Tag: Young Rock

Former WWE Star Harvey Wippleman (Downtown Bruno) Says Young Rock Isn’t Over Despite NBC Cancellation

Earlier this year, many fans were left disappointed when NBC canceled “Young Rock,” the sitcom that saw Dwayne Johnson serving as on-screen narrator looking back on his early years in the wrestling business. In a positive update, Harvey Wippleman, who worked as an executive consultant on the show, has floated the possibility of the show returning for a fourth season on another network.

In an interview with “Developmentally Speaking,” Wippleman noted that the show’s production staff is expected to work on an upcoming season after the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike. “It was a great experience [to work on the show], and it’s not over yet,” Wippleman said. “It’s not on NBC anymore, but once the actors’ strike resolves, stay tuned. ‘Young Rock’ will be back. The story ain’t over yet.” 

Speaking on his role as a consultant, Wippleman revealed he advised the writers on storylines surrounding the Memphis Wrestling aspect of the show and also had several Zoom meetings with Ryan Pinkston — the actor portraying Wippleman on ‘Young Rock’ — to teach him his accent, behaviors, and tendencies. He also praised Chavo Guerrero, the other executive consultant on the show, for expertly training the actors on taking bumps. “The young wrestlers that were portraying other people, he [Chavo] would explain to them what to do,” Wippleman revealed.

As for his well-documented friendship with The Rock, Wippleman praised “The Great One” for inviting him to be a part of ‘Young Rock’ and always looking out for his best interests. “Wonderful person,” Wippleman said of The Rock. “I’ve known him since he was a child. We’re very close — I would literally die for him. I mean, he’s made my life.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

NBC Cancels Young Rock

NBC has cancelled Young Rock after three seasons.

According to a report from Deadline, the network has dropped the series after the ratings took a dive for its third season. Since the first season of the show, the ratings have been steadily dropping.

The Young Rock series looked at the life of former WWE Superstar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Steve Austin, The Iron Sheik, Hulk Hogan, and Randy Savage were all portrayed in the show. Becky Lynch also played the role of Cyndi Lauper during the third and final season.

Dwayne Johnson starred in and was the executive producer for the show.

Backstage News On WWE Hall Of Famer Who Will Be Portrayed In Season 3 Of Young Rock

NBC’s “Young Rock” is making a huge addition to the show.

PWInsider is reporting that producers for the show are currently looking for someone around 6’7″ and 300 lbs. to play Hulk Hogan. The third season is set to begin filming next month in Memphis and will feature Hogan as a recurring guest star. With Hogan described as in “the prime of his wrestling career,” it’s expected for the upcoming season to feature the late-1980s/early-1990s “Golden Era” of what was then known as the World Wrestling Federation.

The television show makes numerous time jumps, with a framing device set during the 2032 presidential election, and has bounced around from the early ’80s to the late ’80s and the ’90s. While there’s no word yet on who will be playing Hogan, wrestlers including Luke Hawx and Colt Cabana have appeared on the show playing wrestlers from the business’s past, with Hawx playing Rock’s famous rival, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and Cabana playing legendary jobber The Brooklyn Brawler.

The third season of “Young Rock” is set to premiere on November 4th, the same month as the draft for Johnson’s version of the XFL. Johnson purchased the alternative football league along with his ex-wife Dany Garcia, as well as RedBird Capital Partners. It had originally been owned and operated by Johnson’s former boss, Vince McMahon. The new season is set to kickoff in February 2023.

Johnson is also set to star in the upcoming Black Adam film from Warner Bros. The film is set to be released on October 21st.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

“Young Rock” To Start Opposing WWE SmackDown In The Fall

The NBC schedule has been confirmed for the Fall of 2022, which has revealed that the third season of Young Rock is set to go up against WWE SmackDown.

It was recently announced that the popular show had been picked up for another season, which will see the life, and career of The Rock continue to be told. The next set of episodes are set to begin airing in November (no exact date has been confirmed), and it has been moved to Friday nights.

The official press release for this section of the NBC’s schedule reads as follows:

“In November, the laughs begin with George Lopez’s family comedy “Lopez vs. Lopez” at 8 p.m., teeing up the third season of Dwayne Johnson’s bio-series “Young Rock” at 8:30 p.m.”

Previously Young Rock had been airing on Tuesday, but it will now go head to head against WWE SmackDown. The blue brand takes place from 8pm – 10pm (EST), and NBC’s show is set to drop from 8:30pm – 9pm. This means fans will have some conflict, as Young Rock has proven to be a hit with the wrestling audience.

