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But instead of serving the usual mix of plot-driven comedy intercut with confessionals, Reggie — which had a special preview premiere on January 18 that scored 5.8 million viewers — goes behind the scenes to clown on the often-insane lengths both men will go to while trying to make a masterpiece. And behind the actual scenes are the real pros in this game.
“It felt like a new way to approach the fake-doc style, which we love,” says Robert Carlock, Morgan’s Emmy-winning 30 Rock boss, who showruns Reggie with co-creator and Parks & Rec scribe Sam Means. Having spoofed the genre with 30 Rock‘s Bravo-inspired Queen of Jordan bits, Carlock knows “the audience is so fluent in it now, so doing it from a sports point of view felt like fresh territory for us.”
Means, who also wrote for UnbreakableKimmy Schmidt, maintains that this fluency also “gives us the opportunity to expand it by having the character of the director, Arthur Tobin, played by Daniel Radcliffe, be a part of the show.”
Scott Gries / NBC
And therein lies the key to Fall and Rise‘s winning charm: its odd couple pairing of a sweetly offbeat wild card like Morgan and the boy who lived to prove that he’s way more than Hogwarts’ star student.
“We wrote the part of Tobin with Daniel in mind, with just a hope and a prayer that he would ever say yes,” says Means, aware of Radcliffe’s chops from his turn in the Kimmy Schmidt movie. “When we told Tracy about the idea, he got it immediately, like ‘Oh, we’re opposite!’”
Likewise, Morgan knew Radcliffe wouldn’t drop the ball. “We weren’t concerned with that,” the Last O.G. vet offers. “He’s fast, bro. And I’m with him a lot of scenes, too. He’s so funny.”
“I was shocked,” adds Morgan’s fellow SNL alum Bobby Moynihan, who steals every scene as Reggie’s Kato Kaelin–ish pal Rusty. “I was genuinely shocked [by] what a phenomenal physical comedian he is. He is an astonishing performer.”
Opening with a perfectly self-serious montage common to cinematic life stories, Fall and Rise swiftly reveals how Morgan’s Brooklyn-raised running back went from GOAT to joke after a less-than-championship season with the Jets, punctuated by a gambling scandal. Hot to repair his battered image, Reggie has recruited the auteurish Tobin for a vanity project touting his current life with levelheaded son Carmelo (Jalyn Hall), social media–savvy fiancée Brina (Precious Way), ex-wife-slash-manager Monica (Living Single icon Erika Alexander), and Moynihan’s Rusty.
As Reggie sets out to curate an image of himself as a paragon of virtue for the cameras, Tobin is trying to undo a fumble of his own. Turns out, the once-prestigious director has derailed his career by throwing a heavily memed hissy fit while helming a big-budget film beset by studio interference.
Is Radcliffe’s Art(hur) imitating life? “I’ve seen directors get very frustrated on blue screens and with that sort of stuff, but I’ve never seen somebody have the kind of meltdown that my guy has,” admits the actor, adding with a laugh that Tobin is “not specifically” based on anyone he’s worked with. “But yeah, I feel like ‘pretentious English director’ was not too much of a reach for me.”
Thankfully, he has Alexander’s Monica on hand to help rein in Reggie, despite her initial misgivings about the project. “It seems like we’ve both got our heads screwed on pretty well,” she acknowledges with a sly smile. “And then as the season goes on, I become more and more unhinged.”
She’s not the only one. Much like in Carlock and Means’ previous comedies, they’ve drafted a deep bench of talent that’s come to play and get hilariously messier the more they try to help Reggie tap into his authentic self. “We lucked out so hard with this cast,” Carlock raves. But it’s not just teamwork making the dream work, assures Morgan. “We are not a team. Family, that’s what we are. The night before we started shooting, we had dinner at my house. We were together from day one. And that’s the atmosphere we wanted to create. It makes for better comedy.” Game on!
The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins,Series Premiere,Monday, February 23, 8/7c, NBC
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