When The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins debuted, I was intrigued but wary. On the one hand, here was a show created by 30 Rock alums Robert Carlock and Sam Means, with a cast including Tracy Morgan, Daniel Radcliffe, Erika Alexander, and Bobby Moynihan. Funny writers, funny actors, all together. On the other hand, Morgan was playing the title role, and was the central character, when 30 Rock so brilliantly used him as a wild card, there to add chaos to the stories of slightly more grounded characters like Liz and Jack. Used judiciously, Morgan could be hilarious. But his energy is so surreal that I worried whether a show built around him could sustain itself.
This turned out to be a classic case of overthinking it. After a triumphant debut season, Reggie Dinkins returned to NBC last night in superb form. Whatever it lacks in emotional resonance, it more than makes up for in incredible punchline after incredible punchline, each delivered brilliantly by an ensemble that's only gotten sharper as the series has moved along. And, it turns out, it's pretty good at the emotional stuff, too.
Reggie is a disgraced former football star, whose career imploded due to a gambling scandal. He has held onto his money with the help of his sensible agent and ex-wife Monica (Alexander), but is desperate to rebuild his reputation and find a way into the Hall of Fame. He hires filmmaker Arthur Tobin (Daniel Radcliffe) to make a documentary about him, hoping it will change his image, while Arthur in turn hopes the movie will allow him to get past a scandal of his own. He moves into Reggie's suburban New Jersey McMansion, along with Reggie's fiancée Brina (Precious Way), son Carmelo (Jalyn Hall), and Rusty (Moynihan), Reggie's former teammate and longtime hype man and best friend.
That premise has even more resonance in the wake of the You Can See Everything phenomenon, which unsurprisingly led to this fantastic promo, with Arthur as Nathan Fielder and Reggie as Elizabeth Holmes (and... well, don't let me spoil the last joke):