‘The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins’ Creators Reveal the ’30 Rock’ Easter Egg You Might Never Notice (Exclusive)

Tracy Morgan may have left Tracy Jordan back in the 2010s, but the Emmy-nominated actor and comedian’s new NBC comedy, The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, has plenty of 30 Rock flair to catch fans’ attention.

Co-created by 30 Rock alum Robert Carlock and Sam Means and executive produced by Tina Fey, NBC’s new sports comedy series stars disgraced former football star Reggie Dinkins (Morgan), who embarks on a mission to rehabilitate his image with the help of award-winning filmmaker Arthur Tobin (Daniel Radcliffe), his family, and friends.

Carlock told PopCulture.com ahead of the Feb. 23 return of The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins that a simple meeting with Morgan “kind of snowballed” into an opportunity to get the 30 Rock band back together.

“It was also a year ago, or maybe more, when Tracy just kind of hinted that he was up for doing something — and we love Tracy,” said Carlock, who worked with Morgan dating back to his Saturday Night Live days, pre-30 Rock.

With that hint from Morgan, Carlock said it was a no-brainer to reunite the “little family” of 30 Rock alum for a new project — one that happens to take place in the same universe of Tracy Jordan and TGS.

There are plenty of Easter eggs awaiting 30 Rock fans in The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, including the use of Donaghy Estates champagne as a callback to the sparkling wine label of Alec Baldwin’s character. But Means’ “favorite” nod at the 30 Rock days is one fans won’t even see — for now.

“The office across the hall from his office is technically a Sheinhardt Wig Company [office],” Means revealed, referencing the fictional owners of NBC on 30 Rock. “There’s a sign on the door that you don’t even see.”

“It starts for ourselves,” Carlock confessed of the 30 Rock add-ins, “but it’s all hoping that someone will catch a glimpse and care.”

There’s plenty of new comedic dynamics for fans to enjoy as well. Bringing Daniel Radcliffe on board as Reggie’s documentarian was a slam dunk for Carlock and Means, who worked with him on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs the Reverend as well as on their animated series, Mulligan.

Carlock admitted that the role of Arthur was actually written for Radcliffe “without his knowledge,” as Means said they were going on “just hopes and dreams” that he’d be willing to take the role. “And then when he said yes, it was like, ‘Oh shoot, not we have to do this thing,’” he joked.

The team then brought in 30 Rock alum Bobby Moynihan as Rusty, Reggie’s former teammate and best friend, in addition to newcomer Erika Alexander as Monica, Reggie’s ex-wife and agent; Precious Way as Brina, Reggie’s fiancée; and Jalyn Hall as Carmelo, Reggie and Monica’s teenage son.

“It was super fun to get to play with these guys,” Moynihan told PopCulture, revealing that a lot of the comedic moments in the first season were found during shooting. “I’m always just lurking in the background in scenes,” he said, “and then they just kept giving me bowls of cereal. So throughout the series, I kept eating cereal. And that was not in the script. That was on set — we were just messing around. And then it was like, ‘Should we do another cereal bowl?’ It was very loose and very fun. … That’s what I love about Tina [Fey] and Robert [Carlock’s] shows. You can build as you go with this insane universe.”

That dynamic continued when cameras were down as well, as Alexander, Way and Hall recalled to PopCulture how the cast and crew orchestrated a mariachi band to surprise Morgan with an on-set serenade for his birthday.

“It was just like a whole party, a whole soirée, right there in the middle of the set,” Hall recalled. “It was truly an amazing experience.”

Alexander quipped, “You haven’t lived until you’ve seen a mariachi band sing ‘Super Freak’ — and it’s a great, beautiful moment because we all got to enjoy it.”

The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins returns on Monday, Feb. 23, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC with an encore of the pilot, followed by a new episode at 8:30 p.m. ET. The following week, it will continue in its regular timeslot of Mondays at 8:30 p.m. ET.