At 24, Erika Alexander stepped onto the set of Yvette Lee Bowser’s Fox sitcom “Living Single,” opposite veteran Queen Latifah, and became an icon. Maxine Shaw, attorney at law, was unlike any character previously depicted on television. Dressed to kill with an insatiable appetite and a sharp tongue that was either directed at Kim Fields’ divaesque Regine Hunter or Max’s nemesis-turned-lover Kyle Barker (T.C. Carson), Maxine was a self-assured Black woman who spoke her mind, centered herself and always demanded the very best. Now, nearly 30 years after the final credits rolled on the Brooklyn-set show, Alexander has returned to her roots.
In NBC’s “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins,” helmed by “30 Rock” alums Robert Carlock, Sam Means and Tina Fey, the “Get Out” actress has re-entered the world of television comedy. The show is Alexander’s first sitcom series regular role since “Living Single,” and she’s proving that her comedic skills, which she first began honing on the set of “The Cosby Show” in the early 1990s, are just as dynamic as they always were.
In “Reggie Dinkins,” Alexander portrays Monica, the ex-wife and business manager of the long-disgraced former football player (Tracy Morgan). A gambling scandal ruined Reggie’s career and reputation some 20 years ago. Yet, in an effort to still get into the Hall of Fame, he has hired failed documentarian, Arthur Tobin (Daniel Radcliffe), to reclaim what’s left of his sordid legacy. It’s a scheme that Monica isn’t exactly on board with.
