Seven months after the first season of The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins premiered on NBC, Season 2 is here, bringing Tracy Morgan, Erika Alexander, Jalyn Hall, Bobby Moynihan, and Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe back together.
Getting the green light for a second season from NBC was huge for Hall, who spoke to ClutchPoints ahead of the premiere. The first season was, as he described it, a “test shot” to see how the network's latest mockumentary would land.
However, he doesn't mean among audiences and critics. Hall thought the first season was an experiment among the cast and crew, testing how they landed “with ourselves as a cast, our dynamic, [and] our storylines.” He feels that by the end of it, they “hit a really great sweet spot.”
He waxed poetic about the writers, even telling them, “You guys are really killing it.” Naturally, the writers turned the spotlight back on the actors, giving them their flowers (and rightfully so). It takes two to tango, though, and the second season showed just how harmonious the cast is.
“It's a beautiful dance between all the people that work on the set, and I feel like coming back for Season 2, we're just in sync so much more,” Hall said. “It makes the stories, the scenes, the writing flow that much better. I feel like that's a great gift.”
Everyone being “in sync” is never more evident than in his final scene, which includes a “trick” being played on his character. Hall promised that “the way it unfolds is pretty funny,” and he's eager for fans to see it.
The guests Jalyn Hall is most excited to welcome in The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins Season 2
The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins has a stacked ensemble, and the first season featured some A-list guests like Megan Thee Stallion, Craig Robinson, and Heidi Gardner, to name a few.
Hall promised that the second season has some great guests lined up as well. He is especially excited for viewers to see Boris Kodjoe on the show. You may know him from Soul Food, The Last Man on Earth, and Love & Basketball, but you won't want to miss seeing how he “shakes up the family.”
“If I'm a betting man—which I'm not,” the 19-year-old Hall cheekily said, “I would bet that it would [shake up the family].”
In Season 1, Hall was especially fond of Robinson and Gardner's performances as Jerry and Tisha Basmati. Jerry is Reggie Dinkins' (Tracy Morgan) longtime rival from their NFL days. Hall wants to see even more of them in the upcoming episodes.
“I would say one of my favorites had to be Jerry and Tisha, Craig and Heidi,” he said, raving, “They just added a certain unbearably funny aspect to the show. I can't wait to see if they can come back and do that again.”
How he found out about Season 2
Even if Hall didn't feel The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins Season 1 was about proving anything to audiences and critics, their opinions matter. If Reggie Dinkins fell flat, NBC wouldn't have necessarily green-lit a second season.
Luckily, it knocked it out of the park, and the second season is premiering in a matter of hours. It didn't take long for NBC to make the renewal decision, either, as Hall found out around Cinco de Mayo.
He was back home in Atlanta, Georgia, celebrating with his brothers, who happened to be in town from Los Angeles. They were getting ready when he got the call, setting them up for an epic night of celebration for multiple reasons.
“We were just getting ready; we were gonna go out, and I got the call,” Hall recalled. “I was like, ‘Hold on, guys.' And, you know, I'm talking, and they're like, ‘Hey, it's him. It's Robert [Carlock].' They're like, ‘We got the [green light for] Season 2.'”
This added to the things he was excited about that day. The call couldn't have come at a better time, as he said, “I couldn't have asked for a better setting and time [for the call].”
His relationships with his on-screen family in The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins
Hall shares close bonds with his on-screen parents, Morgan and Alexander. Reggie and Erika are divorced in the show, but like the characters, they care for Hall on- and off-camera. Morgan and Alexander are “like two sides of the same coin,” according to their on-screen son. He is always “sharpening all my edges” around them.
Morgan has taken Hall to New York Giants games—he has yet to take the young actor to a Knicks game, though—and has taken him under his wing, treating him as a kid of his own, giving advice to him.
“Tracy is always a voice of wisdom,” Hall said of his on-screen father. “He goes through things in his own life that he learns from and comes to set and reflects and drops gems on us.”
Alexander is a gift-giver, delivering books to Hall on set. At the time of our Zoom call, the Reggie Dinkins cast had just gone through a table read. Hall's on-screen mother gave him a “goodie bag full of books,” ranging from art books to Malcolm X's memoir.
“We went to set yesterday and had a table read, and she's like, ‘I have something for you,' and she gave me this goodie bag full of books full of Malcolm X's autobiography, books on art and acting and things of that nature, introspective thinking,” Hall revealed. “And then she's also hilarious.”
Hall is a big reader, saying, “Knowledge is key,” a great mantra to live by. However, he generally doesn't read while on set since it's “so vibrant” there and “nobody stays in their room or their trailer when we're filming,” comparing it to a “big block party.”
He is hoping to read the Game of Thrones series soon. He has enjoyed the franchise differently than some, reading the books after watching HBO's series.
“I actually did it backwards,” Hall admitted. “I watched Game of Thrones and fell in love with it. Now I have to read everything.”
Article Continues BelowHow Jalyn Hall could follow in Jalen Brunson's footsteps
Hall is a bright kid and clearly has the tools for success. Having Morgan and Alexander as mentors can only help him as he continues his career.
During an NBC event, Hall posed at the iconic Law & Order: Special Victims Unit desk. He fit right in, prompting the question of whether he could see himself following in Jalen Brunson's footsteps and guest starring in the show.
“Yeah, the two Jalens,” Hall quipped. “Who wouldn't see themselves on Law & Order? As far as a role that I would play, I think a young, spry detective or someone who helps with the cases on the street, giving different insights.”
He doesn't want to wait, though. Even at 19, Hall believes he could do the job, and he's just waiting on the call. If they called, he would answer and be on set the next day.
The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins Season 2 premieres on NBC at 8:30 pm EST.