- Laughs Come Consistently in NBC’s Clever “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins” (February 23, 2026)
Robert Carlock, the showrunner for “30 Rock” and creator of “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” is back on network TV with a show that could be called “Remember How Funny Tracy Morgan Can Be?” A show built around Morgan’s goofy, likable personality, “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins” has Carlock’s quick wit in a show that spoofs sports culture and documentary filmmaking but is ultimately about second chances and defying expectations. Most importantly, after a bit of rockiness in the early episodes, it’s a consistently funny show, one that could ultimately stand alongside Carlock’s previously acclaimed creations.
Co-created by Carlock and Sam Means (an Emmy winner for “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and writer on “30 Rock” and “Parks and Recreation”), “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins” is a mockumentary show that centers its mockumentarian, a filmmaker named Arthur Tobin (a perfectly-cast Daniel Radcliffe). An Oscar-winning filmmaker, Tobin had a very viral meltdown on the set of a superhero movie that was nothing but blue screens and tennis balls instead of actual people. Shunned by the documentary community, he’s seeking a comeback by making his own “O.J.: Made in America” or “The Last Dance” with a film about Reggie Dinkins (Tracy Morgan), a famous New York Jets player who was booted out of the NFL when he accidentally called a national sports network to discuss his latest bets instead of his bookie. The Jets fell apart from there, and Dinkins became such an enemy in New York that he can’t leave the house without getting yelled at from a fan. He hopes Tobin’s movie can give him the comeback he so desires, and maybe even land him in the Hall of Fame.
THE FALL AND RISE OF REGGIE DINKINS — “Pilot” Episode 101 — Pictured: (l-r) Daniel Radcliffe as Arthur Tobin, Erika Alexander as Monica,Tracy Morgan as Reggie Dinkins — (Photo by: Scott Gries/NBC)
Dinkins has four people circling his life that become major parts of Tobin’s documentary-within-a-show. First, there’s Monica (Erika Alexander), Reggie’s ex-wife who also still happens to be his agent, trying desperately to hold onto his few remaining scraps of fame while he works on her own to rebuild his legacy. There’s Carmelo (Jalyn Hall), Monica and Reggie’s son, a nice kid who knows how to take advantage of his rich dad and would rather sing in his school’s acapella group than follow pops into sports. There’s Brina (Precious Way), Reggie’s influencer fiancée, a character introduced as a bit disposable, but who proves she’s more than just the flighty, younger girlfriend role. Finally, there’s the very funny Bobby Moynihan as Rusty, a former teammate who lives with Reggie and supports him through every dumb decision. Moynihan plays Rusty as a wide-eyed bumbler, a sort of vision of if Chris Farley’s character from “Tommy Boy” grew up to be a football player. It’s a funny supporting turn.
As with the acclaimed comedies that Carlock and Means worked on in the past, “Reggie Dinkins” works primarily because of its sharp ensemble, even if it’s a vehicle designed to elevate Morgan’s unique comic timing. Reggie is a classic Morgan character, a guy who may not be the smartest person in the room but someone who becomes easy to root for, especially once Craig Robinson shows up as Reggie’s on-field and now-in-retirement nemesis, a Michael Strahan-esque character who will do whatever it takes to keep Dinkins out of the hall.
HE FALL AND RISE OF REGGIE DINKINS — “Put It on Your Cabbage!” Episode 103 — Pictured: (l-r) Precious Way as Brina, Bobby Moynihan as Rusty Boyd — (Photo by: Scott Gries/NBC)
Morgan gets consistent laughs throughout the first season of “Dinkins,” but so does the entire cast. Radcliffe nails Tobin’s intellectual anxiety, someone who thinks even this project is below him but needs it to resurrect his career, and someone who ends up pretty quickly coming to like Dinkins and his family. Way, Hall, and Moynihan have laughs every episode, but Alexander may actually be the season one MVP as she not only has nuanced comic timing but does great work at grounding a show that sometimes spins off into ridiculous tangents. Alexander plays Monica’s journey completely straight, whether she’s trying to fight her way back into the business management industry or getting addicted to a reality show with Rusty.
