Plus, the actress reveals if that lightning bolt necklace is a tribute to her castmate, Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe.

Erika Alexander thought she’d be the ‘bats--- crazy’ ex-wife on The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins

Plus, the actress reveals if that lightning bolt necklace is a tribute to her castmate, Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe.

By Gerrad Hall

Gerrad Hall

Gerrad Hall is an editorial director at **, overseeing movie, awards, and music coverage. He is also host of The Awardist podcast, and has cohosted EW’s live Oscars, Emmys, SAG, and Grammys red carpet shows. He has appeared on Good Morning America, The Talk, Access Hollywood, Extra!, and other talk shows, delivering the latest news on pop culture and entertainment.

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June 17, 2026 7:37 p.m. ET

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'The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins' star Erika Alexander. Credit:

Paul Mobley/NBC

- Erika Alexander breaks down the complicated relationship with her ex-husband, played by Tracy Morgan, on 'The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins.'

- The actress reveals the behind-the-scenes story of her character's lightning bolt necklace.

- She also shares how she's adjusted to working on a multi-cam comedy after starring on sitcoms with studio audiences.

Eagle-eyed viewers of *The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins* may have noticed a certain lightning-bolt-shaped piece of jewelry that Erika Alexander's character, Monica, wears daily. But no, it's not an Easter egg referencing her costar, Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe.

"First of all, you're the first one to ever mention it. No one's ever asked me about the lightning bolt," she says on an episode of **'s *The Awardist* podcast. "When the costumer gave it to me, she said, 'I just think she would have something that she always wore that wasn't expensive, like a talisman.' And I said, 'That's perfect.' Because she herself is an athlete and they came through it, and I think that you get things that, through time, you keep because that reminds you of who you are. So that to me, I said, 'Yes, let's keep that as her thing.' So that's why it's there, because I wanted it to be something that looked like it could have come out of a machine — like a candy machine — that she just kept. But I never thought about the lightning bolt and the Boy Who [Lived]."

On the NBC comedy, Radcliffe plays Arthur Tobin, a documentary filmmaker following Monica and her ex-husband, Reggie, played by Tracy Morgan. He's a former professional football player who was banned from the sport after accidentally revealing on a sports broadcast that he bets on games — specifically on his own gameplay. (That's not *as* bad as betting against his entire team, right?) Despite their divorce, Monica still manages Reggie's career, now trying to help him rehabilitate his reputation.

Erika Alexander on 'The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins'.

Scott Gries/NBC

"Part of me thought she must be bats--- crazy," the *Living Single* and *American Fiction* star says, laughing. "One of two things: She's got great character... Or they're dependent on each other. Both things can be true. And I think that both things are true because I think when Reggie got locked in there for a lapse in moral character and having bet on himself, what he didn't realize is that he put his family in that situation. We think about the people who might have those public embarrassments or things that they've done that they have to say sorry for, but the family that suffers with them, it's a lot."

Alexander says Monica chose to ultimately keep their relationship professional, noting that it was "too much" to continue to be his wife. "She believes in him and she knows that one thing is not the fullness of who he is. And so his redemption is her redemption," she explains. "She wants to show people that she bet on the right person, that this is a good guy. *You should know who the person I know is*. And I love that because I grew up in a very religious household, and although I'm not very religious myself — I'm spiritual —we often talk about forgiveness and do none of it. It's work, because, you know, forgiveness is not saved for your enemies. It's for the people you love the most who can betray you and disappoint you. And that's when you're really doing the work of what it is to be human."

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And if Morgan has his way, he, Alexander, and the rest of the cast will be exploring what it means to be human for a while. "'We're gonna be a family for 5, 10, 20 years,'" she says, doing her best impersonation (a spot on one, in fact) of Morgan's distinct voice and cadence.

And having spent the early part of her career on TV comedies, including all five seasons of *Living Single* and the final two years of *The Cosby Show*, she admits there's one thing she's still trying to get used to on the multi-cam format of *Reggie Dinkins*: having no live studio audience.

"I miss them so, so much. I miss them so much. But that's a crutch," she says. "I don't have an audience at home, and I think I'm funny, so I crack myself up. There's no studio audience [at home] — there's just a mirror. You gotta believe that that's what you do. And that is partly what one of my skill sets is: It's just doing it different ways."

Daniel Radcliffe, Erika Alexander, and Tracy Morgan on 'The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins'.

Scott Gries/NBC

***Check out more from EW's *****The Awardist*****, featuring exclusive interviews, analysis, and our podcast diving into all the highlights from the year's best in TV, movies, and more.***

Listen to Alexander's full interview on *The Awardist*, below, where she also shares a story about how protective Radcliffe is of his castmates, talks about her career struggles that eventually led to filing for bankruptcy, what she learned from Phylicia Rashad on *The Cosby Show*, and more.

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