''Young Rock'' is an American television

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

based upon the life of professional wrestler and actor

Dwayne Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he was integral to the develop ...

, also known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or project ...

"The Rock". The series is created by Johnson, Jeff Chiang and

Nahnatchka Khan Nahnatchka Khan (born June 17, 1973) is an American television writer and producer. She created and executive produced the ABC comedy series '' Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23'' (2012–2013) and '' Fresh Off the Boat'' (2015–2020), a ...

and premiered on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

on February 16, 2021. The series has received generally positive reviews from critics. In April 2021, the series was renewed for a second season. A holiday special episode aired on December 15, 2021, ahead of the second-season premiere on March 15, 2022. In May 2022, the series was renewed for a third season, which premiered on November 4, 2022.

Premise

The sitcom is set in a

frame story A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (co ...

where Johnson is running as a candidate in the 2032

United States presidential election The election of the president and the vice president of the United States is an indirect election in which citizens of the United States who are registered to vote in one of the fifty U.S. states or in Washington, D.C., cast ballots not dir ...

. 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 (with occasional episodes where all three periods are shown). In the first season, Johnson is depicted as a ten-year-old in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

; as a high school student in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

; and as a college student and football player at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

Cast and characters

Main

as himself, a United States Presidential

candidate A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * ...

in 2032 * Joseph Lee Anderson as

Rocky Johnson Rocky Johnson (born Wayde Douglas Bowles; August 24, 1944 – January 15, 2020) was a Canadian professional wrestler. Among many National Wrestling Alliance titles, he was the first Black Georgia Heavyweight Champion as well as the NWA Televisi ...

, Dwayne's father * Stacey Leilua as Ata Johnson, Dwayne's mother * Ana Tuisila as Lia Maivia, Dwayne's grandmother, Ata's mother ** Tuisila also plays the 1960's version of Lia * Adrian Groulx as 10-14-year-old Dwayne "Dewey" Johnson * Bradley Constant as 15-17-year-old Dwayne Johnson *

Uli Latukefu Talia'uli Latukefu is an Australian actor and singer, best known for his roles as Dwayne Johnson in the NBC comedy ''Young Rock'' and Byamba in the American Netflix series ''Marco Polo''. He also played Darren Ngata in the popular Australian d ...

as 18–26-year-old Dwayne Johnson * Matthew Willig as

André the Giant André René Roussimoff (; 19 May 1946 – 28 January 1993), better known by his ring name André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. Roussimoff was known for his great size, which was a result of gigantism caused by excess ...

(season 2-present; recurring season 1) ** Jacob Warren plays a Young Andre the Giant in the 1960s (season 3)

Recurring

1982

(Note: All the wrestling recurring characters who appear in 1982 also appear in 1987 and the 1990s) * Brett Azar as

The Iron Sheik Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri ( fa, حسین خسرو علی وزیری, romanized: Hossein Xosrô 'Ali Vaziri; born March 15, 1942), better known by his ring name the Iron Sheik, is an Iranian retired professional wrestler, amateur wrestler and ...

* Nate Jackson as

Junkyard Dog Sylvester Ritter (December 13, 1952 – June 1, 1998) was an American professional wrestler and college football player, best known for his work in Mid-South Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation as the Junkyard Dog (or JYD), a nickname ...

Kevin Makely Kevin Makely (born August 29, 1973) is an American actor and producer. Early life and education Makely was a 1992 graduate of Roy C. Ketcham High School in Wappinger Falls in Dutchess County, New York State. Career In 2019 Makely produced and s ...

Randy Savage Randall Mario Poffo (November 15, 1952 – May 20, 2011), better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestl ...

* Fasitua Amosa and

John Tui John Tui (pronounced ''two-we''; born 11 June 1975) is a New Zealand actor of Tongan descent. He is known for his roles as Anubis "Doggie" Cruger in '' Power Rangers S.P.D.'' and as Daggeron in ''Power Rangers Mystic Force'', both filmed in his n ...

as Sika and

Afa Anoa'i Afa Amituana'i "Arthur" Anoa'i (born November 21, 1942) is a Samoan-American retired professional wrestler and professional wrestling manager. Since retiring, he has operated the World Xtreme Wrestling promotion and trained wrestlers at the Wild ...

