Tracy Morgan is set to make a triumphant return to television comedy on Saturday night, more than a year after he was critically injured in a car crash that killed a close friend.
The comedian will host Saturday Night Live, the show on which he worked for more than seven years. SNL is enjoying a strong opening to its latest season and even a certain regained notoriety, over its decision to invite Donald Trump to host next month.
In June, a year after his accident in New Jersey, Morgan appeared on NBC’s Today and talked tearfully about the extent of his injuries and being “not 100%”.
This weekend, appearing very much recovered, he appeared in promotional videos for SNL, joking with cast members Bobby Moynihan and Kenan Thompson and musical guest Demi Lovato.
Morgan was also spotted warming up at a comedy club in New York. He posted a picture of himself on Twitter, saying: “My first time on stage in 16 months … Picking up the pieces!”
My first time on stage in 16 Months at the #ComedyCellar! Picking up the pieces! pic.twitter.com/T2uD2Zndot
— Tracy Morgan (@RealTracyMorgan) October 13, 2015
Morgan suffered a traumatic brain injury and other serious damage in June 2014, when a Walmart truck crashed into his limo bus on the New Jersey turnpike. The horrific crash killed comedian James McNair and injured others.
Morgan is best known for his work on SNL and for playing the character Tracy Jordan on the comedy series 30 Rock. In February, 30 Rock co-stars Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin paid a warm tribute to Morgan during SNL’s 40th anniversary special.
In September Morgan presented during the Emmys when he presented the final award of the night for Outstanding Drama Series. He posted an optimistic Tweet to his three million followers, saying: “I’ll be back bringing bag loads of funny soon.”
His comeback is likely to boost the audience for SNL, in a season that has so far proved the show remains relevant as it attracts big names – the first two hosts were Miley Cyrus and Amy Schumer – and controversy.
The show and its parent company NBC are under attack from Hispanic groups, after inviting leading Republican presidential contender Donald Trump to host the show on 7 November.
The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA) wrote to NBC asking the channel to pull the real-estate mogul’s appearance, over his remarks on the campaign trail in which he said some Mexican immigrants were rapists and criminals.
Trump’s remarks, at his campaign launch in June, were widely decried and NBC, which makes SNL, cut its partnership with him regarding the Miss Universe beauty pageant. Trump hosted and executive-produced the NBC hit shows The Apprentice and The Celebrity Apprentice for years. He last hosted SNL in 2004.
The NHLA said it was flabbergasted at NBC’s decision to invite Trump to host SNL after his “hateful speech”, and described his appearance as “a slap in the face” to Hispanics.
Undaunted, Trump has hinted he will offer up an impression of Hillary Clinton when he appears on the show, in riposte to her Trump impression when she appeared on SNL this month.
Clinton’s appearance, pretending to be a bartender while cast member Kate McKinnon pretended to be her, was well received, helping to soften her image and giving her a boost shortly before the first Democratic presidential debate.
