they grew up in. Complete with the harp music and rippling screen, until Shawn stops him momentarily and then joins with him as the flashback continues.
  • Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Marlon and Shawn, respectively.
  • Frivolous Lawsuit: Marlon slips on Shawn's spilled coffee in "Trial and Error" and busts his leg, which causes him to miss a dance competition that he was favored to win in. After White Mike comes back with the trophy and gloats, a frustrated Marlon takes Shawn to court by arguing the accident was his fault. Hilarity Ensues, such as T.C. being Shawn's shady lawyer (before the judge has the bailiff kick him out) and overly dramatic cross-examinations. Ultimately, Marlon says on the stand that he's motivated purely by Shawn always dismissing his interests and never even apologizing for the accident in the first place.
  • Game Show Appearance: The family appears on a Family Feud-esque show called Family Battle.
  • The Ghost: Shawn and Marlon's mother is mentioned, but never seen. This also applies to Dee's mother.
  • Good Bad Girl: In "Ho's on First", Marlon dates a Nice Girl who had a reputation for sleeping around. She seems to have abandoned her promiscuous ways, but is confronted about it when Marlon finds out about her past from Shawn, who is informed by T.C. and Dupree about it. T.C. and Dupree note that even during those days, she used to rescue animals whenever she wasn't sleeping with someone.
  • Halloween Episode: "Scared Straight" from Season 2. Every year, Pops leaves out a meal to pacify a ghost that allegedly haunts the building, but Shawn and Marlon try to prove there is no ghost by having the meal in secret. Then strange accidents begin to plague the building, much to Shawn and Marlon's increasing dread. It turns out to be a prank by Pops for messing with his annual tradition, but then everyone sees a plate and cup float away amid a woman's voice.
  • Handsome Lech: Shawn. Although he has a healthy flow of women, it's revealed in one episode that he has a fear of commitment.
  • In with the In Crowd: Shawn.
  • It's a Wonderful Plot: Marlon has one after gambling away the money for Pops' birthday present.
  • Large Ham: Marlon is THE hammiest of them all, with Pops being a very close second. Shawn gets his licks in too.
  • Loony Fan: Marlon (and later Shawn who goes to rescue him) is held hostage by a deranged fan.
  • Mistaken for Cheating: This happens to Pops when the brothers grow suspicious about him going out in the middle of the night in a suit. He was taking dancing lessons and he wanted to surprise his wife.
  • Mistaken for Dying: This also happens to Pops in "Pop's Last Hurrah." He was getting a checkup for his hemorrhoids, and was embarrassed to tell his sons.
  • Mistaken for Murderer: The gang thinks Grandma's new beau is a serial killer who preys on old women.
  • Naked People Are Funny: Marlon's attempts in "First Class" to get through airport security's metal detectors leaves him completely naked, and he's still setting the detector off. He realizes it's because of a Hot Wheels toy he swallowed when he was a kid, and he proves it by crawling through the x-ray machine. He continues to make a scene afterwards, prompting Pops to yell at him to put his clothes back on.
  • No Celebrities Were Harmed:
    • One episode involved a suspiciously named Arnold Crump, the millionaire who threatened to tear down Pops' diner.
    • The brothers have a tendency to crack jokes at celebrity shortcomings.
  • No Ending: The show never got a proper series finale, something Shawn Wayans' character lampshades in the first Scary Movie.
  • Open Mouth, Insert Foot: Shawn is skeptical of Marlon's desire to pursue an acting career, until Pops talks to him about the importance of family supporting one another even if they personally disagree with the given venture. Pops then lets it slip that Shawn's mother completely opposed him buying the newsstand and was certain it would be a failure. Shawn is not pleased to hear this.
  • Parental Favoritism: Shawn is consistently portrayed as Pops's favorite, regularly being praised (especially in comparison to Marlon). Pops freely admits it while under oath in "Trial and Error" (much to Marlon's displeasure). Incidentally, Pops also says that the brothers' mother doesn't favor either of them, with the family dog being her favorite.
  • Poke the Poodle: In an episode where Marlon is shown what life would be like if he was never born, one of the hardships is of Dee, who is stuck in a troubled marriage with a handsome actor who repeatedly cheats on her. At one point, he yanks the man's long dreads in "revenge".
  • Put on a Bus: Shawn's girlfriend Lisa from Season 1. "Fatal Subtraction" explains that she dumped Shawn for his assorted faults, vowed to never see him again, and took up with a more successful man.
  • The Rashomon: The episode "Fire!" No one is telling the truth.
  • Running Gag:
    • Pops' taking off his belt whenever the boys got out of line or twitching his eyes whenever he's lying.
    • Marlon being unable to pay his half of the rent.
