If it seems like actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is ubiquitous and might run for president one day, well, there’s an NBC sitcom for that called “Young Rock.”
In case you missed the first season, the comedy returns Tuesday at 8 p.m. for a sophomore year where three actors play younger versions of Johnson while Johnson plays a future version of himself in ten years running for president.
The concept is audacious but the result feels like ABC’s flashback coming-of-age show “Fresh Off the Boat” in general tone. That may be because two of the executive producers ― Nahnatchka Khan and Jeff Chiang ― oversaw “Fresh Off the Boat.”
“We want it to be accessible and warmhearted but not to the point of syrupy or sappy,” said Brian Gerwitz, a show producer and senior vice president of development for Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions with Dany Garcia. “There is a little edge and naughtiness but it’s fun.”
The show’s flashback scenes were shot in Australia, which was meant to replicate multiple places in the United States like Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee; Miami; Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; and Honolulu. The “future” scenes where the Rock is running for president, which include Randall Park (”Fresh Off the Boat”) as a journalist, were largely shot in metro Atlanta.
If anything, the casting is impressive because all three younger actors are convincing facsimiles of Johnson as a pre-teen (Adrian Groulx), a teenager (Bradley Constant) and a young man (Uli Latukefu).
“They chose people who are quite similar,” Latukefu said. “As long as we stay true to what we prepare and what Dwayne is at any given time, the rest kind of takes care of itself.”
Latukefu this season, playing Johnson in his early 20s, will enter the Canadian Football League, then find his way into professional wrestling. “He’s always keen to learning and growing,” Latukefu said. “I think wrestling fans will be really excited. I brought my best to the table. We worked hard in the ring. I had a lot of fun.” He said there will be some bad hair styles, too, long before Johnson opts to go bald.
Constant said his time frame will feature more of Johnson in Nashville, where he spent some of his teen years. “A lot of fun shenanigans,” he said. “I’m a little more involved with wrestling with Rocky” Johnson, Johnson’s father, also a professional wrestler.
His teen years were still filled with Johnson’s petty thieving ways, which was featured season one. “There will be lessons learned,” Gerwitz said, “not just a gratuitous sense of mischief and fun.”
Credit: Daniel Delgado/NBC
Credit: Daniel Delgado/NBC
Gerwitz said the 2032 storyline will expand out beyond the Rock just talking with Park’s character, adding more twists and turns regarding his presidential campaign including a man attempting to sabotage Johnson starting in the season two debut.
Unfortunately, due to the pandemic and quarantine rules, it didn’t make sense for Johnson to meet the cast face to face in Australia. He had to make do with frequent Zoom calls, providing notes on every script and consulting with the cast and writers on small details of his life. He would often respond quickly no matter how busy he was with other projects.
“I’m not sure when he sleeps,” Gerwitz said, noting the time difference between Australia and Atlanta.
“Young Rock” is not a documentary. “Even if the events didn’t happen, even if Captain Lou and Randy Savage and André the Giant and the Iron Sheik weren’t hanging out at the same time in Lia’s kitchen, there’s the spirit of that,” Gerwitz said, referencing Johnson’s grandmother Lia Maivia, a wrestling promoter in the 1980s in Hawaii. “We take creative license for the entertainment value.”
The Christmas episode that aired in December, for instance, featured Johnson in a fake Christmas movie explaining to a child actor about the magic of Christmas and featuring a crazy Christmas-themed wrestling match that was purely made up for the show.
This season will feature even more wrestling scenes in all three eras, Gerwitz said. “We worked with a lot of local Australian professional wrestlers who know how to take the bumps and make our performers look great.”
WHERE TO WATCH
“Young Rock,” 8 p.m. Tuesdays on NBC and available the next day on Peacock
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