Network TV comedy took a hit in the cord-cutting era, but an occasional surprise can burst through the crowd like “Abbott Elementary” and “Ghosts” (and more of you should be watching “St. Denis Medical,” the best comedy currently on the big four.) There’d be a bit of TV justice in a show about a fading star trying to reclaim past glory leading people back to NBC TV comedy, a place that used to define the best of the sitcom form for years. I believe in you, Reggie Dinkins.
Whole season screened for review. The premiere is now on Peacock with the second episode premiering tonight, February 23, weekly from here on.
- CBS’s “CIA” Refuses to Read the Room (February 23, 2026)
It is perhaps not the time for a show about white-guy cops who break the rules to keep the US safe. And yet, that’s what CBS is giving us with “CIA,” a boilerplate spy thriller that doesn’t so much not read the room as exist for the living rooms of twenty+ years ago.
The premise is this: CIA operative Colin Glass (Tom Ellis) needs an FBI buddy to operate on U.S. soil. The powers that be–aka CIA leader Nikki Reynard (Necar Zaedgan) and FBI corner-desk haver Jubal Valentine (Jeremy Sisto)–draft Bill Goodman (Nick Gehlfuss) for the job. In case you’re wondering who’s who, CIA Colin is the bad-boy rule breaker, and FBI Bill is called a “boy scout” more than once in the pilot. Together, they stop terrorist plots.
In the first episode, that includes working with a Venezuelan asset in New York, who Colin “saved” from his own country. Honestly, the idea that the CIA, infamous for destroying democratic states across Latin America, gets to play an unquestionably good hero here had my eyes rolling so far back that my optic nerve was very grateful they only gave critics one episode to screen for review.
“Directed Energy” – When a top-secret weapon is stolen in broad daylight from a U.S. defense contractor, CIA agent Colin Glass is paired with FBI agent Bill Goodman to investigate. Their new partnership gets off to a rocky start, but they soon realize their opposing viewpoints may be their greatest asset, on the series premiere of CIA, Monday, Feb. 23 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT). Pictured: Tom Ellis as CIA Case Officer Colin Glass. Photo: Zach Dilgard/CBS ©2026 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
So yeah, don’t expect complex geopolitical questions from this one. “CIA” doesn’t even appear to interrogate why the CIA, made for spying on and disrupting nation states, doesn’t typically (or straight-up shouldn’t) mess around inside the U.S., but that’s the show we’re in. It’s as if the last couple of decades hadn’t happened. There’s no hint of the conversation the nation is currently having about the federal government’s domestic overreach, no political nuance whatsoever.
The closest we get is a moment where Colin and Bill are first confronting each other. Nikki, as their lead, mitigates the tension by saying, “Why don’t we all put everything back in our pants and focus?” If that strikes you as edgy gender politics, then “CIA” may be the show for you. If it seems like the type of faux provocation that had its moment before HBO started experimenting with its name, well, that tells you everything you need to know.
On the upside, the show does better with an LGBTQ subplot that manages to humanize, rather than tokenize. The action sequences are also serviceable. The stakes are high–people foam at the mouth, New York is threatened, a sympathetic helicopter pilot is in danger–and while many of the beats are predictable, the resolutions still feel good. Heart rate goes up; heart rate goes down. There’s a bit of fun spycraft as well, with some undercover ops, secret relationships, and off-the-books doctors.
“Directed Energy” – When a top-secret weapon is stolen in broad daylight from a U.S. defense contractor, CIA agent Colin Glass is paired with FBI agent Bill Goodman to investigate. Their new partnership gets off to a rocky start, but they soon realize their opposing viewpoints may be their greatest asset, on the series premiere of CIA, Monday, Feb. 23 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT). Pictured: Necar Zadegan as Deputy Chief of Station Nikki Reynard. Mark Schafer/CBS ©2026 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
To be fair, Ellis and Gehfluss do well with their respective stock characters. The camera particularly loves Ellis, and he commands the screen whenever he’s on it. That said, the pilot doesn’t give him much more to do than stomp about–although his character does get a couple of glimmers of complexity. Only future episodes will tell.