, better known as The Wild Samoans * Wayne Mattei as Sgt. Slaughter * Kiff VandenHeuvel as Pat Patterson (season 2- ) **

Marshall Williams Marshall Williams (born July 31, 1989) is a Canadian actor and model. He is best known for his role as Spencer Porter on ''Glee'', and Albert Banks in '' How to Build a Better Boy''. Life and career Marshall Williams was born in Winnipeg, Manit ...

plays a Young Pat Patterson in the 1960s (season 3) *

Josh Thomson Joshua Joseph Thomson (born September 21, 1977) is an American mixed martial arts podcaster, commentator, analyst and former mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2001, Thomson has competed in Bellator MMA, PRIDE, Strikeforce, ...

as Bob, Lia Maivia's assistant *

Ronny Chieng Ronny Xin Yi Chieng (; born 21 November 1985) is a Malaysian comedian and actor. He is currently a senior correspondent on Comedy Central's ''The Daily Show'' and the creator and star of the ABC Australia sitcom '' Ronny Chieng: International S ...

as Greg Yao (season 1), a rival promoter of Lia's who is scalping wrestlers * Sarah Gattelleri as

Miss Elizabeth Elizabeth Ann Hulette (November 19, 1960 – May 1, 2003), best known in professional wrestling circles as Miss Elizabeth, was an American professional wrestling manager, occasional professional wrestler and professional wrestling TV announcer. S ...

(season 2) * Dave T. Koenig as Mean Gene Okerlund (season 2) * Antuone Torbert as

Tony Atlas Anthony White (born April 23, 1954) better known by his ring name Tony Atlas is an American bodybuilder, powerlifter, and professional wrestler who has held multiple titles and championships in each sport. He is also known by his bodybuilding t ...

(season 2) * Jacob Hadley as "

Chuck Chuck is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV producer * C ...

"/ Jeff Cohen (season 3) * Jason Devon Jenkins as

Mr. T Mr. T (born Laurence Tureaud, May 21, 1952), is an American actor. He is known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series ''The A-Team'' and as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film ''Rocky III''. He is also known for his ...

(season 3) *

Pete Gardner Peter Gardner (born Pete Zahradnick in Scarsdale, New York) is an American actor, best known for playing Darryl Whitefeather in The CW comedy-drama series ''Crazy Ex-Girlfriend''. Early life Gardner studied improv at the Second City improv gr ...

Liberace Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer, and actor. A child prodigy born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish origin, he enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, recordi ...

(season 3) * Brock O'Hurn as

Hulk Hogan Terry Eugene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 19 ...

(season 3) * Mike Holley as Lars Anderson, a booker and wrestler for Ata's stable (season 3)

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 Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...

* Jade Drane as

"Rowdy" Roddy Piper Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and actor. In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for his ...

(season 1) **Ben Vandermay plays Roddy Piper in season 3. * Adam Ray as

Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the ...

(season 2- ) * Taj Cross as Gabe, Dwayne's best friend in high school * Genevieve Hegney as Diane, Ata's employer *

Ryan Pinkston Ryan James Pinkston (born February 8, 1988) is an American actor and model. He was a cast member on ''Punk'd'', he played Arnold in the ''Spy Kids'' films, and played Billy Hunkee in '' Soul Plane''. Life and career Pinkston was born in Silver ...

as Downtown Bruno (season 2- ) * Greg Larsen as wrestler Bob Owens (season 2)

1990s

Emmett Skilton Emmett Skilton (born 23 September 1987) is a New Zealand actor and director. He played the lead character, Axl Johnson, in the comedy-drama, The Almighty Johnsons, and most recently had roles in Avatar: The Way of Water and American comedy s ...

