Young Rock

***Young Rock*** is an American sitcom television series based upon the life of professional wrestler and actor Dwayne Johnson. The series is created by Nahnatchka Khan and Jeff Chiang and aired from February 16, 2021 until February 24, 2023 on NBC.

## Synopsis

The sitcom is set in a frame story where Johnson is running as a candidate in the 2032 United States presidential election. Each episode involves Johnson participating in an interview or other conversation which leads him to flashback to a story from one of three periods of Johnson’s life (except for the pilot, where all three are shown): as a 10-year-old in Hawaii; as a high school student in Pennsylvania; and as a college student and football player at the University of Miami.

## Cast and Characters

### Main

* Dwayne Johnson as Himself
	+ Adrian Groulx as 10-year-old Dwayne
	+ Bradley Constant as 15-year-old Dwayne
	+ Uli Latukefu as 18/20-year-old Dwayne
* Stacey Leilua as Ata Johnson
* Joseph Lee Anderson as Rocky Johnson
* Ana Tuisila as Lia Maivia
* John Tui as Afa Anoa'i
* Fasitua Amosa as Sika Anoa'i
* Randall Park as Himself
* Matthew Willig as André the Giant (season 2; recurring season 1, 3)

### Recurring

#### 1982

* Brett Azar as The Iron Sheik
* Nate Jackson as Junkyard Dog
* Kevin Makely as Randy Savage
* Wayne Mattei as Sgt. Slaughter
* Josh Thomson as Bob, Lia Maivia's assistant
* Sarah Gattelleri as Miss Elizabeth (season 2)
* Dave T. Koenig as Mean Gene Okerlund (season 2)
* Antuone Torbert as Tony Atlas (season 2)

#### 1987

* Lexie Duncan as Karen, teenage Rock's girlfriend (Duncan also plays Lisa, Karen's twin sister.)
* Bryan Probets as Principal Boggs
* Stephen Adams as Kevin, Teenage Rock's rival for Karen
* Matthew Farrelly as Ric Flair
* Jade Drane as Roddy Piper
* Adam Ray as Vince McMahon
* Taj Cross as Gabe, Dewey's best friend in high school
* Genevieve Hegney as Diane, Ata's employer
* Ryan Pinkston as Downtown Bruno (season 2-3)
* Greg Larsen as Bob Owens, a wrestler (season 2)
* Kiff Vanderhuevel as Pat Patterson (season 2-3)

#### 1990s

* Emmett Skilton as Ed Orgeron
* Wavyy Jones as Russell Maryland
* Rich Morrow as Michael Irvin
* Lovensky Jean-Baptiste as 2 Live Crew member, Luther "Uncle Luke" Campbell
* Robert Crayton as Warren Sapp
* Joshua Hoyo Jr as Mario Cristobal
* Montez Wilkins as Jessie Armstead
* Victor Gralak as Doug Flutie, a Calgary Football League player (season 2)
* Lucas Tranchitella as Jeff Garcia, a Calgary Football League player (season 2)
* Arlyn Broche as Dany Garcia, Dwayne's girlfriend (season 2-3)
* Mark Casamento as Coach Wally Buono (season 2)
* Mana Tatafu as Uncle King Tonga
* Bowie Walton as Joe "Roman Reigns" Anoa'i

#### Present

* Randall Park as Himself, now the host of his own news show *The Straight Line with Randall Park*
* Kenny Smith as Himself, now a solo sports show host, unlike *Inside the NBA*
* Rosario Dawson as General Monica Jackson, the VP candidate for Dwayne Johnson's presidential campaign
* Ata Johnson as Herself, interview between Dwayne and Randall, and in the season 1 finale.
* Ed Orgeron as Himself (cameo), interview between Dwayne and Kenny Smith
* Chelsey Crisp as Casey
* Christopher Chen as Sandy
* Michael Torpey as Senator/President Brayden Taft

## Production

### Development

On January 11, 2020, NBC gave a straight-to-series order to *Young Rock*, a comedy series based on Dwayne Johnson's early life created by Johnson and Nahnatchka Khan and produce the series with Jeff Chiang, Dany Garcia, Jennifer Carreras, Hiram Garcia, and Brian Gewirtz with Khan and Chiang writing the pilot. In November 2020, production on the series commenced in Australia. On January 15, 2021, it was announced that the series would premiere on February 16, 2021. On April 30, 2021, the series was renewed for a second season. On May 12, 2022, the series has been renewed for a third season. On June 9, 2023, NBC canceled the series after three seasons.

### Casting

Three actors were cast to play Johnson at three ages from his youth. On September 30, 2020, Johnson revealed that Bradley Constant was cast as 15-year-old Johnson, Uli Latukefu as 18–20-year-old Johnson, Adrian Groulx as 10-year-old Johnson, Stacey Leilua as Johnson's mother, Ata Johnson, Joseph Lee Anderson as Johnson's father, Rocky Johnson, and Ana Tuisila as Johnson's grandmother, Lia Maivia.

## Release

### Marketing

During the 2020 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, an inflatable float featuring Dwayne Johnson in his 20s was unveiled in promotion of the television show. *Young Rock* aired from February 16, 2021 until February 24, 2023 on NBC.

## Reception

### Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 89% based on 18 critic reviews, with an average rating of 6.99/10. On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 65 out of 100, based on 10 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

## Gallery

### Trailers

YOUNG ROCK - Official Trailer - FEB 16 on NBCYoung Rock Season 1 First Look - Rotten Tomatoes TV
## External links

* NBC
* Young Rock on Television Fandom
* Young Rock on Wikipedia
* Young Rock on IMDb

## References

1. ↑ https://deadline.com/2021/04/young-rock-kenan-renewed-season-2-nbc-1234747680/
2. ↑ https://deadline.com/2022/05/young-rock-renewed-season-3-nbc-1234984397/