Tracy Morgan returns to scripted comedy in “The Last O.G,” but the actor feels a lot has changed since he was last on the small screen — mainly himself.
In the TBS show, Morgan stars as a man who experiences culture shock when he returns to a gentrified Brooklyn after 15 years in prison.
He’s surrounded by an ensemble that includes Cedric the Entertainer, “Girls Trip” star Tiffany Haddish and actor Allen Maldonado.
Asked during a panel for the series during the Television Critics Association press tour why he chose to star in a show with a strong ensemble — versus, say, an auteur-driven comedy like those which has been popular as of late — Morgan said he felt that wasn’t the right approach.
“Maybe I’m just a better man now since the accident,” he said, referencing a June 2014 crash that left him severely injured. “It ain’t about me. It’s bigger than me.”
Morgan was in a coma for two weeks after a Walmart truck hit a limousine in which he was a passenger. Comedian James McNair, who was with Morgan, was killed in the crash.
Morgan said he takes breaks on set and is encouraged to do so by his production staff and fellow cast members.
“I have my crew and I love them and they make sure I sit down,” he said. “I’m taken care of by my people, and I love them with my heart.”
Following the accident, the “30 Rock” alum made a slow but steady return to the stage, first with a surprise appearance at the 2015 Emmy awards and then one month later as host of “Saturday Night Live.”
A running theme in “The Last O.G.,” Morgan and producers said, is the importance of second chances.
Asked what it meant to him to make his return to TV in what could be viewed as his own second chance, Morgan said he had only one response: “Thank God.”
“The Last O.G.” premieres October 24.