Ed Orgeron Edward James Orgeron Jr. (; born July 27, 1961) is an American football coach. He was most recently the head football coach at Louisiana State University (LSU), a position he held from midway through the 2016 season until the 2021 season. Orge ...

* Wavyy Jones as Russell Maryland * Rich Morrow as

Michael Irvin Michael Jerome Irvin (born March 5, 1966) is an American sports commentator and former professional football wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). In 2007, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of F ...

* Lovensky Jean-Baptiste as

2 Live Crew 2 Live Crew is an American hip hop group from Miami, Florida, which had its greatest commercial success from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. The group's most well-known line up was composed of Luke Campbell, Fresh Kid Ice, Mr. Mixx, and ...

member,

Uncle Luke Luther Roderick Campbell (born December 22, 1960), also known as Luke Skyywalker, Uncle Luke and simply Luke, is an American rapper, promoter, record executive, actor, and former leader of the rap group 2 Live Crew. He also starred in a short- ...

* Robert Crayton as

Warren Sapp Warren Carlos Sapp (born December 19, 1972) is an American former American football, football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Sapp played college footbal ...

* Joshua Hoyo Jr as

Mario Cristobal Mario Manuel Cristobal (born September 24, 1970) is head football coach of the Miami Hurricanes football team at the University of Miami. Cristobal previously was the head football coach at Florida International University (FIU) from 2007 to 20 ...

* Montez Wilkins as

Jessie Armstead Jessie Willard Armstead (born October 26, 1970) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) who played for eleven seasons with the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins between 1993 and 2003. He played col ...

* Victor Gralak as

Doug Flutie Douglas Richard Flutie (born October 23, 1962) is an American former football quarterback whose professional career spanned 21 seasons. He played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), eight seasons in the Canadian Football League (CF ...

, a

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-o ...

player (season 2) * Lucas Tranchitella as

Jeff Garcia Jeffrey Jason Garcia (born February 24, 1970) is a former American football quarterback. After attending high school and junior college in Gilroy, California, Garcia played college football at San Jose State University. A four-time CFL All-Sta ...

, a Calgary Stampeders player (season 2) * Arlyn Broche as

Dany Garcia Dany Garcia (born November 29, 1968) is an American businesswoman, film producer, and IFBB professional bodybuilder. Garcia is the founder of GSTQ, and the CEO and chair of The Garcia Companies and TGC Management, overseeing a portfolio of bra ...

, Dwayne's girlfriend/wife (season 2- ) * Mark Casamento as Coach

Wally Buono Pasquale "Wally" Buono (born February 7, 1950) is the vice president of football operations, alternate governor and the former head coach of the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and one of the most successful head coaches in leag ...

(season 2) * Mana Tatafu as Uncle King Tonga (season 2) *

Luke Hawx Oren Hawxhurst (born July 8, 1981) is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling promoter, actor, and stuntman. He is best known under the ring name Luke Hawx and is also known for his time in Xtreme Pro Wrestling under the ring nam ...

Stone Cold Steve Austin Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, and retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most ...

(season 2- ) * Thuso Lekwape as

Chilly Willy Chilly Willy is a cartoon character, a diminutive penguin. He was created by director Paul Smith for the Walter Lantz studio in 1953, and developed further by Tex Avery in the two subsequent films following Smith's debut entry. The character ...

* James Wright as Billy Crane *

Sam Ball Sam Ball (born June 1, 1944) is a former American football offensive lineman who played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1966 through 1970. During that span he appeared in Super Bowl III and Super Bowl V for the Baltimore Colts. He ...

as Mick Foley/Mankind (season 3) * Nicholas Bernardi as Bret "the Hitman" Hart (season 3) * Matthew Knight as Nightclub bouncer (uncredited)

2032

Randall Park Randall may refer to the following: Places United States *Randall, California, former name of White Hall, California, an unincorporated community * Randall, Indiana, a former town *Randall, Iowa, a city *Randall, Kansas, a city * Randall, Minneso ...

as a future version of himself who has retired from acting and now is the host of his own news show ''The Straight Line with Randall Park'' *

Kenny Smith Kenneth Smith (born March 8, 1965), nicknamed "the Jet", is an American sports commentator and former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA from 1987 to 1997 as a member of the Sacrame ...

as a future version of himself, now a solo sports show host, unlike ''

Inside the NBA ''Inside the NBA'', branded for sponsorship purposes as ''Inside the NBA presented by Kia'', is the postgame show for '' NBA on TNT'' broadcasts. The program features host Ernie Johnson with analysts Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille ...