The Rock himself will continue to star in the show alongside Joseph Lee Anderson, Stacey Leilua, Ana Tuisila, Adrian Groulx, Bradley Constant, Uli Latukefu, Fasitua Amosa, John Tui and Matthew Willig.

The WWE legend has not commented on the renewal as of this writing. But, Seven Bucks Vice President and former WWE head writer Brian Gewirtz took to Twitter and shared his thoughts.

“We’re BACK baby! Can’t wait to dive into Season 3 of #YoungRock! This is shaping up to be a helluva week!,” Gewirtz wrote.

It is currently unknown what the exact focal points will be when it comes to the third season. But, season two did see plenty of wrestling references with the likes of Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Triple H, The Iron Sheik, and even a young Roman Reigns being cast.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

NBC Renews “Young Rock” For A Third Season

NBC has ordered a third season of “Young Rock” from WWE Legend Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and his Seven Bucks Productions company.

The second season of “Young Rock” is currently airing on NBC Tuesday nights, and is available on Peacock the following day. NBC announced today that the show is being renewed for a third season, while “American Auto” and “Grand Crew” are being renewed for their second seasons.

NBC touted in today’s press release how “Young Rock” is the network’s #1 primetime comedy in the 18-49 key demographic.

Season one of “Young Rock” averaged 3.036 million viewers with a 0.62 key demo rating per episode, over 11 episodes. Season two has averaged 2.150 million viewers with a 0.40 key demo rating so far, across the 9 episodes that have aired as of this week.

The Rock has not commented on the renewal as of this writing, but Seven Bucks Vice President and former WWE head writer Brian Gewirtz took to Twitter and reacted to the NBC announcement.

“We’re BACK baby! Can’t wait to dive into Season 3 of #YoungRock! This is shaping up to be a helluva week!,” Gewirtz wrote.

The Rock stars in the show alongside Joseph Lee Anderson, Stacey Leilua, Ana Tuisila, Adrian Groulx, Bradley Constant, Uli Latukefu, Fasitua Amosa, John Tui and Matthew Willig.

The show was created by Nahnatchka Khan and Jeff Chiang and inspired by Rock’s life. Rock, Khan, Chiang, Gewirtz, Dany Garcia, Jennifer Carreras, and Hiram Garcia serve as Executive Producers, while the show is produced by Seven Bucks, Universal Television, and Fierce Baby Productions.

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https://twitter.com/nbc/status/1524867066716487680

Source: Wrestling Inc.

NBC Renews “Young Rock” For A Second Season

NBC has renewed “Young Rock” for a second season.

“Young Rock is the No. 2 new comedy of the current television season in the key 18-49 demographic.  The pilot episode, which premiered back on February 16 has been seen by 13.4 million viewers. NBC also noted that “Young Rock” is the network’s top comedy debut across digital platforms on record through 60 days with 3.6 million digital views.

“Young Rock” has former WWE Superstar Dwayne Johnson starting as a fictionalized version of himself, where he telling stories about his childhood and teenage years during his run for President of the United States during the 2032 election.

Episodes during the first season focused on different chapters of Johnson’s life – from growing up in a strong and resilient family, to being surrounded by the wild and crazy characters of his professional wrestling family, and playing football at the University of Miami.

“Young Rock is produced by Universal Television, Seven Bucks Productions and Fierce Baby Productions with Johnson, Nahnatchka Khan, Jeff Chiang, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia, Brian Gewirtz and Jennifer Carreras as executive producers for season one.

Source: Deadline via WrestleView

https://twitter.com/DEADLINE/status/1388191571095564289

The Rock Reveals First Official Trailer For “Young Rock”

Former WWE Champion The Rock has released the first official trailer for the new “Young Rock” comedy series from NBC.

The series will premiere on Tuesday, February 16 at 8pm ET, and will run for thirty minutes each week.

Rock tweeted about the trailer release and wrote, “Our 1st official trailer for @NBC’s #YoungRock. Humbly shaking my head at the wild Forrest Gump-ish life I’ve lived. And man the lessons I learned along the way from loved ones who now walk in the clouds. Look forward to making ya laugh & maybe a little bit more. FEB 16th!”

https://twitter.com/TheRock/status/1354210007361970181

Young Rock will chronicle the formative years of “The Rock” Dwayne Johnson, and The Great One himself will appear in each episode.

NBC gave the series a straight-to-series order in January of last year. Filming on Young Rock began back in November in Queensland, Australia, at locations in and around Brisbane and South East Queensland. The show is coming from Fresh Off the Boat creator Nahnatchka Khan and co-executive producer Jeff Chiang, who wrote the pilot episode together. Khan and Chiang are executive producing Young Rock, along with Rock, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia, Jennifer Carreras and former WWE writer Brian Gewirtz of Seven Bucks Productions. Daina Reid will direct various episodes, while Jeffrey Walker will serve as co-executive producer.

