The following contains light spoilers for the first two episodes of The Fall and Rise Of Reggie Dinkins Season 2, “We Keep The Kisses” and “The Spaghetti Loop,” now streaming on Peacock.
Tracy Morgan’s reunion with 30 Rock producers Tina Fey and Robert Carlock is very different from the Saturday Night Live sendup that ran for seven seasons. For one, it also stars Daniel Radcliffe. The show has a significantly lower density of jokes. The comedy is broad. And Morgan’s energy is far different as Dinkins than it was when played parody of himself, Tracy Jordan. Still, it’s a surprisingly sweet series that still features some hilarious moments and killer lines.
The premise is that Radcliffe’s character, Arthur Tobin, is making a documentary about Dinkins and his family. His ex-wife Monica, played by Erika Alexander, is still his agent and manager. Precious Way plays Brina, his much younger fiancée. In the Season 2 premiere, she finds out that Reggie’s son, Jalyn Hall’s Carmelo, is dating the daughter of his football rival, Craig Robinson’s Jerry Bismati. Despite wanting to be “the cool step-mom,” she demands he break it off by saying, “I am eight years older than you! I was reading chapter books when you were still in diapers.” And it’s not a ‘mean’ joke about the second-wife age gap (like in Fey’s SNL sketch with Amy Poehler “Meet Your Second Wife”). Like the show itself it’s earnest and sweet. The comedy in this series is just as “smart” as 30 Rock‘s it just lacks that series’ sardonic edge. Which is why it may not work for some fans.
The Ensemble Cast In Reggie Dinkins Are Lovable Idiots But It Doesn’t Mock Them
From Morgan’s character to Alec Baldwin’s Jack to Fey herself, 30 Rock‘s humor mocked the self-absorbed nincompoops running around the eponymous NBC building. Viewers came to care about them, sure, but there was always a spicy flavor on its silliness. The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins takes the exact opposite approach.
SNL alum Bobby Moynihan plays Rusty, a hanger-on who is a cross between Reggie’s servant and his best friend. He is a pathetic, ridiculous fool, but he’s also one of the show’s most lovable characters. Unlike 30 Rock, this series is not mocking Rusty, Reggie’s family, nor Reggie and Tobin. Which is why some viewers may find the humor to be “off.” It takes a far more sympathetic view.
The characters on The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins are cut from the same ludicrous cloth as those in 30 Rock and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. The thing that makes it so different from those series is the mockumentary style. It’s not the same approach used by other mockumentary shows like The Paper, The Office, or Parks and Rec. Viewers see the camera crew, and the director, Arthur Tobin, is a central part of each episode’s story.
In fact, he is no less ridiculous than any of his subjects, from his career-destroying freakout on the set of a Marvel-like movie to his unlikely purely sexual relationship with a postal employee played by Megan Thee Stallion. It’s because he’s such a hopeless case himself that his ‘lens’ doesn’t present these characters with the implied judgment that hangs over those aforementioned series. It’s extremely sympathetic.
Season 2 Delivers Much More Polished Version Of The Fall And Rise Of Reggie Dinkins
In many ways, The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins was already far more polished and confident in its identity than 30 Rock in its first season. From the first four episodes of Season 2 benefit from the familiarity the cast, producers, directors, and crew established during its first run. The things that made it work last year are all still there. However, the way the narrative and character relationships evolved also shift the storytelling.
Last year it was all about discovering these people as individuals and integrating Arthur into their dynamic. These first four episodes use what Season 1 built to propel the storytelling forward in interesting and funny ways. Just like 30 Rock and Kimmy Schmidt, the humor in Reggie Dinkins is sharp, subtle, and occasionally brilliant. There were at least two or three really niche jokes in each episode that genuinely made me laugh out loud.
Even though this cast is, like those other series, effectively comprised of cartoon characters the tone of the series creates easier avenues for empathy with them. Things will still go wrong, often because of their own foolish behavior. The show’s sympathetic lens makes this feel much less like a comeuppance than those previous shows. And it feels more sweetly satisfying when things do work out, even if it’s dumb like “The Spaghetti Loop’s” resolution to the conflict between Brina and Rusty. Season 2 promises to be more interesting and outlandish than its predecessor.
Reggie Dinkins Will Rise Or Fall Based On Viewers’ Feelings About The Characters
The biggest difference with Reggie Dinkins is that viewers didn’t have to really like the TGS crew or Kimmy Schmidt’s circle of lunatics to enjoy the humor of those shows. If viewers don’t like Arthur, Reggie, and his family, the jokes – even the really clever ones – will fall flat. The style in this series delivers what viewers expect based on those past series. But the tone and feel of each episode is where the producers subvert expectations.
Adding the documentary framing device to the series is basically a network sitcom subgenre that allows more freedom than the typical 3-camera comedy. Yet what makes The Fall of Reggie Dinkins stand out is how much of the show is about the documentarian. The nonjudgmental lens of Tobin’s camera is not what he intends. Much of the first season centered on ways he wanted to exploit bad (read: funny) situations to make the film more interesting. What he captures instead makes him care more about the family.
While there has been an evolution there, that dynamic remains in Season 2. How long the series can sustain it is a different question. For now, the characters work for me, and I find the writing to be sharp, silly, and subtle. Episodes leave room for awkward feelings or quiet moments that scare the producers/directors in the fast-paced world of comedy. The actors are comfortable in their characters’ skins, making them equal parts ridiculous and endearing. It’s always a joy to watch Tracy Morgan work, and pairing him with Daniel Radcliffe was a genius move. It’s a fun, sweet show.
Rating: 4.2/5
The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins debuts new episodes on Monday nights on NBC and streams on Peacock.