'' *

Rosario Dawson Rosario Isabel Dawson (born May 9, 1979) is an American actress. She made her feature-film debut in the 1995 independent drama ''Kids''. Her subsequent film roles include ''He Got Game'' (1998), '' Josie and the Pussycats'' (2001), ''Men in Bl ...

as General Monica Jackson, the VP candidate for Dwayne Johnson's presidential campaign * Ata Johnson cameos as a future version of herself during an interview between Dwayne and Randall, and in the season 1 finale. *

cameos as a future version of himself during an interview between Dwayne and Kenny Smith * Chelsey Crisp as Casey, a member of Dwayne's campaign staff (season 2) * Christopher Chen as Sandy, a member of Dwayne's campaign staff (season 2) * Michael Torpey as Senator/President Brayden Taft, Dwayne's opponent (season 2- ) *

Jenna Kanell Jenna Kanell is an American actress, director, writer, and stunt performer. She gained recognition for her portrayals of Tara Heyes in ''Terrifier'' (2016) and Kim Hansen in ''The Bye Bye Man'' (2017)—both horror films in which she performed her ...

as Jamie, the camerawoman on ''The Straight Line with Randall Park'' (season 2, episodes 4 and 11) *

Dawnn Lewis Dawnn Jewel Lewis (born August 13, 1961) is an American actress. Lewis is best known for her role as Jaleesa Vinson–Taylor on the NBC television sitcom ''A Different World'' from the series beginning in 1987 until the end of its fifth season in ...

as Prime Minister Angela Honig (season 3)

Guest stars

* Bryan Probets as Principal Bogg (season 1, episodes 2 and 5) * Carly Daniels as Color Blind Karen (season 1, episodes 2, 8 and 11) * Gaby Seow as Big-Hair Karen (season 1, episodes 2, 8 and 11) *

Jordana Beatty Jordana Beatty (born 30 January 1998) is an Australian award-winning actress best known for playing the title role of Judy Moody in the feature film ''Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer'' and Susan Parks in the 10th anniversary tour of '' Bill ...

as Bonnie (season 1, episodes 2, 5, 8 and 11) * Karen Ceesay as Superintendent Broward (season 1, episode 2) * Michael Torpey as Senator Brayden Taft (season 1, episode 9; mentioned in season 1, episode 11) *

Luke Hemsworth Luke Hemsworth (born 5 November 1980) is an Australian actor who is known for his roles as Nathan Tyson in the TV series '' Neighbours'' and as Ashley Stubbs in the HBO sci-fi series ''Westworld''. He is the older brother of actors Chris Hemsw ...

as Coach Erickson (season 1, episodes 10 and 11) * Heather Maltman as Rookie FBI agent (season 1, episode 11) *

Clayton Watson Clayton Watson (born 23 March 1977) is an Australian producer, actor, writer, and director. He grew up in the Australian outback on a sheep station close to Morgan, a small town in South Australia. He is best known for his breakthrough role as K ...

as Calgary Man (season 1, episode 11) *

Sean Astin Sean Patrick Astin (né Duke; February 25, 1971) is an American actor. His acting roles include Samwise Gamgee in ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003), Mikey Walsh in ''The Goonies'' (1985), Daniel Ruettiger in '' Rudy'' (1993), Dou ...

as Man (1990s) who sold Dewey a mattress/Julian, an old schoolmate who 2032 Rock has a Twitter war with. * Rebecca Quin as

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

(season 3, episode 1) * Julian Marlon Samani as 1960s Louie Dondero, Pat Patterson's partner (season 3) * Nick Rhys as Sean Connery (season 3) * Mark Ashworth as Director Lee, director of You Only Live Twice (season 3)

Wrestler cameos

* Ivan So as

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat Richard Henry Blood Sr. (born February 28, 1953), better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his work with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Jim Crockett Promot ...

