Tracy Morgan brings “Scare Tactics” back to Syfy; talks life without “30 Rock”

Halloween is a scary time for sure. Ghost, goblins, life without 30 Rock.

OK, so that last one might just be specific to Tracy Morgan, who for the first time since 2006 doesn’t have Liz Lemon to befuddle. But the boisterous comedian has plenty going on to stave off any fearful boredom. There’s his new standup special, which he was in the process of editing when we talked, and a marathon of new episodes of Scare Tactics airing Monday on Syfy.

The hidden-camera show, where people set up unsuspecting friends or family members for pranks meant to bring them to the point of sheer terror before revealing it’s all a gag, is still going strong after premiering in 2003. Morgan took over hosting duties for Shannen Doherty back in 2008 and has since taken on an executive producer role.

Morgan introduces, and sometimes even participates in, segments like the one where a young woman fears she’s helping deliver Satan’s baby, or where a fledgling model is led to believe she’s being sold to the highest bidder.

“I wouldn’t come back to this show if I didn’t think it was still fun and I didn’t love to do it,” Morgan says. “That’s the main reason I go back and do it, because it’s fun to me. When it stops being fun I’ll go do something else.”

So while he’s already getting his scare on with his hosting gig, Morgan says his offscreen Halloween rituals are pretty normal: lighting a lantern, handing out candy to neighborhood kids. But when asked if he puts on a costume, he offers a very, dare we say, Tracy Jordan kind of answer.

“No, I’m a 45-year-old black man,” he says. “I don’t do that. Come on, man. I have children. My oldest son is 29. I don’t do that. Come on.”

He also won’t spend much time mourning the absence of 30 Rock. Morgan has never been one to look back — he couldn’t recall a single setup from the Scare Tactics episodes he had filmed just a couple months prior — and he’s perfectly content to move on.

Of his 30 Rock costars, he says, “We got to see each other at the Emmys, and I’m doing great, you know. I’m doing a lot of standup, preparing for my new TV show and I’m having a good time. You miss the people that you work with … but we just filmed some seasons of TV. It’s not like my dad or my aunt died or something like that. It’s a TV show. TV shows come and go.”

Scare Tactics returns with new episodes at 8pm Monday, Oct. 28, on Syfy.

Tracy Morgan Scare Tactics Syfy
2012 Syfy Media, LLC Credit: Jen Arron

2 Comments

  1. I love the show and watch it all the time. I love too have u get my friend he said no one can bee falling for that staff.

  2. I love your show and watch it all the time. I would love to get my son Jason on it. He always tells me no one could ever scare him. If you could help me with this I would love to prove him wrong. Please let me know how to get him on the show. Sincerely Toni

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