SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins Season 1, Episodes 1 and 2.

NBC adds to its mockumentary lineup with The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, a star-studded sitcom that’s looking to score a touchdown. The sports-themed comedy got an early preview after the network’s NFL playoff coverage, and now has a plum spot as the lead-in for The Voice. But what it doesn’t have is a clear voice that makes it unique.

Mockumentaries are no longer a novel idea on their own. There have been enough of them in recent years to create a whole subgenre. In this case, it both helps and hurts that The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins is on NBC, which already has both St. Denis Medical and just finished the network TV run of Peacock’s Office spinoff The Paper. NBC viewers know what to expect from this show, but they’ve also just watched two very strong mockumentaries. And The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins is not on the same level.

There’s a strong amount of similar comedy DNA that runs through the show: stars Tracy Jordan and Bobby Moynihan are Saturday Night Live alums. Tina Fey serves as executive producer. Robert Carlock, who co-created this series with Sam Means, also co-created Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Mr. Mayor with Fey. The latter included Moynihan as a series regular. Because so much of the talent is already connected, it gives The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins a familiarity that isn’t exactly a good thing. The best comedy catches viewers by surprise.

The biggest positive in the first two episodes of The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins is Daniel Radcliffe as disgraced filmmaker Arthur Tobin. Arthur believes Reggie’s documentary is a chance to restart his own stalled career. Anyone who’s seen Radcliffe on stage knows how comedically gifted he is; he rightfully earned a Tony Award for playing Charley Kringas in the Merrily We Roll Along revival, after his manic version of “Franklin Shepard, Inc.” was the best there’s ever been. He also went for broke in the fake documentary Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.

Radcliffe is essentially playing two parts in The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins. He’s required to be the straight man to everyone else’s bigger characters, but then there are times when he just falls into a crater of his own neuroses. The best scene in the Reggie Dinkins pilot is the video of Arthur lashing out while trying to direct a superhero film; it lets Radcliffe tap back into that “Franklin Shepard, Inc.” energy while Arthur rants about tennis balls. But beyond that, his explosion actually makes sense; what Arthur’s being asked to do is profoundly stupid.

In contrast, some of the other writing in The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins is too broad, with Jordan and Moynihan playing the big, loud character types they’re known for. A lot of the humor comes from jokes about how dense Reggie is. Sometimes that is indeed funny (wait for the explanation about how Reggie ruined his career), but not when it’s the one note that the show keeps hitting.

One way to fix this would be to create more contrast, spacing out Reggie and Rusty’s more absurd scenes further with more material from the more deadpan characters, Arthur and Reggie’s ex-wife Monica. Monica is played by Erika Alexander, whose lengthy comedy resume includes Insecure, Let’s Stay Together and of course, Living Single. She and Radcliffe are good foils for Jordan and Moynihan, but their characters need more space to grow—and to make the show feel more balanced.

There is incredible potential in The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins. The core cast all have plenty of comedy experience. Radcliffe is particularly fantastic. And like so many great sitcoms, this is an underdog story. Reggie, Arthur and Monica are each looking for second chances. But there’s not yet a connection to the characters that tempers the absurdity. St. Denis Medical is able to have outlandish things happen because the audience understands why they’ve spun so out of control, and because the humor doesn’t just come from there. In contrast, The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins has a tried and true format and the talent, but it has to find something that makes the audience laugh with its characters, not just at them.

The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins airs Mondays at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. Photo Credit: Courtesy of NBC.

Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.