Dwayne Johnson Sets NBC Comedy Series Based on His Childhood

By Joe Otterson

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Dwayne Johnson has scored a straight-to-series order at NBC for a comedy series based on his childhood.

The broadcaster has ordered eleven episodes of the single-cam comedy, which is titled “The Young Rock.” It hails from Nahnatchka Khan. Johnson will appear in every episode of the show, which is said to chronicle his “formative years.”

Khan co-wrote the pilot with Jeff Chiang with both also executive producing. Johnson will executive produce under his Seven Bucks Productions banner along with Seven Bucks’ Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia, and Brian Gewirtz. Jennifer Carreras of Khan’s Fierce Baby Productions will also executive produce. Universal Television, where Khan is under an overall deal, will serve as the studio.

This will not be Johnson’s first TV series starring role, as he previously starred in the HBO comedy “Ballers.” He currently hosts and executive produces the competition series “The Titan Games,” with Dany Garcia also executive producing. That show aired its first season in early 2019 with the second currently awaiting a premiere date. Johnson currently stars in “Jumanji: The Next Level” which has grossed over $600M worldwide and will next star in Disney’s “Jungle Cruise.”

Khan exited her longtime studio home at 20th Century Fox Television last year for a four-year deal at Universal TV. She previously created the ABC comedy “Fresh Off the Boat.” She also created the ABC series “Don’t Trust the B— in Apartment 23” ad was behind the attempted reboot of “Greatest American Hero” at ABC in 2018. She also served as an executive producer and writer on the Fox animated comedy “American Dad!” and recently released the feature film “Always Be My Maybe” on Netfix, which she directed.