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“The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins” presents what Maverick would call a target-rich environment (you know, if he were a comedian instead of a fighter pilot/incorrigible flirt). Created by Robert Carlock and Sam Means, with Tina Fey completing the “30 Rock” reunion as a non-writing executive producer, NBC‘s new sitcom sets its sights on Reggie Dinkins (Tracy Morgan), a former NFL star who was forced out of the league after admitting to gambling on all of his games. Many years later, he’s comfortably retired in his New Jersey mansion, engaged to a beautiful young musician named Brina (Precious Way), and still on great terms with his ex-wife and current agent, Monica (Erika Alexander).
The only issue? He’s a social pariah and embarrassment to his son, Carmelo (Jalyn Hall). So Reggie hires an esteemed documentarian, Arthur Tobin (Daniel Radcliffe), to make a movie about his life, hoping a fluff piece from an Oscar winner will earn him the respect he lost two decades ago. From there, it’s a battle of wills, as the immersive filmmaker embeds his crew in Reggie’s household to search for the truth his subject is initially unwilling to share.
The premise comes with two prime marks built-in — gambling in professional sports and puff-piece documentary profiles — plus the genre offers its own satiric opportunities. (The network TV mockumentary, admittedly, jumped the shark a while ago, but remain popular enough to merit a well-intentioned takedown.) With proven writers from “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” and “Girls5eva” paired with strong performers like Morgan, Radcliffe, and Bobby Moynihan (the “SNL” alum and “Mr. Mayor” MVP who plays Reggie’s live-in best friend, Rusty), “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins” has all the elements in place to do what Jack Donaghy only dreamed of: make it 1997 again (or, at least, make audiences pay attention to live-action broadcast sitcoms again).
For the most part, it works. Having screened the full 10-episode first season, “Reggie Dinkins” finds its rhythm quickly and proceeds to hone it well. The cast is all game to try out various pairings, dynamics, and tones until they land on what works near the midway point, and episodes are crisp — quick but not too quick, dense with jokes but not carelessly so, and endearing in a way that’s key to sustainability. Best of all, the series doesn’t shy away from its subject matter. While critiques of America’s pernicious gambling culture and hypocritical application to athletes never overwhelm the story (or even develop beyond a few jabs per episode), Season 1 lays the groundwork to delve deeper later on while hitting plenty of targets here and now.
Tracy Morgan and Daniel Radcliffe in ‘The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins’Courtesy of Scott Gries / NBCHaving Morgan back in his comfort zone goes a long way, even if the transition from supporting wild card to goofball lead starts out a bit bumpy. Morgan, to be clear, is always funny, but as Tracy Jordan in “30 Rock,” he thrived by creating problems for Liz Lemon to solve — he was the chaos, she was the control. It would’ve been easy for “Reggie Dinkins” to establish the same dynamic with Tobin and Reggie (especially since Tracy Jordan only joined Liz’s TV show because he couldn’t get any new movies), but the two men are presented as mirrors more than foils.
After imploding on the set of his first scripted blockbuster, Tobin is introduced in the pilot as just as big of an embarrassment in the film world as Reggie is to sports fans. They’ve both suffered massive public humiliations, and they’re both trying to redeem themselves with the other’s help. That leads to episodes where Radcliffe goes goof for goof against the king of the goofs, which a) doesn’t always work out so well for the Tony winner, but b) still pushes the eager-to-experiment star into exciting new territory.
(OK, it’s not that new if you’ve seen “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” or the “Kimmy Schmidt” movie, but it’s still exciting. Radcliffe is such a fun screen presence precisely because he’s so willing to subvert expectations tied to his breakout role. He’ll do anything to make viewers forget he’s Harry Potter, and he’s found a real knack for manic comedy in the process. I’m not sure his career-best performance in “Merrily We Roll Along” even happens without four seasons of “Miracle Workers.”)
The same can be said for the series. While it would be easy to write off “Reggie Dinkins” for trying to coast on audiences’ nostalgia for Morgan’s greatest role, it’s clearly trying to do more. The ensemble comes into its own along with the narrative, the jokes are as unexpected as they are gleeful, and even when some episodes feel out of place, there’s enough to enjoy that you’ll never regret watching. (Even the abbreviated opening credits music will play pleasantly in your head whenever you think of the title.) We may not be in the heyday of NBC’s must-see TV era, but in Hollywood’s comedy-barren state, “Reggie Dinkins” goes a long way toward filling the void.
Grade: B+
“The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins” premieres Monday, February 23 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC with two episodes. New episodes will be released weekly.
English (US) ·