    • The brothers (usually Marlon) always crying out "WHY!" whenever they think someone has died.
    • Shawn calling Marlon "stoopid" whenever he does or says something...well..stupid.
  • Santa's Existence Clause: In the Christmas Episode, a Bad Santa holds the group hostage to force them to get into the Christmas spirit. It's a miserable failure, until Pops touches everyone with the story of his father coming home from World War II in time for the holiday. All of a sudden, the Bad Santa vanishes, but he left behind a sack that toys that Shawn, Marlon, Dee, and T.C. all really wanted when they were kids. After Pops said he already got what he wanted (spending the holiday with his sons), Dee wonders if the guy really was Santa all along. Shawn and Marlon doubt that, until they all hear Santa shouting the names of his reindeer.
  • Sassy Black Woman: Dee.
  • Screams Like a Little Girl:
    • Marlon.
    • Shawn at times.
  • Shout-Out:
    • In "Unspoken Token", Shawn dreams that he is on an episode of Good Times, in which the brothers have referenced a few times before.
    • The aptly titled episode "Misery" serves as a Whole-Plot Reference to the novel of the same name. Marlon, famous for his role on Everybody Loves Everybody, is kidnapped by an obsessed fan who threatens to kill him if he refuses to marry her, and even tries to break his legs using a sledgehammer and a piece of lumber. When Shawn goes looking for him, he too ends up captured, and they are rescued in the nick of time by Dee and Pops, who managed to figure out where they disappeared to.
  • Show Within a Show: In the later seasons, Marlon gets a job on the show Everybody Loves Everybody.
  • Take That!: Several celebrity jabs made by the brothers.
    Shawn: (talking about Marlon's passion for art) It's about as real as Michael Jackson's wedding. (cue laughter and graons from the audiences.)
  • Thicker Than Water: Pops lands a cooking segment on a talk show in "The Ghetto Gourmets" as a way to promote the diner, but Shawn and Marlon have to step it to cover for his Performance Anxiety. The segment still goes over well, but Pops is fired on the grounds that he's too old for the show's target demographic. He's willing to step aside for his sons, but Marlon refuses to do it without him. Shawn has a different idea: doing one last segment in which they air the hosts' dirty laundry on live television and shame the show for how their father was treated.
  • Token White: White Mike.
  • Treachery Cover Up: In "Odd Man Out", Terrell, Shawn's best friend from high school, comes to visit to the detriment of Marlon, because Terrell enjoys playing pranks on him. Although Shawn loves having Terrell around, Marlon becomes suspicious because, despite playing for a Greek professional basketball team, Terrell keeps borrowing money from Shawn. However, Shawn sides with Terrell and kicks Marlon out of the apartment until Terrell is ready to go home. Later, when Dee reads a recent issue of a sports magazine that highlights basketball teams from outside the U.S., they discover that Terrell isn't on the roster of any of the Greek teams. When Marlon confronts Terrell, he admits that he was cut by the team before the season started and he returns the money he borrowed from Shawn. Marlon promises Terrell he won't tell Shawn about this on the condition that Terrell doesn't return until he becomes a real friend, right before he kicks him out of the apartment. When Shawn asks about Terrell, Marlon says Terrell had to go back to train for the next season, and probably won't be back for a long time.
  • Uncle Tomfoolery: Marlon sort of displays this in character on his show. This was also the whole point of the episode "Gots to Have a J.O.B."
  • The Un-Favourite: Marlon is usually portrayed as this.
  • Very Special Episode:
    • In "Gots to Have a J.O.B.", Marlon gets a job in a series of malt liquor commercials. The first commercial is innocent enough: he's singing with some guys. The other commercials, however, are full of stereotypes about blacks and are sexist. Marlon makes a lot of money, but Dee, Pops and Shawn feel that he's selling out and setting a bad example for kids. Marlon comes to realize this when a young fan tells him that he plans to drop out of school and drink malt liquor. Marlon can't quit because, according to the contract, he will be sued. With Shawn's help, Marlon is fired from the commercials, but not before taking over a live shoot of the latest commercial and telling everyone what's exactly in the malt liquor, how it damages the black community, and exposing the director for the racist he really is.
    • In "Unspoken Token", Shawn gets a job at a company, but finds out that he was only hired so the company could meet the requirements of minority workers for a government contract. Shawn quits the job, but not before bringing in the man the company applied to for the contract. The twist? Turns out the man is black.
    • In "The High Life", Marlon meets one of his favorite actors, who turns out to be a drug addict. The actor persuades Marlon to smoke weed to calm himself before a big audition. Marlon gets high and blows his audition and we later find out that the actor who referred him was fired for the same reason.


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