On Tuesday, Dwayne Johnson took to Twitter to release the first official trailer for his upcoming sitcom Young Rock on NBC. The show follows The Rock's abnormal childhood, growing up as the son of former wrestler Rocky Johnson in Hawaii.
On January 16th, The Rock also shared a clip on Instagram, expressing his desire to be able to show his late father the new show. "Maaaaan he would've been proud," Johnson said in the caption.
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On NBC's TCA Press Tour, Johnson spoke about the struggles he had trying to bring the show to life due to his complicated relationship with his father, who passed away on January 15th, 2020.
Looking back on his relationship with his father, Johnson said "Growing up, and you know we specifically went with these timelines in my life that were very defining times at 10 years old, 15 and 18 … there’s a lot of things in between those years that took place … but it was complicated and the relationship that I had with my dad was incredibly complicated — that was fuelled by tough love."
Rocky Johnson, Dwayne's father, will be played by actor Joseph Lee Anderson, who The Rock says did a "tremendous job playing my dad."
Johnson added of his father, "He would have loved this, he would have loved this and he would have been so proud because for the first time, certainly in prime time, we are showcasing this world, that he and all of his brothers of the rings, so to speak, of those men in the ’70s and the ’80s that they gave their life to."
The Rock will make appearances in every episode, while his former self will be played by three different actors. Adrian Groulx will play Johnson in his youth, Bradley Constant was cast as a 15-year-old Rock, and “Marco Polo” actor Uli Latukefu will play Johnson in his college years.
Young Rock premieres on Feb. 16 on NBC. Will you be watching?