Still, a show can have those elements and also be thoughtful! But “CIA” isn’t reaching for “Homeland” or “The Americans” territory. Its ambition is more “CSI: Miami.”
Which is fine. You do you, CBS. But I don’t think “CIA” is going to break through. It’s decidedly too milquetoast for that. No, this is a series for an imagined audience who still has bunny ears, chasing a network signal. It’s not for our cut-cord reality where we have countless choices of what to watch. Certainly, if you want to start a new spy show, there are better options. Same for a network procedural–let me suggest “Will Trent” or CBS’s own “Matlock” if a throwback vibe suits you.
Because the thing is, not every show needs to be genre-pushing, thought-provoking art. But if you’re not going to make something new, you do at least need to make something quality. And an important part of quality is understanding the audience, moment, and subject matter. “CIA” does none of that.
Might the fans of “NCIS: Sydney” tune in because it’s on after “FBI”? Yes, but I’d hardly call that a success.
One episode screened for review. Premieres tonight, February 23 on CBS.
- Chaz Ebert Remembers Reverend Jesse Jackson: Oct 8, 1941 – February 17, 2026 (February 20, 2026)
In the early morning of Tuesday, February 17th, Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr., completed his assignment on earth, and surrounded by loving family members, took his last breath. He had a lifetime to figure out his assignment, and step-by-step, he did.
Born in humble circumstances in Greenville, South Carolina, no one could have predicted that he would become this larger-than-life presence, not only on a local or national level, but internationally. I would dare say that his name was known on all seven continents. Looking back over Reverend Jackson’s life, it is quite clear that words like “Giant” or “Icon” sometimes seemed too small. He was quite simply a towering figure whether in the civil rights movement, in the war against poverty, in the fight for education, in the movement for social and economic justice, and on the world stage, in the quest for peace.
His son, U.S. Representative Jonathan Jackson, recalled at a press conference how his father went through three name changes. (Born to Helen Burns and Noah Robinson, he has been known as Jesse Burns, Jesse Robinson and Jesse Jackson, taking his stepfather Charles Henry Jackson’s last name in 1957.) During his years of advocating for causes of freedom, justice and peace, he figured out that no matter your name, no matter your race or your circumstances of birth, you are somebody. And, indeed, his rousing, ringing slogan “I AM SOMEBODY,” became a rallying cry that he had us shout back in response to him. “We all are,” he said, “God’s Child.”
When I was a high school student in Chicago in the 1960s, I was inspired to attend sessions at what was then called Operation Breadbasket on the South Side of Chicago. It may have resembled a church service, but its focus was community uplift and activism. This was truly a grassroots organization, an offshoot of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (“SCLC”). They advocated for jobs, housing, education and equal opportunity. I and other students were welcomed warmly by the unstoppable Reverend Willie Barrow, a short dynamo of a woman who had a knack for organizing and inspiring audiences. She was the mother of the organization. She encouraged us to come back even as we went away to college, and law school and we always did. We all loved her.
Over the years, the organization evolved from Operation Breadbasket (after breaking away from SCLC) to People United to Save (and later Serve) Humanity—also known as Operation Push—and finally, to the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. At these gatherings, we were enthralled by a young, tall handsome speaker named Jesse Jackson. He was already becoming known on the national stage. I marched with Dr King when he came to Chicago to promote Open Housing in 1966. Jesse Jackson was there. We knew that he was a protege of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and indeed, was on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis,Tennessee when Dr. King was assassinated on April 4th, 1968.
