Fame, Shame, and the Performance of Change

Read Time:5 Minute, 24 Second

TV SERIES REVIEW
The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins
TV-14 –

Genre: Comedy, Mockumentary
Year Released: 2026
Runtime: 10 x 23m episodes
Writer(s): Robert Carlock, Sam Means
Cast: Tracy Morgan, Daniel Radcliffe, Erika Alexander, Bobby Moynihan, Precious Way, Jalyn Hall
Where to Watch: officially premieres on February 23, 2026, at 8 p.m. with an encore of the pilot followed by a new episode at 8:30 p.m. The series will continue in its regular timeslot on March 2 at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT

RAVING REVIEW: What happens when a redemption story is less interested in forgiveness than in unpacking why the apology took twenty years to materialize? THE FALL AND RISE OF REGGIE DINKINS carries a familiar theme that we’ve seen before, but it’s less interested in replicating the past than in questioning what those successes look like through the lens of aging, regret, and legacy. On paper, the premise sounds wide-reaching, almost to a fault, as a disgraced former football star attempts to rehabilitate his image decades after a career-ending scandal by allowing a documentarian into his life. In practice, the series is far more restrained and far more specific than that setup suggests.

Tracy Morgan’s Reggie Dinkins isn’t the lovable chaos agent audiences might expect. He’s defensive, evasive, and deeply uncomfortable with accountability. The comedy doesn’t come from watching him learn lessons or charm his way back into relevance. It comes from watching him resist growth at every possible turn, often while insisting he’s already changed. Morgan plays this tension with surprising control. The familiar cadences are there, but they’re redirected inward, used to shield Reggie from confronting the emotional wreckage he’s left behind.

The mockumentary framing is essential here, but THE FALL AND RISE OF REGGIE DINKINS uses it differently than many of its predecessors. Rather than weaponizing awkwardness or leaning heavily on irony, the format becomes a tool for exposure. The camera doesn’t mock Reggie, it waits him out. Long pauses and half-finished explanations do more work than punchlines. The show understands that discomfort can be funny, but it can also be revealing.

Daniel Radcliffe’s Arthur Tobin is a critical counterbalance. As the award-winning documentarian tasked with shaping Reggie’s narrative, Tobin initially looks to be the standard balanced opposite, observing without interfering. As the season progresses, it becomes clear that his detachment is its own kind of performance. Radcliffe plays Tobin with a precise, understated awkwardness, slowly allowing cracks to form in the professional façade. The show wisely avoids turning him into a hero or a moral figure. Instead, he’s another character navigating proximity to power and influence, unsure how complicit he’s becoming.

Erika Alexander’s Monica Reese-Dinkins is the series’ emotional center. Her performance grounds the show whenever it risks drifting into indulgence. Monica isn’t interested in image rehabilitation or public perception. She’s lived with the consequences of Reggie’s actions for decades, and Alexander brings a lived-in weariness that never curdles into bitterness. Her scenes are among the show’s strongest, particularly when humor recedes, and something closer to reckoning takes its place.

What differentiates THE FALL AND RISE OF REGGIE DINKINS from other redemption comedies is its refusal to simplify the arc. Reggie doesn’t just need to apologize. He needs to understand why he avoided doing so for so long, and the show doesn’t rush that realization. Episodes like “Nittany Means Big” and “Save the Cat” use seemingly trivial objectives to expose deeper avoidance patterns. The humor often lands sideways, emerging from contradiction rather than setup and payoff.

Bobby Moynihan’s presence adds consistency without overwhelming the balance, and Precious Way and Jalyn Hall both benefit from being written as more than just accessories. Their characters complicate Reggie’s desire for forgiveness by reminding him that public redemption doesn’t automatically translate to repair. These dynamics are where the show does its most interesting work.

If there’s a limitation, it’s that the series sometimes hesitates to push its satire further. Certain ideas feel like they could have been explored more aggressively, especially given the creative team involved. That restraint may be intentional, but I’m selfish and wanted that deeper dive. THE FALL AND RISE OF REGGIE DINKINS isn’t trying to be the loudest comedy on television. It’s trying to be meticulous.

By the time the season finds its rhythm, the show becomes a thoughtful examination of legacy, masculinity, and the long shadow of unresolved harm. It understands that redemption is rarely a straight line and rarely a public performance. That awareness gives the series a quiet confidence that grows episode by episode.

THE FALL AND RISE OF REGGIE DINKINS doesn’t reinvent the mockumentary format, but it uses it with intention and emotional intelligence. It asks its audience to sit with discomfort, to laugh without absolving, and to consider what accountability actually looks like when the cameras stop rolling.

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[photo courtesy of NBC, PEACOCK, 3 ARTS ENTERTAINMENT, BEVEL GEARS, LITTLE STRANGER, MEANS END PRODUCTIONS, STREETLIFE PRODUCTIONS, UNIVERSAL TELEVISION]

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