The Rock, who has said the series will be special and unlike anything else he’s ever done, previously revealed the cast of the show, with details on each character they will be playing, including the role of his late father, WWE Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson. You can click here for that reveal.

The Rock Announces Cast For “Young Rock” Series (Photos)

The Rock took to Instagram this morning and revealed the main cast members for his upcoming “Young Rock” comedy series that is scheduled to premiere on NBC in the near future. The series will look at Rock’s formative years, with The Great One himself appearing in each episode.

Rock’s Seven Bucks Productions company is one of the groups behind the new series. Rock noted that production is kicking off this week.

Bradley Constant will star as the 15 year old Dwayne Johnson.

“#YOUNGROCK Officially KICKIN’ OFF PRODUCTION! Ladies & gents, here’s the cast of our new @NBC comedy, #YOUNGROCK. A series based on my wild and unpredictable childhood and formative years growing up. @bradleyconstant will take the reigns of playing me at 15 and clearly kicking puberty’s ass [laugh emoji] [muscle emoji] This show is gonna be a fun one and can’t wait for you guys to watch!,” Rock wrote of Constant.

Stacey Leilua will play his mother, Ata Johnson.

Rock wrote, “And playing my mom @atajohnson aka Mama Rock is the talented and lovely @staceyleilua. Many of you know my moms story – cancer survivor, gone thru hell and back, incredible life and still the sweetest human being on the planet. And still goes to smack me when I cuss [face palm emoji] [laughing emoji]”

Rock’s grandmother Lia Maivia will be played by Ana Tuisila.

“This role is a special one and HIGHLY entertaining. Playing my grandma, Lia Maivia will be the one of a kind, Ana Tuisila. Cool backstory: My grandmother, Lia Maivia was pro wrestling’s first women’s promoter. She HAD TO BE tough as nails in a male dominated, shark infested world of wrestling. She set the bar for tough business practices and also set the bar for how loving a sweet grandma could be to her only grandson – me [smiley emoji] She was also charged by the feds for extortion, eventually deported, became homeless and lost everything in the early 90’s. Crazy life. I was blessed enough to help change that hard time scenario around and get her back on her feet. Her journey was unreal and can’t wait for you guys to watch!,” Rock wrote of the role.

WWE Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson will be played by Joseph Lee Anderson. Rock remembered his father when commenting on the role.

He wrote, “And playing the OG original Rock – my pops, Rocky ‘Soulman’ Johnson is the charismatic @iamjosephleeanderson [explosion emoji] As you guys know my dad passed away earlier this year so this role is a special one and our first episode is dedicate to him [folded hands emoji] My dad was a true trail blazer and broke color barriers all across our country in the 60s, 70s & 80s. One half of the first black tag team champions (with Tony Atlas) my pops was a bad dude in the game. I miss him. This ones for you Rock.”

The 20 year old version of Rock will be played by Uli Latukefu.

“Coming in hot and lowering the University of MIAMI BOOM [football emoji] [explosion emoji] is @ulilatukefu! Playing at THE U – these years were some of my most defining. The highs are incredible, but the lows were critical. 275lbs of upper body violence, attitude and clearly eating too much pizza,” Rock wrote.

Finally, it was announced that the 10 year old Rock will be played by Adrian Groulx. Rock referred to the actor as the anchor of the show, and his hero.

“This kid @adriangroulx is our anchor and my hero [fist emoji] He’s got the hardest job of ’em of all playing ‘little Dewey’ – yes, unfortunately that was the nickname my God parents gave me after the weather – as in dewdrops. Jesus. [face palm emoji] [laughing emoji] At 10yrs old, I was rambunctious as all hell [devil emoji], was already girl crazy [crazy face emoji] and loved pro wrestling — especially the part when wrestlers would bleed [blood drop emoji] [emoji] [skull emoji] [laughing emoji] This kid, Adrian is my hero because I look back at this time in my life so fondly and how I viewed the world thru my 10yr old eyes. I was all these things but at the core I was a sweet little boy and a complicated little cub [cub emoji] who just needed guidance. Years later here we are and I did alright [folded hands emoji] [fist emoji] This passion project is special and I’m boundless grateful to EVERYONE who is lending their talents, passion, love and mana to bring it to life. Can’t wait for you guys to watch this one!,” Rock wrote.

Source: Wrestling Inc.