Fans of Tracy Morgan rejoice! The actor/comedian is finally back on the small screen and appears to have put his traumatic 2014 accident behind him.
Those who have followed the 49-year-old Morgan from his years as a Saturday Night Live regular (1996-2003) and as Tracy Jordan on 30 Rock (2006-2013), were shocked to learn he had been seriously injured and a friend killed when their limousine was struck from behind by a big rig on the New Jersey Turnpike in June 2014.
It was a close call for Morgan. Suffering multiple broken bones and a brain injury, Morgan spent months in rehab following surgery.
Now, Morgan has his comeback vehicle. He will star in and co-executive produce a series co-created by the Oscar-winning Jordan Peele (Key & Peele, Get Out) and John Carcieri (Eastbound & Down). The half-hour adult (TV-MA) comedy on TBS quickly demonstrates that Morgan is back in top form.
The Last O.G. premieres at 9:30 p.m. today and stars Morgan as Tray, an ex-con recently released from prison after serving 15 years for dealing drugs. He returns to his old Brooklyn 'hood to find it vastly changed.
(Title note: For those not up on their Urban Dictionary, "O.G." stands for "original gangster" and is a slang term for a veteran gang member.)
Yes, Tray's old neighborhood has changed. It has become shockingly gentrified.
Not only that, Tray discovers that his former girlfriend, Shay (Tiffany Haddish, Girls Trip), has married a sophisticated, successful white man (Ryan Gaul, Superstore) who is helping raise the fraternal twins, Amira and Shazad, that Tray never knew he had.
Taylor Mosby (Criminal Minds) plays Amira, and Dante Hoagland, (The New Edition Story) is Shazad. The twins have grown up in private schools and can't relate to Tray's previous rough life on the streets.
TBS tells us, "Wanting nothing more than to connect with his kids, but having neither the money to support them nor himself, Tray falls back on the skills he learned in prison to make ends meet while treading unfamiliar territory."
One of the keys of Morgan's past success was to surround his frequently raw comedic personality with a talented ensemble. That's again the case here.
Cedric The Entertainer (Barbershop) steals every scene he's in as Miniard Mullins, the head of the halfway house where Tray goes to stay after prison. Allen Maldonado (black-ish) co-stars as Cousin Bobby.
About his ensemble, The Los Angeles Times quotes Morgan as saying, "Maybe I'm just a better man now since the accident. It ain't about me. It's bigger than me. I'm fortunate to have these folks around me, bringing the vision that we had. I thank God for that."
Asked if the series would explore topics affecting the black community, Morgan insisted, "This is not a 'black' show. I want to transcend that. This is a show about humanity, second chances, redemption. Black people aren't the only ones who live there; there are white people coming home from prison too. I want to deal with the humanity."
There will be 10 episodes in the first season.
• Legion. Season 2 kicks off at 9 p.m. today on FX. For those out of the Marvel Comics loop, Legion is the story of David Haller (Dan Stevens, Downton Abbey), who discovers that he may actually be the most powerful mutant the world has ever known.
There will be 10 episodes in the second season that co-stars Rachel Keller, Aubrey Plaza, Bill Irwin, Jemaine Clement and Jean Smart
• Roseanne moves to its regular time of 7 p.m. today on ABC.
• National Treasure: Kiri. The second, four-part installment of the series streams in its entirety Wednesday on Hulu. The series follows the abduction of Kiri (Felicia Mukasa), a young black girl about to be adopted by her white foster family. The disappearance takes place during an unsupervised visit to Kiri's birth family arranged by her social worker, Miriam (Sarah Lancashire). Drama ensues.
• Famous in Love. Season 2 of the Bella Thorne young adult drama arrives at 7 p.m. Wednesday on Freeform. Thorne stars as Paige Townsen, a normal college student whose life changes forever when she lands a part in a Hollywood blockbuster opposite big star heartthrob Rainer Devon (Carter Jenkins). The road to stardom is one big soap opera full of angst.
The Season 1 cliffhanger saw Jake (Charlie Depew) storm into Paige and Rainer's press conference and declare his undying love for her. What now? Tune in Wednesday.
A second soapy episode follows at at 8 p.m.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:
mstorey@arkansasonline.com
Style on 04/03/2018