Dwayne Johnson’s (Moana, G.I. Joe: Retaliation) life will soon be on a television near you. According to ComicBook.com, the former wrestler-turned-actor teased preview of the show, Young Rock, on his Instagram page Saturday. The promo highlights the multiple wrestling legends viewers will see portrayed in the series about Johnson’s childhood. You can see the full post below:
“In my new @NBC show #YoungRock based on my true life events, we explore my wildly entertaining yet complex life growing up – and these wrestling legends, who were our “family”, were my heroes!” Johnson stated in the post via ComicBook.com. The list of wrestlers is nothing short of icons of the genre. They include Andre the Giant, Randy “Macho Man” Savage, The Wild Samoans, The Iron Sheik, The Junkyard Dog, and Vince McMahon himself. Johnson even has an actress portraying his grandmother, Lia Maivia, who was wrestling’s first female promoter.
According to ComicBook.com, Young Rock will follow Johnson’s life through three specific moments in his life: 1982, 1987, and 1990. Later, the series will explore a future Johnson as he prepares a run for president. Johnson explained how this particular storyline came to fruition.
“It was our show creator, Nahnatchka Khan, who is just such a brilliant woman,” Johnson explained via ComicBook.com. “First of all, we wanted to figure out three points of my life that were defining times. When I was 10 years old living here in Hawaii, when I was 15 years old after multiple arrests and doing lot of things I shouldn’t be doing. And then when I was 18 years old, when I started to get my life a little bit back on track going to the University of Miami.” Then she had said, ‘Well, ultimately the audience is going to want to see you. What’s a creative way that we can infuse you into the show?'” Johnson said via ComicBook.com
Young Rock stars Adrian Groulx (The Christmas Cure, The Adventures of Napkin Man!), Bradley Constant (Following Phil, Famous Nobody), and Uli Latukefu (Alien: Covenant, Marco Polo), all playing Johnson at different ages in his life. Joseph Lee Anderson (The Jog, Harriet) will star as his father Rocky Jonhson, while Stacey Leilua (Tatau, The Factory) will portray his mother, Ata. Other cast members include Stephen Adams (Danger Close), Lexie Duncan (The Secret Daughter, VeeBees), Robert Crayton (Ballers, Ant-Man), and Taj Cross (PEN15).
You can catch the series premiere of Young Rock Tues., February 16 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.