It’s the end of the road for Dwayne Johnson’s NBC series Young Rock after the network decided against renewing it as part of their 2023 fall TV lineup. The series, which focused on Johnson’s childhood, his early years as a professional wrestler and his meteoric rise to fame as a Hollywood A-lister, just ended its third season earlier this year.
Young Rock followed Johnson’s life as a young boy growing up and culminating with his splashy entrance as a professional wrestler. The series premiered in February 2021 and quickly gained acclaim from fans and critics alike, finding a home in NBC’s fall lineup for its second and third seasons.
In order to show Johnson’s life at different stages, three different young actors brought Johnson to life in the series. Adrian Groulx played Johnson from ages 10 to 14 (when he was known to family and friends as Dewey and not Dwayne), Bradley Constant who played 15 to 17-year-old Dwayne and finally Uli Latukefu, who played Johnson from the pivotal ages of 18 to 26.
The series also stars Joseph Lee Anderson, Stacey Leilua, Ana Tuisila, Fasitua Amosa, John Tui and Matthew Willig as André the Giant. Johnson also appeared in the series as himself.
Friday was a busy day for NBC as it not only cancelled Young Rock but sophomore comedy Grand Crew as well. Grand Crew followed a group of Black friends in their 30s as they navigate life and love together.
Young Rock and Grand Crew represent two of the three bubble shows at the network, with American Auto being the third. NBC didn’t announce their fate during upfront presentations a few weeks ago; now American Auto remains the sole holdout and awaits news of its fate.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom at NBC, however, as the network added a new mockumentary to its lineup. St. Denis Medical is a new series about an understaffed Oregon hospital starring Wendi McClendon-Covey that will premiere this fall on NBC. It's one of four pilots that NBC ordered; the fate of the other three pilots is yet to be determined.
If you haven’t checked out Young Rock or Grand Crew yet, you can still watch them on Peacock.
