At some point in his football career, Tracy Morgan‘s loveably clueless character Reggie Dinkins filmed a public service announcement warning Americans about Y2K. His advice? Hide your money in the woods. It’s this kind of terrible guidance that should have ended his career long before his actual downfall as an NFL champion, but it’s also exactly the kind of joke that makes The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins so damn funny. The returning NBC comedy has never been interested in making any sense, and it’s all the better for it.
Returning for its sophomore season on Monday night on NBC, the half-hour sitcom continues to find humor in the most absurd situations alongside a cast that treats every outrageous line as perfectly normal. Created by Robert Carlock and Sam Means, The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins was already one of TV’s funniest new comedies of the year when it premiered this past winter, but if the first season established its odd, screwball humor, Season 2 shows how much more mileage it can get out of these characters.
With the first two episodes provided for review, the new season is seemingly packed with wonderfully stupid jokes, surprising sweetness, and the kind of laugh-a-minute comedy that made its spiritual sibling 30 Rock such a delight in the first place. Within the show’s initial few minutes in the premiere, “We Keep the Kisses,” it’s clear the single-camera sitcom has only elevated its brilliant humor and wit.
‘The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins’ Season 2 Finds New Problems for Its Lovable Messes
With his reputation slowly recovering after a gambling scandal ended his football career, Reggie is looking for ways to return to the spotlight. His ex-wife and manager, Monica (Erika Alexander), does her best to capitalize on revitalized visibility, while documentary filmmaker Arthur Tobin (Daniel Radcliffe) continues recording what he hopes will become an Oscar-worthy comeback story. But the problem is that everyone has their own idea of what success looks like, and Reggie’s ambitions aren’t necessarily at the top of anyone’s list. With his Saturday Night Live appearance finally available to stream and new opportunities coming his way, Reggie believes his comeback might actually be working. Of course, keeping that momentum going is another matter entirely.
Four of the largest communities on the planet, and four completely
different reasons to belong to one. Here is yours, what it would give you, and the argument you
would be having within a week.
You belong to the fandom that is really about comfort. Hogwarts
works on people because it is a place rather than a plot, and the pull is not the wizard war
so much as the corridors, the food, the weather and the sense that somebody is expecting
you.
- You are drawn to belonging, which is why this fandom sorted itself into houses within
about five minutes and has never stopped. - This is the most social of the four, and the one most likely to know which type every
single person in your life would be. - The books are built to be reread rather than analysed, and rereading is exactly what you
do with things you love. - The new HBO series is bringing the whole thing back one book at a time, which means the
arguments are about to start all over again.
You belong to the deepest fandom on this list, the one where
somebody has always read further than you and is quietly delighted to say so. Middle-earth
rewards patience more than any other world in popular culture.
- You like the sense that the story you are reading is only the visible part of something
enormous, which is precisely how Tolkien built it. - This fandom takes adaptation seriously to a degree that other fandoms find slightly
alarming, and it has good reasons for that. - Your favourite thing about the books is probably the bit that is not action at all,
which is the walking, the songs and the long goodbyes. - Nobody here thinks heroism belongs to the powerful, and the whole story exists to make
that argument.
You belong to the loudest and largest tent of the four, the one
where three generations are all watching the same thing and none of them agree about any of
it. That disagreement is not a flaw in this fandom, it is the main activity.
- You want something you can share with absolutely everybody, from a six year old to a
grandparent, and this is the only one on the list that really does that. - Nobody argues like Star Wars fans argue, and the argument has been running since roughly
1980 with no sign of resolution. - The pull here is sensory before it is narrative, since it is the sound design, the score
and the look of a used and dented galaxy. - You would be first in the queue, in costume, with strong opinions and a genuinely good
time.
You belong to the thinking fandom, the one that turns up for the
argument rather than the explosion. Trek has always been a series of ethical problems in
space, and the people who love it love being asked what they would have done.
- You are an optimist in a way that is currently unfashionable, and this is the only major
franchise still willing to say the future might be better. - The best episodes are the ones where nobody fires anything, which is a sentence that
makes perfect sense to this fandom and to nobody else. - Starfleet Academy brought the franchise back to a classroom in 2026, which is
appropriate, because Trek has always been a bit of a seminar. - You would want the conversation afterwards more than the episode itself, and here you
will always find somebody willing to have it.
Season 2 uses that tension without making things too serious. Monica tries to modernize her business, Arthur becomes concerned with his credibility as a filmmaker, and Reggie’s best friend Rusty (Bobby Moynihan) faces questions over the value he brings to the household. Meanwhile, Reggie and Monica’s son Carmelo (Jalyn Hall) begins navigating a Romeo and Juliet-type romance complicated by his dad’s rivalry with Jerry Basmati (Craig Robinson), and Reggie’s fiancée, Brina (Precious Way), has her own frustrations with the household. Everyone tries to move forward, but they are also not too sure how to handle what comes next.