His oratory was electric, fiery and passionate. And whether he wore a big Afro and daishiki, or a business suit, he commanded attention. It is my theory that he was born to his leadership position with some special annointing that was not of this earth. No matter the gathering, in Washington D.C. at the Congressional Black Caucus meetings, or at the campaign offices of soon-to-be Mayor of Chicago, Harold Washington, or at a Prayer Breakfast for Black History Month, I noticed that other speakers seemed to retreat a bit when he entered the room. No one wanted to follow his speeches. I often wondered how he came up with his slogans so quickly, “you may be born in the slums, but the slums are not born in you,” “never look down on a man unless you are helping him up,” and so many more. But the enduring slogans “I AM SOMEBODY,” and “KEEP HOPE ALIVE,” promised us a better future, and encouraged us to never give up.
You can see his leadership in the amazing documentary “Nation Time” by William Greaves, which was shot in 1972 at the National Black Political Convention. Mayor Richard Hatcher invited a cross section of leaders to Gary, Indiana to discuss the future of politics for Black Americans while the Democratic National Convention was meeting in Chicago. At various times we see everyone from Coretta Scott King and Betty Shabazz, to Amiri Baraka, Dick Gregory, Harry Belafonte and Isaac Hayes. It makes one wonder if we could gather a coalition like that today.
Even earlier, his leadership style was on display in 1960 when he organized the Greenville Eight, a group of Black students to go to the Public Library in Greenville, South Carolina to check out books. It seems impossible to believe now, but back then you could not check out a book in the Public Library if you were Black. At first, the library chose to shut down altogether rather than to serve the students. But, at some point, the library became open to all.
He led an astonishing life, surviving both the negatives and the positives of one who puts himself on the line. As he is honored in tributes around the globe, I also recalled those times when some leaders thought he flew too close to the sun, and waged campaigns to take him down a peg. We later learned that rumors may have been planted to cause us to doubt him, or to feel ambivalent about him. (Who planted the rumors, I don’t know, some said the FBI.) There were the constant questions “Why did he have to show up at every major incident? Was he just looking for publicity?” The press tried to minimize him, marginalize him and perhaps, sweep him to the side. But whatever life force he came into this world with enabled him to overcome all of that. Underestimate his intelligence, strategic brilliance and persistence at your own peril. He was not perfect, he made mistakes. But as Reverend Jackson himself said, he was not the perfect servant, he was a Public Servant. And he did not back down.
In hindsight, we needed Reverend Jackson to shine a light on inequality. He showed up because he cared and because he thought he could make a difference. We appreciated the totality of what he did, and he became a hero to us. Who among us can say we helped to get hostages released from Syria? I bet Navy Lt. Robert Goodman was happy to have Reverend Jackson advocating for him. Who among us can say we helped secure the release of 22 Americans held in Cuba under Fidel Castro or traveled with then-Congressman Rod Blagojevich to meet with Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic to secure the release of others?
Who would have listened if Reverend Jackson wasn’t there, knocking on corporate doors and demanding they open their boards and executive suits to women and African Americans and people of all races? Likewise, he helped to integrate newsrooms and broadcast booths for those who were qualified, but who had not been afforded those opportunities previously. When he advocated for the ownership of sports teams, and business franchises some accused him of being an opportunist. But his answer was resounding—economic prosperity was to be shared in the hands of the many rather than the few. What he was voicing were views that he shared with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, specifically that there are no civil rights without economic rights!
In Hollywood, he advocated for opening unions to people of color and giving more roles on screens to African-American actors. He also advocated for more executive roles in studios so that Black people would be in positions to green-light projects. He did all of this many years before the #OscarsSoWhite became popular. Some thought his advocacy hurt the cause. But later many came around to appreciating his willingness to vocalize the inequalities. And, indeed, I was a witness to the celebrations of his birthdays by the Hollywood community at the Beverly Hilton Hotel some Octobers. Eventually everyone came around to the realization that he just wanted to help.
