Tracy Morgan opened up about his 2014 near-death experience at Saturday’s African American Film Critics Association TV Awards ceremony.
“I remember being in a coma,” he told the AAFCA crowd at the City Club Los Angeles luncheon. “And now I’m accepting an award. It’s crazy. A coma, y’all! I was on the other side. You know what God said to me? None of your business! I’ll tell you something: keep it to yourself.”
Morgan received the inaugural Flip Wilson Award, named for the television pioneer who transformed the cultural landscape for Black entertainers. After being struck by a truck in 2014, Morgan was placed in a medically induced coma. He spent several months using a wheelchair before learning to walk again.
Now, the Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock alum is back in the spotlight for Peacock’s The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, which also earned a Best Supporting Actress trophy for Erika Alexander at the AAFCA Awards. “I love that girl — she’s the best,” Morgan said about his co-star.
The comedian added about his honor, “Flip Wilson was a legend and a trailblazer, who I saw when I was little. Never did I ever think I would be him. He made the world laugh a lot, and that is what I’m trying to do, always.”
Morgan is a two-time Emmy nominee for his supporting role on 30 Rock in 2009 and for hosting SNL in 2016. His SNL and 30 Rock mentor, Tina Fey, delivered remarks via video while Alexander presented him with the trophy.
“I got hit by a truck. I’m still here,” Morgan declared after leaving the stage and then returning to the microphone to excited applause. Alexander added to the narrative by stating he was a “resurrection story,” pure and simple.
Other AAFCA honorees this year included Paradise (Best Drama and Best Actor for Sterling K. Brown), Shrinking (Best Comedy), Love Story (Best Limited Series and Best Directing for Crystle Roberson Dorsey), and Spider-Noir (Best Supporting Actor for Lamorne Morris and Best Music for Kris Bowers).
Sterling K. Brown, this year’s double AAFCA recipient for starring in and producing Paradise, said he grew up as a “latchkey kid” who knew “what day of the week it was based on TV.” And now, “to be a part of a medium and to be something that comes into people’s houses every week” is special for Brown, because audiences “get a chance to know you and develop familiarity with you.”
Brown’s Paradise co-stars Julianne Nicholson and Shailene Woodley were on hand to honor him as Best Actor, and also helped accept the trophy for Best Drama.
Abbott Elementary Emmy winner Sheryl Lee Ralph received a standing ovation after accepting the show’s prize for Best Ensemble. “All of you future awardees out there, I’ll be watching you,” she stated. “I’ll be watching all of you. Remember, your grandmother’s a fine bitch!”
Ralph’s scene partner Janelle James added, “First and foremost, I’d like to thank my lord and savior, Quinta Brunson. Never in my life I have dreamed of having such a large heated pool — and [it happened] through her vision and creativity of creating this show, an instant classic.”
Below is the complete list of television winners at the AAFCA Awards:
- Best Drama — Paradise (Hulu)
- Best Comedy — Shrinking (Apple TV)
- Best Limited Series — Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette (FX/Hulu)
- Best Actor — Sterling K. Brown, Paradise (Hulu)
- Best Actress — Jurnee Smollett, Smoke (Apple TV)
- Best Supporting Actress — Erika Alexander, The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins (NBC)
- Best Supporting Actor — Lamorne Morris, Spider-Noir (Prime Video)
- Best Ensemble — Abbott Elementary (ABC)
- Best Directing (Drama) — Crystle Roberson Dorsey, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette (FX/Hulu)
- Best Directing (Comedy) — Anthony Hemingway, All’s Fair (Hulu)
- Best Documentary — Sean Combs: The Reckoning (Netflix)
- Best Writing — Abbott Elementary (ABC)
- Best Music — Kris Bowers, Spider-Noir (Prime Video)
- Best Breakout Performance — Aaron Moten, Fallout (Prime Video)
- Best Reality Series — Love & Marriage: Huntsville (OWN)
- Best Podcast — All the Smoke with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson
AAFCA’s Top 10 TV shows of 2026:
- 1. Paradise (Hulu)
- 2. The Pitt (HBO Max)
- 3. Shrinking (Apple TV)
- 4. The Madison (Paramount+)
- 5. Abbott Elementary (ABC)
- 6. The Chi (Paramount+ with Showtime)
- 7. Matlock (CBS)
- 8. The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins (NBC)
- 9. Beef (Netflix)
- 10. The ‘Burbs (Peacock)
AAFCA’s special TV achievement honorees:
- Flip Wilson Award: Tracy Morgan
- TV Vanguard Award: Kathryn Busby
- Impact Award: Celeste Hughey
- Horizon Award: Lamar Chase
- Salute to Excellence Award: Felicia Pride
See how many of these winners translate to the Emmy Awards when the Television Academy’s trophies are handed out on Sept. 14.