What makes the season opener and second episode so enjoyable is how the show finds fresh complications without needing to reinvent its premise. Reggie’s comeback remains the focal point, and the reason everyone sticks together, but the show is interested in what people around him want for themselves. Whether it’s professional independence or financial stability, their ambitions rarely line up, and that results in a season that gives everyone something to pursue without losing sight of the dysfunction that brought them together.
The Jokes Come So Fast on ‘Reggie Dinkins,’ There’s Barely Time to Recover
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Image via Scott Gries/NBC</figure>
Much like 30 Rock, The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins has a fondness for ridiculous cutaways, unexpected punchlines, and jokes that get funnier the less you think about them. There’s also barely any time to recover from one laugh before another arrives, and that’s the show’s greatest strength. With writers who have a knack for turning the most ordinary situations into complete nonsense, Season 2 opens the door to some downright LOL moments, like a pizza order that sounds good in theory but absolutely isn’t, or Reggie proudly recalling that he used to eat cereal with a fork so he could save the milk for the next person. Add in a stress-relieving chair that gives Arthur considerably more pleasure than he expected, and the result is wonderfully ridiculous humor that works because the show commits to every bit.
Season 2 also finds plenty to laugh about in the increasingly strange world of celebrity and social media. Saturday Night Live‘s Jeremy Culhane is a particularly hilarious addition as Max, a prospective publicity hire whose understanding of the digital landscape is considerably different from Monica’s. Between Reggie’s attempts to stay relevant through online content and Max’s inexplicable appearance in Britney Spears‘ iconic red catsuit from the “Oops!… I Did It Again” music video, the series has lots of fun with all the strange ways people chase attention these days. Best of all, the explanations are often even more ridiculous than the situations themselves.
What’s especially impressive is how consistently the jokes land in Season 2. The writing moves at a relentless pace without ever feeling exhausting or overdone. The humor also isn’t always dependent on something outrageous happening on screen or through a sight gag. Sometimes, a character’s reaction to something the audience never sees is also enough to deliver the biggest laughs, as seen in Episode 2’s “The Spaghetti Loop,” which finds Arthur watching playback of Monica battling a single noodle. Yes, you read that right. The show knows exactly how much to pile on with its absurdity and when to let a single moment (or in this case, expression) do the work.
‘The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins’ Has the Best Ensemble on TV
Image via Scott Gries/NBC- Image via Scott Gries/NBC
- Image via Scott Gries/NBC
- Image via Scott Gries/NBC
- Image via Scott Gries/NBC
Image via Scott Gries/NBC
Image via Scott Gries/NBC
Image via Scott Gries/NBC
Image via Scott Gries/NBC
Image via Scott Gries/NBC- Image via Scott Gries/NBC
- Image via Scott Gries/NBC
- Image via Scott Gries/NBC
- Image via Scott Gries/NBC
- Image via Scott Gries/NBC
Image via Scott Gries/NBC
Image via Scott Gries/NBC
Image via Scott Gries/NBC
Image via Scott Gries/NBC
Image via Scott Gries/NBCNo doubt about it, but Morgan remains the heart of the series. Even with misguided observations that sound like perfectly reasonable advice, there’s something genuinely endearing about a character this clueless who believes he’s in the right. Alexander is equally wonderful, bringing a sharp, no-nonsense energy to Monica that makes her weariness over taking care of the family endlessly entertaining. Morgan’s on-screen fiancée Way gives Brina a fiery personality this season, showcasing more of her comedic chops, while Hall lends Carmelo a sincerity that makes his family’s behavior seem even more ridiculous.
Moynihan is another standout as Rusty, whose complete lack of ambition should make him an exhausting presence but somehow makes him one of the most lovable characters. There’s also a childlike innocence to his performance that gives the series some of its sweetest moments, particularly as the second episode explores just how much he means to the family, and the lengths he would go to be taken seriously.
But among the hilarious ensemble, Radcliffe might be having the most fun. His Arthur has become an exaggerated portrait of the self-serious documentary filmmaker, someone who approaches even the smallest developments with the gravity of an Oscar-winning director. Radcliffe commits completely to his character’s artistic pretensions, whether through a stunned expression or his increasingly dramatic reactions to the Dinkins family. It’s a performance that could easily become a caricature, but Radcliffe knows exactly how to make it work.
With the cast so comfortably settled into their roles, The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins feels more assured than ever and remains one of 2026’s funniest new shows. The affection and storylines between these characters give the comedy a genuine warmth without sacrificing any of its silliness. Reggie’s comeback might still be a work in progress, but the NBC sitcom certainly isn’t.
The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins Season 2 premieres at 8:30 p.m. EST on NBC and streams the next day on Peacock.
The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins
‘The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins’ feels more assured than ever and remains one of 2026’s funniest new shows.
- The rapid-fire comedy is consistently hilarious, with ridiculous cutaways, clever sight gags, and jokes that land one after another.
- Daniel Radcliffe is a scene-stealer, bringing a wonderfully exaggerated seriousness to Arthur that makes even his smallest reactions hilarious.
- Daniel Radcliffe is a scene-stealer, bringing a wonderfully exaggerated seriousness to Arthur that makes even his smallest reactions hilarious.
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