Interview: Jalyn Hall Talks Season Two of ‘The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins’

Tracey Morgan is back as disgraced former football star Reggie Dinkins in the second season of NBC’s The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, and his road to redemption promises to be just as chaotic as ever. The hit mockumentary-style comedy reunites Reggie with documentarian Arthur Tobin (Daniel Radcliffe) as the unlikely pair continue their attempts to rebuild their reputations, with plenty of help, and complications, from Reggie’s family.

Among those returning is Jalyn Hall, who plays Reggie’s son, Carmelo. While the series delivers its share of outrageous comedy, its second season also explores the evolving father-son relationship between Reggie and Carmelo, offering some surprisingly heartfelt moments amid the absurdity.

We recently caught up with Hall to discuss Carmelo’s development in season two, the challenges of transitioning from dramatic roles to comedy, and what he’s learned from working alongside comedic talents like Morgan and Radcliffe. The actor also shared his enthusiasm for the show’s mockumentary format and how breaking the fourth wall has opened up new opportunities for his performance.

I’d like to talk about season two a little bit. How can you describe the relationship between Carmelo and Reggie and how it has evolved since the first season?

Yeah, I think it is definitely one that is, over the years, still being curated; still being, for lack of a better word, perfected in a way. I feel that Carmelo is growing at such a rapid pace, and a lot of that is due to these situations. They’re kind of thrust upon him by his family. It’s very interesting to see how that changes his relationship with them individually and especially with Reggie. That father-son dynamic definitely gets tended to in the second season a lot more, and how dad feels about that. And being able to do that with Tracey has definitely been a gift, and I think that the world will appreciate how it’s portrayed, how it’s written, how it comes off. It’s very genuine, very warm.

Was there anything that surprised you as far as where they were taking Carmelo in season two?

I think that a lot of that is just like the intrigue of possibility. We get to expound more on his Romeo and Juliet story, which is a whole thing in and of itself that definitely affects the entire family. It affects everything around them, but then also the possibility of what’s after that and what will come because of that. It’s definitely a reality that I’m excited for to see how that unfolds.

A lot of your work prior to this show was dramatic. What’s been the biggest adjustment for you working on a comedy like this? And have you found that the two genres require any kind of different approach to your acting?

Yeah, I think that the buoyancy to really understand that there’s a different rhythm, there’s a different flow to it. And I think that is very important to have those different levels and to have that sort of talent in your repertoire. And I feel like I’ve definitely been cultivated and have been working on sharpening my edges.And it’s much easier when you have powerhouses in comedy and acting in general to kind of learn from it and soak up all the information like a sponge.

Do you have a preference? Do you prefer working on one type of genre, comedy versus drama?

I feel like I’m not biased towards either one of them. Whatever the sake of the story is. There are scenes in this season that are a little bit more serious, a little bit more grounded. And I think that’s important to kind of have that duality because it’s also very believable. You want it to be very relatable. And even in dramatic scenes, comedy can play a really big part in breaking that tension. And I feel like having that to focus on at the start of my career, and now focusing on the comedy side, once they marry each other, it can be unstoppable.

The cast is eclectic in regard to their comedic and acting backgrounds. Daniel’s is obviously very different than Tracey’s. How does it affect your performance being that working in comedy is relative and new to you?

Yeah, I think that it gives you something else to bounce off of. I feel like in acting, a lot of it is action and reaction. Just because you know what someone is going to say doesn’t mean that you can use context clues. You can use a little stage direction and be like, “Oh, well, Carmelo is perplexed by what he just heard.” But it’s all that shows up and how you react and what you give to that. And I feel like having them have such different backgrounds and different styles and approaches to what they say, and how they give you a bunch of options and ranges as to react and come back with what you have. So, it’s all a riff. I feel like every scene is different. And that’s because of the scene partner. You can just bounce off of each other.

How’s the mockumentary format for you as far as you’re approaching your skill as an actor? Because it’s obviously different than what you’ve been accustomed to.

So fun. So fun. I hadn’t really thought about the different styles of camera work, because you’re always taught to act as if it’s not there. And I feel like now flipping that on its head, and it being such an obvious addition, it’s like having the viewer in the scene with us. It’s so fun to play with.

There’s nothing better than taking that right amount of comedic timing to look down the barrel or reference the crowd or give such a relatable look that you know that you’ve serviced someone. Because there’s a thousand times where someone will say something or give a look while watching something. And to have a show where they can do that for you, you can live vicariously through them. It’s pretty fun. I love it.

You can watch our full interview with Jayln Hall below.

The Fall & Rise of Reggie Dinkins premieres Monday, November 2 at 8:30 pm ET/PT on NBC, and streams the following day on Peacock.