It is difficult to believe that one man did all of that and so much more. Over the 84 years of Reverend Jackson’s life it is as if he were “Zelig,” the mythical character in the mockumentary Woody Allen movie the human chameleon who happened to be in all the significant places in history at just the right time. But Jesse Jackson was no myth. He was the real deal. When you were in his presence you just knew that his celebrity was no accident. He spoke with the moral authority of one who had the interest of others at heart. And by being so heartfelt his speeches inspired you, moved you and compelled you to do something to make the world a better place. HE WAS SOMEBODY!
In Chicago, we claimed him as our own, and some of the TV stations said that he would often pop in unannounced to talk about an initiative or to get airtime. And you know what? They gave it to him. He not only commanded it, but he earned it, and you always knew that no matter what he did, it was not going to be boring. And that what ever cause he was espousing was likely to be one that deserved the attention. He was an astute student of the times and of what was needed to help move society forward.
We were both surprised and touched by the copious tears Reverend Jackson shed in Grant Park in Chicago, the night we knew Barack Obama was becoming our nation’s first Black President. Rev. Jackson must have had doubts whether he would ever see that in his lifetime. He had spent years building coalitions to register people to vote, with some suggesting this week that he had more impact on registration than anyone in history. He and we knew that he had fought, and marched and been jailed and rebuked along the way to help make that path for President Obama.
When “Captain Fantastic” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016, I was struck by how Viggo Mortensen’s character in the movie wore a t-shirt that read, “Jesse Jackson ’88.” I got a chance to talk with Mortensen about it afterward, and he told me that it was, in fact, his own shirt that he had from when he campaigned for Jackson—as I did—during his 1988 presidential bid. In fact I knocked on doors and campaigned for Reverend Jackson in both his 1984 and 1988 campaigns for President. So many young people believed in him and believed he could make a difference. What none of us knew at the time is that his assignment was not to make a difference as a polittician. Something much broader was his destiny.
Even after Reverend Jackson announced that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s he kept showing up to fight for justice when it mattered. (It was a misdiagnosis. He had progressive supranuclear palsy). After all of his years of service it was so rewarding to see the warm enthusiastic response that he received at the last Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago in 2024. When he was wheeled on stage, big smile, shaking hands with all who crossed his path, I and everyone around me were in tears. It felt like a moment for a superhero.
We admired him for putting his own freedom and health on the line when it mattered. But what did his family think? It was obvious that Reverend Jackson loved his family and they loved him. They were aware of his place in the world and his drive to improve things. However, I did wonder whether his wife Jackie and his children Santita, Jesse Jr, Jonathan, Yusef, Jacqueline and Ashley would have preferred that he didn’t give so much of himself all the time. At the press conference, Santita said when she called him “Reverend” he corrected her and said to call him “Daddy.” His family life was precious to him and to them. It was reassuring to hear her say it. His family was his refuge.
On a personal level, when Roger was in the hospital for eight months, Reverend Jackson and Father Michael Pfleger of Chicago’s St. Sabina Church would come and pray with him. No one knew this, it was just something that they did, and we appreciated it. Reverend Jackson’s friendship with Roger had preceded Roger’s hospitalization, and they had a respect for each other. At Roger’s funeral, Reverend Jackson couldn’t attend, but his son Jonathan read a speech that he had written to honor him. He hailed Roger as a “soldier with a pen” who championed the work of Black filmmakers. “Roger respected what we had to say about ourselves,” he said. “It was not his story, but he understood the value of an important film was authenticity and not the fact that it depicted your interests.”
The last time I saw Reverend Jackson was March 25, 2025, when I was invited to attend a celebration of him when he received the George W. Bush Award hosted by the Points of Light Foundation. His niece Brenda Robinson and so many others spoke beautifully about Reverend Jackson’s work, and about his ability to reach across the aisle to work with former President Bush. By this time, he had lost his ability to speak, but his eyes, his actions and his firm handshake conveyed all you needed to know. Sitting there with Mrs. Jackson and his family, he was the picture of contentment and of a life well-lived.
I convey my deepest, deepest sympathy to Mrs. Jackson, and to all of his family. May He Rest In Heavenly Bliss.
