The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins is another gem from the Tina Fey school of TV

You can’t help but have high expectations for The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins.

Think about it. It’s a comedy from the Tina Fey TV school, created by Robert Carlock and Sam Means, both of whom ran and/or wrote on 30 Rock, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Girls5Eva.

It stars Tracy Morgan, whose incredibly specific comic inflection is being weaponised by writers who knows it inside and out, and Daniel Radcliffe, whose post-Potter career is filled with interesting work including being very funny in the likes of Miracle Workers, an underrated four-season comedy.

Something would’ve had to go very wrong for this to not be exactly what you hope it to be: a high joke-density sitcom that’s weird and heartwarming. You’ll actually laugh out loud, and you can’t say that about most TV comedies.

Morgan plays the titular Reggie Dinkins, a former football star whose career exploded spectacularly when he was banned for life after it emerged he was gambling on the games – in his defence, he always bet on himself.

Having been denied a Hall of Fame honour, Reggie is keen for a comeback and works with an Oscar-winning documentary maker, Arthur Tobin (Radcliffe) to capture this story of his life.

But Reggie isn’t the only one who needs a redemption arc, Arthur too has suffered some setbacks, including the meltdown he had on the set of a superhero movie he had been hired to shoot.

To be fair to Arthur, all those tennis balls hanging in front of a blue screen – some of them to represent CGI characters, some of them to represent actual tennis balls – would’ve made anyone lose it.

At its core, it’s the story of two men trying to find a way back to the life they think they should have, but The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins is less story-driven and more character-based.

Which means a great supporting ensemble including Erika Alexander as Reggie’s ex-wife Monica, a shrewd and ambitious woman who still manages Reggie and has dreams of running a football team one day, and Bobby Moynihan as Rusty, Reggie’s old friend who has quite the archive of his mate’s life and career.

Recurring and guest stars include a murderers row of comic talent, such as Craig Robinson as Reggie’s rival, Anna Camp as Arthur’s ex and Ronny Chieng as another talent agent.

The jokes come at you fast, some of them weird and absurd, others coming from a place of emotional truth, and written so perfectly for the actors delivering the gags. Morgan’s rhythm is so distinct, and if you pair him with someone who doesn’t get it, it just wouldn’t work.

For maximum pleasure, pay attention, because you don’t want to miss the jokes, especially if you like meta-textual references. For example, there’s a Weird Al Yankovic bit, which is brilliant on two different levels – Radcliffe portrayed him in a biopic, and Weird Al played himself in 30 Rock.

Oh, and Radcliffe has also been in the Fey oeuvre before – as Prince Frederick in the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt interactive TV movie. Fey isn’t a credited writer on the show but she is an executive producer.

The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins is also presented as a mockumentary, except unlike The Office, Parks and Recreation and Abbott Elementary, because they’re making a doc within the show itself, it becomes a greater point of engagement that can be used for comedy.

You get the sense as a viewer that these guys are having such a good time making this show, and that kind of enthusiasm is infectious.

And who doesn’t want to have a good time?

The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins is on 7plus from June 24