In 'The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins,' Tracy Morgan is in top form

It was conscionable past November that Tracy Morgan returned to tv successful the Paramount+ sitcom “Crutch,” a accepted multi-camera matter successful which helium plays a cantankerous Harlem businessman with a batch of household connected his hands. And present helium is again, starring successful NBC’s “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins,” a mockumentary from Robert Carlock and Sam Means, astir a disgraced shot pro looking to salvage his reputation. (“Redemption” is excessively precious a word.)

The contented it belongs to is shorter, but rich, opening with “30 Rock,” and continuing done “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” some of which Carlock co-created with Tina Fey, and “Girls5Eva,” connected which they were enforcement producers, and whose creator, Meredith Scardino, is simply a writer connected “Dinkins.” (Means wrote for each 3 series.) These shows stock a bushed and a repertoire of comic tactics and effects. They’re cartoons with existent relationships, afloat of devilish takes connected media and popular and user culture, with jokes that twist successful the aerial similar an Olympic skis jumper earlier landing connected their feet going backward. These dependable peculiarly bully successful Morgan’s mouth, with his non-actory, declamatory mode of speaking. For example: “Don’t get maine started connected Vegas, ‘cause I’ve ne'er been and I’d beryllium making it up.” Or, “Jerry Basmati is two-faced, similar that ‘Batman’ villain, the Joker.”

Premiering Monday successful its regular clip slot aft a post-football sneak preview, “Reggie Dinkins” fits the prima similar a tailor-made suit, which it astir apt is, putting him successful a portion not dissimilar Tracy Jordan, his “30 Rock” quality — not the aforesaid person, but with a encephalon that works with a akin inarguable illogic. (“The lone happening that stops a atrocious feline with a weapon is an adjacent worse feline with 2 guns.”) But Reggie besides knows Latin, which helium studied successful college, “because I thought it would assistance maine conscionable Dominican chicks” and has work “Moby-Dick.”

A prima moving back, Reggie was banned from shot 20 years earlier aft helium mixed up 2 telephone numbers and called into a sports amusement reasoning helium was talking to his bookie. (He volition protestation that helium lone stake connected himself to win.) He’s a pariah everyplace helium goes, truthful helium doesn’t spell overmuch of anywhere. Thanks to his ex-wife Monica (Erika Alexander), who remains his cause and concern manager, helium inactive has a batch of money, which he’s spending connected a movie astir himself, hoping it volition assistance him get reinstated to the NFL and past elected to the Football Hall of Fame.

To this end, helium has hired Arthur Tobin (Daniel Radcliffe, submitting to an Elijah Wood joke), who erstwhile made an Oscar-winning documentary but whose ain vocation blew isolated aft helium melted down attempting to nonstop a Marvel movie; present he’s teaching astatine the University of Maryland Center for Documentary, Anime and Pornography and aiming to marque thing much ambitious, not to accidental pretentious, than the puff portion Reggie has hired him for. Reggie lone addresses Arthur by his afloat name, the mode Tracy Jordan ever called Tina Fey’s quality “Liz Lemon.” (Arthur, whose enarthrosis Reggie is rubbing: “Are you being bully oregon you wiping food grease connected me?” Reggie: “Two things tin beryllium true, Arthur Tobin.”

Although Morgan and Radcliffe are the marquee names, it’s an ensemble piece, successful which everyone gets to beryllium funny; determination are nary anemic links. Precious Way plays Reggie’s young fiancée, Brina , described by Monica arsenic “a achromatic Jessica Rabbit,” dreams of “making wealth from my euphony and past yet getting truthful celebrated from it that I commencement a constitution enactment and ne'er person to bash euphony again.” “My person careless of race” and erstwhile teammate Rusty (Bobby Moynihan), a loyal clown who makes Reggie look similar Denzel Washington, lives successful his basement. (At 1 constituent helium gets stuck head-down successful a washing machine.)

Teenage lad Carmelo (Jalyn Hall), who plays shot but wants to sing, works his divorced parents to his advantage. Monica, whose different clients see “some of the apical handball players successful Serbia,” “a kid who plays Fortnite, and Geena Davis, but lone for archery,” mightiness arsenic good beryllium surviving successful Reggie’s large house. Arthur, who has been filming Reggie adjacent successful his sleep, mightiness really be. They person their ups and downs, but, with a small learning, the downs ever pb to ups; the amusement treats them each with affection, arsenic they dainty each other.

Not that determination aren’t villains; indeed, arsenic overmuch arsenic determination is accord wrong the household, determination is discord without. Ronnie Chieng plays a much palmy cause who loves, oregon lives, to messiness with Monica. Craig Robinson is Reggie’s nemesis, arsenic the aforementioned Jerry Basmati, a rival subordinate (and cynical Christian), who inherited the post-gridiron media vocation Reggie imagined for himself. Corbin Bernsen plays his hate-filled aged coach, whose vocation collapsed without Reggie connected the team. They’re each hilarious, and frightening.

Unlike astir mockumentary series, successful which the expected documentary is conscionable an armature connected which to bent a narrative, present it is precise overmuch the constituent — the bid opens with the rubric “An Arthur Tobin Film,” suggesting we are watching the finished mentation of the movie whose making it documents, 1 successful which Arthur has, against his amended judgment, go a character. Like Reggie, helium hopes it volition reverse his nonrecreational fortunes, though the semi-sentimental taxable of the amusement is that determination is much to beingness than a career. There’s an arc!

Here are a fewer different comic things I couldn’t enactment into the paragraphs above. Reggie, who mightiness person to regenerate Arthur: “Now that PBS is gone, Ken Burns is conscionable doing quinceañera videos.” Monica reasoning she has hired arsenic her caller adjunct a Black pistillate named Shaneequinniii, judging by her email address, discovers it is Shane E. Quinn III, a achromatic preppie. An Epstein Island gag — “Not what it sounds like,” says Reggie, “Dr. Epstein is my optometrist,” and we spot a photograph of Epstein’s Eye Land.

There’s a batch much wherever that came from.