================SEVERAL CELEBRATIONS OF LIFE ARE SCHEDULED FOR HIM STARTING NEXT WEEK: For more information about the services, go to JesseJacksonLegacy.com
His family said that all are welcome, no matter your beliefs, just leave politics at the door.
Thursday, February 26, 2026
Lying in State at Rainbow PUSH CoalitionLocation: 930 E 50th St, Chicago, IL 60615Time: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Friday, February 27, 2026
The People’s Celebration at House of HopeLocation: 752 E 114th St, Chicago, IL 60628Time: 10:00 AM – 2:00 PMDoors Open at 9:00 AM
Sunday, March 1 through Wednesday, March 4, 2026
Formal services in South Carolina and Washington, D.C.
Friday, March 6, 2026
The People’s Celebration at House of HopeLocation: 752 E. 114th Street, Chicago, IL 60628Doors Open at 9:00 AM
Saturday, March 7, 2026
Private Homegoing Services at Rainbow PUSHLocation: 930 E 50th St, Chicago, IL 60615No time given, but a livestream of the services will be shared for the public.
We also wanted to share some thoughts from friends of RogerEbert.com about the Reverend Jackson:
As a child growing up in the Midwest during the ‘70s, the Reverend Jesse Jackson who was inextricably tied to the city of Chicago, represented hope. He was a national leader who looked like me, talked like me and represented every element of my Blackness. Sure, we knew of and studied Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in school, but Jackson was the living and breathing embodiment of King’s dream. Jackson instilled pride and a belief that yes, you can do anything if you put your mind to it including running for the presidency of the United States. Thank you Mr. Jackson for helping a young Black boy believe in himself. – Shawn Edwards
I attended Howard University with Santita Jackson, so my perspective is a little different. Although many will speak on his political legacy, I believe his biggest legacy was as Santita’s Dad. Rev. Jackson supported and encouraged her to join the political arena in a very different lane than her siblings. She is outspoken and in a class of her own…just like her Dad. Their bond was and is unbreakable. – Carla Renata
My heavens! I met the Reverend Jesse Jackon a couple times and thought about him last week because of some work I’ve done about Dr. King, and some recollection of the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign. He spoke at our high school during Operation PUSH’s heyday. The girls in the auditorium went nuts. He was a talented athlete, a gifted orator’s whose DNC keynote address brought me to the verge of tears, and a human bridge to the most contentious confrontations of the Civil Rights Movement, not only in The Deep South, but in hate-filled Gage Park. My condolences to his loved ones, especially Jesse, Jr., a fellow former St. Albans Bulldog. His dad is irreplaceable. – Bijan Bayne
- Hulu’s “Paradise” Splits Its Focus And Gets More Frustratingly Unhinged In Season 2 (February 20, 2026)
Last year’s “Paradise” had the benefit of carrying one of television’s more baffling, smooth-brained (complimentary) concepts: A murder mystery about a dead president (James Marsden) and the Secret Service agent (Sterling K. Brown) committing to solving his murder… oh, and did we mention this is all taking place in a massive underground bunker in which tens of thousands of people are sitting out a nuclear holocaust in a simulated suburban idyll? On top of that, it comes from the mind of TV creator extraordinaire Dan Fogelman, so you can expect a murderer’s row of melodramatic twists, nested flashbacks, and groan-inducingly moody covers of 1980s power ballads to end every episode.
Despite (or because) of those Fogelmanian quirks, the first season of “Paradise” carried a kind of batshit, silly charm, culminating in an exciting end to the season that teed up a bunch of interesting “what next?” questions for many of our characters. But such stakes need to be paid off satisfyingly, and “Paradise”‘s sophomore season strays from what made its initial go so appealing, lurching unfortunately into the same old, same old survivalist-porn trappings, now marred by the overwrought Fogelman melodrama. “This Is (The Last Of) Us.”
