Atlanta’s Jalyn Hall goes toe to toe with Tracy Morgan in new NBC sitcom
Atlanta actor Jalyn Hall, at age 19, has already been a regular on a hit sports drama, the CW’s “All American,” and played Emmett Till in the 2022 historical film “Till.”
Now on NBC’s newest sitcom, “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins,” Hall gets to goof around with a trio of veteran stars: Tracy Morgan (“30 Rock”), Daniel Radcliffe (the “Harry Potter” franchise) and Erika Alexander (“Living Single.”)
“The jump from drama to comedy has been fun,” said Hall in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution at Zanza Bar & Grill in Decatur, which is owned by his godparents. “I love watching Erika. Her comedic beats are amazing. Tracy drops wisdom and makes you laugh at the same time.”
Radcliffe’s presence was the topper for Hall. “When I first saw him at the table read, my jaw dropped to the floor,” he said. “He’s become a big brother, a mentor, to me.”
Morgan plays Reggie Dinkins, a former NFL player who was booted from the league after a gambling scandal. Radcliffe plays Arthur Tobin, a sullied filmmaker who offers to do a documentary that Dinkins hopes will resurrect his reputation.
It’s now common to see comedies like “The Office,” “Modern Family” and “Abbott Elementary” with the mockumentary format, but this comedy provides space for Radcliffe’s character to interact directly with Dinkins.
Dinkins’ teenage son Carmelo, played by Hall, has no issue playing to the cameras since he has grown up on TikTok and Instagram. Dinkins is a bit more self-conscious, as is his ex-wife and manager Monica Reese-Dinkins (Alexander).
The cast is rounded out by Bobby Moynihan of “SNL” fame as Dinkins’ goofy best friend and housemate Rusty while relative newcomer Precious Way plays Dinkins’ materialistic and much younger fiancee.
“Dinkins” is the brainchild of Sam Means and Robert Carlock, known for well-received comedies “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” on Netflix and “Girls5eva” on Peacock, then Netflix.
“We have seen these self-serving sports documentaries by Lance Armstrong and David Beckham,” Carlock said. “We wanted to explore this format.”
Means noted that Morgan was an athlete himself, a former running back and track star in high school. “He felt natural to cast for Reggie,” he said. “And we wanted to focus on his family. That’s where Jalyn comes in.”
Dinkins, told all his life that he’s special, is stunted emotionally. They needed an actor who could play a son smarter than his father. Enter Hall.
“Jalyn has this center, this gravity to him that is wise beyond his years,” Carlock said. “That is a nice complement to a father who is in a state of arrested development. Jalyn can have fun and act out a bit and tell the camera things he can’t tell his dad to his face.”
Born in Atlanta, Hall said he was always a ham as a kid dancing around and playing different characters at the hair salon his mom Yma McGowan owned. She saw his acting potential, so they moved to Los Angeles when he was 11.
Hall quickly booked a regular role on the CW hit show “All American” about a high school football player from South Los Angeles recruited to play at Beverly Hills High. He played the sweet, grounded younger brother of Spencer James (Daniel Ezra).
“I didn’t know it would be as big as it was,” he said. “God did the rest.”
Hall used his experience on “All American” to hone his acting skills, leading him to be cast with fellow Atlantan Danielle Deadwyler in the acclaimed 2023 film “Till.” Hall played Emmett Till, whose brutal murder in 1955 served as a catalyst for the modern-day Civil Rights movement.
“I learned so much from that experience,” said Hall of the metro Atlanta-shot movie. “It took a lot of mental preparation and talks with my mom about the history of Emmett Till. And I could see so much of myself in him.”
The film, he added, not only focused on “the horror and tragedy but the loving bond between mother and son and how beautiful that can be.”
He moved back to Atlanta in 2023, missing his family and the vibe of the city. “This,” Hall said, “is where I belong.”
If you watch
“The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins,” 8:30 p.m. Mondays on NBC and available the next day on Peacock
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
