Netflix has released the first teaser for Tracy Morgan’s Staying Alive special and it’s heartbreaking, inspiring, and hilarious. Tracy Morgan is known for his larger-than-life sense of humor and unhinged delivery that sets him apart from his peers. In addition, Morgan has the gift of gab and can tell a story like nobody’s business. Today we get a look at the first teaser for the comedian’s hotly anticipated new Netflix special.
The 1 minute teaser clip comes courtesy of the official Netflix YouTube channel and shows Morgan in rare form, touching on his 2014 car accident and recovery for much of the teaser. He shares that he was able to witness his daughter’s first steps, which gave him the strength to take his first steps out of his wheelchair. Morgan goes on to talk about his grandmother praying for him. Read what he had to say about the power of prayer.
“My grandmother prays all the time. I say, ‘Stop praying over me! I already died and went to heaven and spoke to God. God said, tell your grandmother to shut the f*ck up!'”
The light and dark of this teaser clip seem to inform what the special will obviously focus on. Morgan’s life changed drastically in 2014 when he was involved in a car accident that left him in a coma and one of his closest friends dead. At the time, and for almost 2 years afterwards, it was unsure if Morgan would return to the world of entertainment. Morgan suffered a traumatic brain injury, leaving him blind for 6 days after he woke up and having to relearn how to walk. After months of physical therapy, Morgan began to slowly make his comeback and is now enjoying some of the greatest shows of his career. He has even hosted Saturday Night Live and made bit parts here and there for the show. When Morgan hosted SNL it was the first time that most of the public had seen him since the accident and he did not disappoint.
The show used for the aptly titled Staying Alive stand-up special was filmed at the Count Basie Theatre in New Jersey to a sold out crowd earlier this year. Morgan’s special is the latest in a string of successful stand-up comedy specials for Netflix. Chris Rock, Bill Burr, Dave Chappelle, Jerry Seinfeld, Amy Schumer, and Louis C.K. have all signed on and either released or have upcoming specials coming exclusively to Netflix, ensuring success for the streaming service and the comedians.
To say that Staying Alive is anticipated would be an understatement. But Morgan also has more projects to get excited about. He was recently seen in the comedy Fist Fight, which will be coming to VOD soon. He’s currently working with Jordan Peele for a new sitcom on FX and it was announced in 2015 that Morgan would star as Redd Foxx in a Richard Pryor biopic. Morgan’s Staying Alive premiers next Tuesday, May 16th, 2017 exclusively on Netflix. You can watch the teaser clip below.