The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins Cast Tease New Storylines and Guest Stars In Season 2
A disgraced NFL star, his family, and a documentarian form a bond as they chase redemption in The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins. The second season brings back this lovable goofy ensemble for even more of Tracy Morgan’s particular brand of absurd comedy. In a conversation with Pop Culture Planet’s Kristen Maldonado, Erika Alexander, Precious Way, and Jalyn Hall tease new storylines and guest stars in season 2.
Alexander plays Reggie’s manager and ex-wife Monica, while Way plays his fiancée Brina. In a refreshing turn of events, Monica and Brina have a solid friendship in the show. “It's a pleasure to represent a female relationship on comedy TV that's not vindictive or reflective of something that's at the base or need of what maybe a reality show might be about, which is competitive and corrupt and corrosive. This right here is a family and I think more families are like this than anything,” explained Alexander. “They're blended families. There's different generations coming in, represented by the great Precious Way and Jalyn Hall.”
“I love working with Erika. Erika is a genius. We all love her. She's amazing. And being able to play Brina with Monica, Brina admires Monica so much because she's built this empire. She's held this man up even in all his antics and, even at his shortcomings, she's been able to still sustain this life and this world. I think Brina really admires that,” said Way. “There's a part of her that wants to grow into that and be that. In the meantime, she needs Monica's help very much. I think there's a lot of love there.”
The love and respect between them is mutual. “Precious is fearless and she's a real one. I love that though everybody came on the set, many of us veterans, Tracy, Daniel, Bobby, me, she's held her own since day one,” added Alexander. “If people want to know what new talent is out there and how talented they are and how genius it is for Tina Fey and Robert Carlock and Sam Means to find them — they happen to be the best at it — Precious is proof of life. I think everybody should get excited about the future.”
Hall plays Carmelo, the son of Reggie and Monica. “From Erica and Tracy [what] surprised me is how similar they are. I always say that they're two sides of the same coin. Just packaged very, very differently,” he explained about working with the two legends. “But the same love and generosity is there. I think that they have so much wisdom to give and they give it just in abundance on set. Whether it's about personal character values, wisdom on how to treat one another, or just intellectual values. Erika gifted me a goodie bag of three different books. One of those happened to be Malcolm X's autobiography and these are all things to help improve as a person, as an actor, and also just as an individual in general.”
Just like Monica, Alexander is a businesswoman in her own right and constantly evolving. “I have Color Farm Media, which is my company. I'm a documentarian. I'm a director. I'm a director's guild. All of those things. I'm a producer. And I try to do it while I'm doing this very active acting career,” she said. “I think it's something that we both have that in common.”
“We're caught between yesterday and midlife as well. I've had to let go of a lot of what I know to become something new. I think growth lives in uncomfortable places. You certainly see that with her. She's trying to manage that. People keep talking about me, about Living Single. I'm happy to talk about it. I'm proud of it. But, you know, I'm less of that character than I was 33 years ago. I was 33 years old and she wasn't who she was. She's a character that I created out of flesh and bone of my own experience. I've had so many different experiences. Monica is now that person,” continued Alexander. “I'm much more careful. I'm much more considered. I'm also understanding that I'm impatient because I can see it the clock ticking. Not from my viability, but from what I want to do versus what I could actually accomplish. That's what we're working with. And I'm glad to represent that at this time in my life.”
At the end of season one, Carmelo is caught secretly dating his father’s nemesis’s daughter. It sets up a full-on Romeo and Juliet situation in this second season. “Oh man, we're in for a wild ride. Truly, I feel like they come out of the gate swinging and I appreciate that,” said Hall. “Like it's a way that definitely draws out a very intricate relationship, but in a very exciting and very hilarious way.”
This season, Brina goes “full throttle” on her dreams. “My girl is not giving up on her music aspirations and she's going full throttle even more. She's tapping into other genres. Like she will do the things. Will she do them well? Well, we have to see,” laughed Way. “She's going to do them. She's going to do them, for sure.”
Meanwhile, Monica gets a familiar romantic partner this season. “I got a new love interest Boris Kodjoe coming in as LP, giving us what? The sexy! Crazy, sexy, cool. Here we go!” enthused Alexander. “I'm excited about that because you know what? What's that dynamic like in midlife? You know, we're not just working off of cortisol or whatever that is shooting. What is it? We We've got other things shooting and other things not shooting as much. So anyway, I'm interested to see that. And also, I worked with Boris Kodjoe before on Street Time. We have been skin-to-skin, you hear me? So it's familiar. No shade Nicole Ari Parker, the most beautiful woman in his world. It's all good.”
Kodjoe’s LP was a dorky child prodigy who attended college with Monica and Reggie, but has had a glow up into a handsome, jet-setting entrepreneur. “If it is not public knowledge already, Boris Kodjoe is one of the funniest [people] and good at improv. Like very, very good at improv,” revealed Hall. “It's easy for us all to break on set when you're around these powerhouses in comedy and then to have another addition in this newfound take is like, oh my god. Everyday's a movie, a party on set man. So having him there and then also his storyline with Erika definitely adds a great shaking up aspect to the Dinkins house.”
Hall teased Carmelo’s reaction to his mother dating again. “He made like a solemn vow to himself and to his mom that he would be more supportive on her trying to find love beyond Reggie,” he shared. “A little reluctance ‘cause at the end of the day, of course, that's mommy. But he loves her and wants her to be happy more than anything. I feel like it’s everybody else's reaction to this new suitor that's more interesting, so keep an eye out for that.”
A family that falls together, rises together, and the whole Dinkins family is ready to take it to the next level. “Monica is still a manager and that's what she's still doing. She's building the what? Fall and rise of Reggie Dinkins,” explained Alexander. “She rises with him. She rises with him, so that's what she's doing.”
The second season of The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins premieres November 2 on NBC.
