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 premiered on NBC on February 16, 2021.

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.

Main

 * Dwayne Johnson as Himself
 * Adrian Groulx as 10-year-old Dwayne Johnson
 * Bradley Constant as 15-year-old Dwayne Johnson
 * Uli Latukefu as 18–20-year-old Dwayne Johnson
 * 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)

1982

 * Brett Azar as The Iron Sheik
 * Nate Jackson as Junkyard Dog
 * Kevin Makely as Randy Savage
 * Fasitua Amosa and John Tui as Sika and Afa Anoa'i, better known as The Wild Samoans
 * Wayne Mattei as Sgt. Slaughter
 * Josh Thomson as Bob, Lia Maivia's assistant

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

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

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.

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.

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 premiered on February 16, 2021. A holiday special episode titled as "A Christmas Peril" has been scheduled on December 15, 2021, ahead of the second season premiere on March 15, 2022.

Reception
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".