(season 1, episode 6) * Paul Paice as

Captain Lou Albano Louis Vincent Albano (July 29, 1933 – October 14, 2009) was an Italian-American professional wrestler, manager and actor, who performed under the ring/stage name "Captain" Lou Albano. He was active as a professional wrestler from 1953 until 1 ...

(season 2, episode 2) **

Joseph D. Reitman Joseph David Reitman (born May 25, 1968) is an American actor, producer, director, and writer. Early life Joe Reitman grew up in Brookline, Massachusetts, and majored in theatre at Pitzer College in Claremont, California, in order to pursu ...

plays Captain Lou in season 3 * Michael Strassner as

Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "The King" Lawler, is an American color commentator and professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, although he has not performed as a full-time commentator since Ap ...

(season 2) * Patrick Cox as Crusher Yurkov (season 2) * James Bolton as

Jeff Jarrett Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett (born July 14, 1967) is an American professional wrestler and promoter. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he also serves as Director of Business Development. Beginning his career in his father ...

(season 2) * Bowie Walton as

Roman Reigns Leati Joseph "Joe" Anoa'i (born May 25, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and former football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Roman Reigns. He is the leader of The B ...

(season 2, as a child) * Marcus Molyneux as

Brian Christopher Brian Christopher Lawler (January 10, 1972 – July 29, 2018) was an American professional wrestler. He is best remembered for his career in the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE), where he performed as "Too Sexy" Brian Christopher and Grand ...

(season 2) * Cooper Matthews as Brian Lawler (season 2, as a teenager) * Colt Cabana as

The Brooklyn Brawler Steven Kenneth Lombardi (born April 18, 1961) is an American professional wrestler and road agent, better known by his ring name, The Brooklyn Brawler. He worked for the professional wrestling promotion, WWE, as well as several independent promot ...

(season 2, episode 8) * Brad Burroughs as Michael "P.S." Hayes (season 2) * Richard Carwin as

Bill Dundee William Cruickshanks (born 24 October 1943) is a Scottish-born Australian professional wrestler and author better known by his stage name Bill Dundee. Cruickshanks is the father of Jamie Dundee and the father-in-law of wrestler Bobby Eaton. Car ...

* Eddy Clinton as

Classy Freddie Blassie Frederick Kenneth Blassman (February 8, 1918 – June 2, 2003) was an American professional wrestler and manager, known by the ring name "Classy" Freddie Blassie. Renowned as "The Hollywood Fashion Plate","Classy" Freddie Blassie with Keith Ellio ...

(season 3) * Benjamin Arthur as

Jake "the Snake" Roberts Aurelian Smith Jr. (born May 30, 1955), better known by the ring name Jake "The Snake" Roberts, is an American professional wrestler and actor currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he performs as manager to Lance Archer. He is be ...

(season 3) * Saxon Cardenas as

Ken Shamrock Kenneth Wayne Shamrock (''né'' Kilpatrick; born February 11, 1964) is an American bare-knuckle boxing promoter and semi-retired professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, and kickboxer. He is best known for his time in Ultimate Fighting Cha ...

(season 3) * Miles Burris as

Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as ...

(season 3) * Anthony Darrell as

Bad News Allen Allen James Coage (October 22, 1943 – March 6, 2007) was an American judoka and professional wrestler. He won medals for the United States at several international judo competitions, including the heavyweight bronze medal at the 1976 S ...

(season 3) * Darrell R. Hill as

Dusty Rhodes Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. (October 11, 1945 – June 11, 2015), better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who most notably worked for the National Wrestling Alliance, Jim Crocket ...