When last we left the denizens of Colorado’s most happening mountainside destination, we’d solved the mystery of President Bradford’s death, bunker mastermind Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson) fell into a coma thanks to the efforts of agent-turned-assassin Jane (Nicole Brydon Bloom), and Brown’s Xavier Collins went off in a bid to track down his long-lost wife, Teri (Enuka Okuma), whom he’s just learned is still alive—along with a surprising number of survivors—in the rapidly-improving wasteland that is the bombed-out United States.
PARADISE – “Graceland” – Annie is a tour guide in Memphis, Tennessee, when the world ends. Her survival in the ensuing years after The Day is revealed as well as her encounter with a traveling group of survivors. (Disney/Ser Baffo)
SHAILENE WOODLEY
But the season premiere, “Graceland,” as with the bulk of the second season, concerns a host of new characters who’ve been carving out their own survivalist nooks and crannies in the 3 years since the Earth was devastated. Chief among them is Annie Clay (a committed Shailene Woodley), who we see pivot from traumatized medical student to tour guide at the titular home of Elvis Presley—whose basement becomes a handy place to ride out the end of the world.
Of course, her peace is shattered twofold: First, by a group of marauders she befriends, led by the handsome, young Link (Thomas Doherty), with whom she has a brief fling; they seem like all right gents, but their giddy interest in a rumored compound in Colorado certainly builds some stakes for later in the season. Then, after they leave, who should fall on her doorstep but Xavier, injured from his plane crashing and still desperate to find his wife.
For the first half of the season, Annie herself feels like “Paradise”‘s ostensible lead, guiding Xavier through the desperation and devastation of the outside world. The ash cloud has cleared, and people are starting to congregate and form ostensible communities, but, like any post-apocalyptic show you’ve ever seen, that environment is rife with corruption, violence, and revolution. Especially as these scattered survivors, gun-toting and hungry, grow ever more envious of the well-stocked facility that houses Xavier et al.
But that’s the problem; as “Paradise”‘s world expands, its novelty shrinks. This is especially true as the bulk of the season splits Xavier off into his own storyline, far from the compound that makes the show feel novel amid an existing field of fellow end-of-the-world shows like “Fallout” and “Silo.” At least in the bunker, there’s an element of political intrigue, a feeling of trying to keep the literal lights on and maintain a veneer of normalcy as the world collapses around them. And to his credit, Brown always carries his half of the season with a kind of wearied gravitas, even as the script just bounces him from one confusing situation to the next.
But Season 2 just shows us that the outside world is, well, pretty much fine now, if a bit resource-strapped, which makes Sinatra’s desperation to keep the charade up feel ever more inconsequential. (It doesn’t help that our remaining protagonists inside the bunker, from Sarah Shahi’s Gabriela to Krys Marshall’s Nicole to Charlie Evans’ rebellious First Son, Jeremy, get increasingly little focus.)
PARADISE – Xavier searches for Teri out in the world and learns how people survived the three years since The Day. Back in Paradise, the social fabric frays as the bunker deals with the aftermath of Season 1, and new secrets are uncovered about the city’s origins. (Disney/Ser Baffo)
JULIANNE NICHOLSON, SARAH SHAHI
Plus, this time around, the Fogelisms hurt more than help, as entire episodes carve out flashbacks to how so-and-so spent years of their lives preparing for life after civilization collapses. Between Annie, a bizarre Jane-focused flashback episode, and other characters I won’t yet name, the trick gets played so frequently that it gets tiresome, especially as the overwrought twists pile on to increasingly tiresome degrees. I won’t even get too far into the show’s treatment of women, which seems to enjoy making them suffer, or even die, to further warrior-mama tropes or give the men of the show something innocent to protect.
As someone who enjoyed the heightened stupidity of “Paradise”‘s first season, it’s dismaying to say it feels like a different show now. The things that grate remain (Really, we’re going to end a climactic showdown at the bunker’s gates with a self-serious rendition of “The Final Countdown”?), but the new characters we get just aren’t compelling enough to wallpaper over the fact we’ve lost, or neutered, the old characters we loved last time around. There are a few pulpy delights here and there, but this particular apocalypse moves a bit too slowly for my taste.
