“The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins” presents what Maverick would name a target-rich surroundings (, if he have been a comic as a substitute of a fighter pilot/incorrigible flirt). Created by Robert Carlock and Sam Means, with Tina Fey finishing the “30 Rock” reunion as a non-writing government producer, NBC‘s new sitcom units its sights on Reggie Dinkins (Tracy Morgan), a former NFL star who was compelled out of the league after admitting to playing on all of his video games. A few years later, he’s comfortably retired in his New Jersey mansion, engaged to a ravishing younger musician named Brina (Treasured Approach), and nonetheless on nice phrases along with his ex-wife and present agent, Monica (Erika Alexander).
The one difficulty? He’s a social pariah and embarrassment to his son, Carmelo (Jalyn Corridor). So Reggie hires an esteemed documentarian, Arthur Tobin (Daniel Radcliffe), to make a film about his life, hoping a fluff piece from an Oscar winner will earn him the respect he misplaced twenty years in the past. From there, it’s a battle of wills, because the immersive filmmaker embeds his crew in Reggie’s family to seek for the reality his topic is initially unwilling to share.
The premise comes with two prime marks built-in — playing in skilled sports activities and puff-piece documentary profiles — plus the style affords its personal satiric alternatives. (The community TV mockumentary, admittedly, jumped the shark some time in the past, however stay widespread sufficient to benefit a well-intentioned takedown.) With confirmed writers from “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” and “Girls5eva” paired with robust performers like Morgan, Radcliffe, and Bobby Moynihan (the “SNL” alum and “Mr. Mayor” MVP who performs Reggie’s live-in finest good friend, Rusty), “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins” has all the weather in place to do what Jack Donaghy solely dreamed of: make it 1997 once more (or, a minimum of, make audiences take note of live-action broadcast sitcoms once more).
For probably the most half, it really works. Having screened the complete 10-episode first season, “Reggie Dinkins” finds its rhythm rapidly and proceeds to hone it properly. The forged is all recreation to check out varied pairings, dynamics, and tones till they land on what works close to the halfway level, and episodes are crisp — fast however not too fast, dense with jokes however not carelessly so, and endearing in a manner that’s key to sustainability. Better of all, the collection doesn’t draw back from its subject material. Whereas critiques of America’s pernicious playing tradition and hypocritical software to athletes by no means overwhelm the story (and even develop past a couple of jabs per episode), Season 1 lays the groundwork to delve deeper in a while whereas hitting loads of targets right here and now.
Having Morgan again in his consolation zone goes a good distance, even when the transition from supporting wild card to goofball lead begins out a bit bumpy. Morgan, to be clear, is all the time humorous, however as Tracy Jordan in “30 Rock,” he thrived by creating issues for Liz Lemon to resolve — he was the chaos, she was the management. It could’ve been straightforward for “Reggie Dinkins” to determine the identical dynamic with Tobin and Reggie (particularly since Tracy Jordan solely joined Liz’s TV present as a result of he couldn’t get any new motion pictures), however the two males are offered as mirrors greater than foils.
After imploding on the set of his first scripted blockbuster, Tobin is launched within the pilot as simply as massive of a humiliation within the movie world as Reggie is to sports activities followers. They’ve each suffered large public humiliations, and so they’re each making an attempt to redeem themselves with the opposite’s assist. That results in episodes the place Radcliffe goes goof for goof in opposition to the king of the goofs, which a) doesn’t all the time work out so properly for the Tony winner, however b) nonetheless pushes the eager-to-experiment star into thrilling new territory.
(OK, it’s not that new in the event you’ve seen “Bizarre: The Al Yankovic Story” or the “Kimmy Schmidt” film, nevertheless it’s nonetheless thrilling. Radcliffe is such a enjoyable display presence exactly as a result of he’s so prepared to subvert expectations tied to his breakout position. He’ll do something to make viewers overlook he’s Harry Potter, and he’s discovered an actual knack for manic comedy within the course of. I’m undecided his career-best efficiency in “Merrily We Roll Alongside” even occurs with out 4 seasons of “Miracle Employees.”)
The identical could be stated for the collection. Whereas it might be straightforward to write down off “Reggie Dinkins” for making an attempt to coast on audiences’ nostalgia for Morgan’s best position, it’s clearly making an attempt to do extra. The ensemble comes into its personal together with the narrative, the jokes are as surprising as they’re gleeful, and even when some episodes really feel misplaced, there’s sufficient to get pleasure from that you just’ll by no means remorse watching. (Even the abbreviated opening credit music will play pleasantly in your head everytime you consider the title.) We is probably not within the heyday of NBC’s must-see TV period, however in Hollywood’s comedy-barren state, “Reggie Dinkins” goes a good distance towards 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 shall be launched weekly.