(season 3) * Jeff Huth as Sting (season 3) * Dane Davenport as

Jim Crockett James Allen Crockett Sr. (June 2, 1909 – April 1, 1973) was a professional wrestling promoter and professional sports franchise owner sometimes known as Jim Crockett Sr., or to people within the business simply as "Big Jim". Early life Crockett ...

(season 3) * Tim Bosby, Corey Chapman, Simon Cook, Adam Lamb, Ed McAlexander, Derek Law and Chris Wooley play unnamed wrestlers who fought against Rocky Maivia or The Rock (season 3) * Sam Puefua as Young Peter Maivia (1960s), Dwayne's grandfather, Ata's father and Lia's husband (season 3)

Episodes

Season 1 (2021)

Special (2021)

Season 2 (2022)

Season 3 (2022–23)

Production

Development

On January 11, 2020,

gave a straight-to-series order to ''Young Rock'', a comedy series based on

's early life created by Johnson and

and produce the series with Jeff Chiang,

, 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, NBC renewed the series for a second season, again filmed in Australia. A holiday special episode titled as "A Christmas Peril" aired on December 15, 2021, ahead of the second season premiere on March 15, 2022. On May 12, 2022, NBC renewed the series for a third season, which was filmed in Memphis, Tennessee. The third season premiered on November 4, 2022, following Lopez vs. Lopez as a part of NBC's Friday Comedy Hour block.

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,

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,

, and Ana Tuisila as Johnson's grandmother, Lia Maivia. On August 3, 2021,

Matthew Willig Matthew Joseph Willig (born January 21, 1969) is an American actor and former American football offensive tackle in the National Football League. Early life and education Willig was born in La Mirada, California. He played football and basketba ...

was promoted to series regular for the second season.

Release

Marketing

During the 2020

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the U.S.-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States with ...

, an inflatable CGI float featuring Dwayne Johnson in his 20s was unveiled in promotion of the television show.

Home media

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (formerly Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Video, MCA/Universal Home Video, MCA Home Video, MCA Videodisc and MCA Videocassette, Inc.) is the home video distribution division of Am ...

released the complete first season of ''Young Rock'' on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

and manufacture-on-demand

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

on March 29, 2022., with its second season will be released on DVD and Blu-ray also as manufacture-on-demand titles on November 8, seven months after the first season's home release.

Reception

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the first season has a rating of 90% based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 7.70/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Anchored by a winsome ensemble, ''Young Rock'' is an endearing peek behind the curtain of both Dwayne Johnson's childhood and the wild world of wrestling." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, it has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Ratings

Season 1

Special

Season 2

Season 3

Accolades

The series was one of 101 out of the 200 most-popular scripted television series that received

the ReFrame Stamp The ReFrame Stamp for Gender-Balanced Production certification is awarded by ReFrame to corporations and media that show progress toward gender equality and greater representation of women in key roles. History On June 8, 2018, the ReFrame Stam ...

for the years 2020 to 2021. The stamp is awarded by the gender equity coalition

ReFrame ReFrame (also known as ReFrame Project; formerly known as the Systemic Change Project) is a US non-profit organization founded by Women in Film LA and the Sundance Institute together with over 50 leaders and influencers in Hollywood, with the go ...

and industry database

IMDbPro IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

for film and television projects that are proven to have gender-balanced hiring, with stamps being awarded to projects that hire women, especially women of color, in four out of eight key roles for their production.

References

External links

* * {{NBCNetwork Shows (current and upcoming) 2020s American black sitcoms 2020s American political comedy television series 2020s American single-camera sitcoms 2020s American teen sitcoms 2021 American television series debuts American biographical series American professional wrestling television series Cultural depictions of American men Cultural depictions of actors Cultural depictions of professional wrestlers Dwayne Johnson English-language television shows NBC original programming Television series about families Television series about teenagers Television series based on actual events Television series by Universal Television Television series created by Nahnatchka Khan Television series set in 1982 Television series set in 1987 Television series set in the 1990s Television series set in the 2030s Television shows filmed in Australia Television shows filmed in Georgia (U.S. state) Television shows set in Florida Television shows set in Hawaii Television shows set in Pennsylvania