Seven episodes screened for review. First three episodes premiere February 23rd on Hulu, with new episodes airing weekly.
- Netflix’s “Strip Law” Should Stay in the Animated Desert (February 20, 2026)
Netflix has a complex history with adult animation. Some of their most critically acclaimed original comedies are animated: “BoJack Horseman,” “Big Mouth,” last year’s excellent “Long Story Short.” And yet there’s the other side of the coin with duds like last year’s “Haunted Hotel,” and the truly execrable “Hoops,” a show so bad that I mistakenly remembered its title as “Balls” the other day.
Watching “Strip Law,” the newest Netflix adult animated show, I had flashbacks to 2020’s “Hoops,” and wondered why. It’s because, in our review of it, Nick Allen wrote criticism that could fit directly into an introduction to a piece about “Strip Law”: “…a show that quickly numbs the viewer to the provocative effect of an f-bomb, and simply comes off as trying too hard to be naughty. An optimist would call this episode a cry for help from the writer’s room, but it’s more believable that the show is just blissfully unaware as to how unfunny it is, while being caught up in a tired reference.”
The “unfunny” this time stars Adam Scott as Las Vegas attorney Lincoln Gumb. Scott plays him basically as if “Parks and Recreation”’s Ben Wyatt broke up with Leslie Knope and moved to the city of sin. He’s a bit uptight, but the right people and situation can allow him to let his hair down. Like every character on “Strip Law,” he’s a two-dimensional bore, an idea for a person instead of anything real. Even the broadest “raunchy” animated comedies need something interesting at the center to hold onto. BoJack, Nick & Andrew on “Big Mouth,” even Peter Griffin define the tones of their show; Lincoln is a black hole of a character, the insecure guy who gives shocked looks at the chaos around him when he’s not conducting it.
Strip Law S1. Joel McHale as Pringus and Ikechukwu Ufomadu as Bench in Strip Law S1. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2026
Said chaos is primarily defined by two characters: A magician names Sheila Flambe (Janelle James) who joins Lincoln’s law firm to be his counter-weight when it comes to the showmanship needed to win Vegas court cases that can only be tried in the desert, and a slovenly vet named Glem Blorchman (Stephen Root), who has been disbarred so many times that he can probably only (and barely) try cases in Vegas. Other voice cast regulars include Keith David as nemesis attorney Steve Nichols, Aimee Garcia as Irene Gumb, and George Wallace as himself, the Mayor of Las Vegas. Wallace actually considered running for mayor in the 2000s, and his brief appearances are rare highlights of the series.
“Strip Law” is one of those shows that has an anchor plot every episode, but it’s used mostly as an excuse for quick, one-off, often lewd jokes a la “Family Guy.” In one of the better episodes, Glem seeks redemption after getting his license back by taking a case of a nearby town that has become perpetually drunk because its drinking water has been poisoned by the run-off from the sinks behind the bars of the Strip. If you think drunk kids are funny, this is the show for you.
Strip Law S1. Adam Scott as Lincoln Gumb, ESQ. in Strip Law S1. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2026
Even worse are the non-stop dated references, including such timely things as the California Raisins (“Nevada Grown Dates: Open Your Mouth and Take Them”) and Austin Powers. There’s almost a meta comedy aspect to the writing on “Strip Law” in that the references are SO dated and stale that just making them becomes a joke on its own. No one thinks an Austin Powers joke is funny anymore, but Vegas isn’t normal. It’s a place caught in time, where you’re still gonna hear jokes from the ‘80s and ‘90s, and might even run into a Powers impersonator. The sixth episode is basically just a collection of standalone jokes/clips built around a hideous Dean Martin impression. People rip on MacFarlane’s shows for being unfocused, but they look downright straightforward compared to this.
All of this analysis falls away under a simple truth: “Strip Law” just isn’t funny. As with all comedies, your mileage may vary, but I couldn’t even get through the first season. Maybe you like “Hoops,” too.
Seven episodes screened for review. Now on Netflix.
