About a year ago, there was a report that Tracy Morgan's return to television would be with a sitcom executive produced by Jordan Peele that was going to premiere on FX. Between then and now, the series appears to have been worked on to the point where it's added a hilarious group of comedians to the cast and found a home in TBS. This week, TBS announced during TCAs that the series, The Last O.G., would be premiering its 10-episode series on April 3 at 10:30 p.m.
The move makes sense, as TBS has been honing its lineup to steer towards the funny (with reruns and original series), and this Tracy Morgan-led series is a huge get. The question is, are you ready to watch? If you aren't or have been content with playing yourself, don't worry, we've got you covered with a look at why you should be as ready as we are to watch The Last O.G..
It's an intriguing role for Tracy Morgan to pick up
The series has Morgan playing the role of Tray, an ex-con who returns home after a 15-year stint on good behavior, and comes home to practically a whole new world. He returns to Brooklyn to find that his ex-girlfriend, Shay, has left him to marry a rich white man; they are raising the twins that Tray never knew he had. Tray wants to see his kids, but is flat broke, so he goes back to his old ways to make a buck to keep up with his family.
While not a one-to-one of Morgan's life, he has had to build himself back from a horrific car crash from June of 2014, and while he's definitely been shining, he can no doubt add some real-life knowledge about fighting to come back to life, for family. That's not to say the show won't be funny, but there will definitely be some human aspects to the series.
There's a talented cast behind Tracy Morgan
Tracy Morgan's comedy chops are there; he's killed it with cameos on shows like Martin, and was also a huge part of the successful runs of Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock. We know he can hold his own, but when you hear that Tiffany Haddish is cast as his ex-girlfriend who's also hidden their twins from him for 15 years? The insanity of their convos alone will be great to see on-screen. Also on-board is the always-funny Cedric the Entertainer, who plays the head of the halfway house Tray lives in, and Allen Maldonado, who steals many of the scenes on black-ish that he's in. You'll also see everyone from Malik Yoba to This Is Us' Chrissy Metz appearing as guest stars.
The Jordan Peele factor
Jordan Peele's Get Out was a major success story in 2017, and now that people have started to recognized his genius he's been tapped for some pretty big projects. From rebooting The Twilight Zone to working with Spike Lee, Peele's moves have been magnificent. The Last O.G. feels like both a curveball and exactly what he should be doing with his newfound appeal and with him executive producing this new Tracy Morgan series, it feels like a perfect fit. It allows Peele to let his funny shine, but also gives Tracy Morgan an added bit of cred to those who might be sleeping on the series... hopefully.
Either way, Morgan's new series feels like it's going to be great. And while, yes, part of that is because of his journey back from the brink of death to getting back in front of the camera and on the stage to make people laugh, but now having seen him execute, it's time to have Tracy back on our screens on a regular basis. For that reason alone, we're here for it.
