NBC has decided to cancel Young Rock after three seasons on the network. The final episode of the series saw Dwayne Johnson contemplating starting his own country after striking out in American politics.
The series premiered in 2021 and featured an in-depth, and all-over-the-place, look at Johnson’s life, starting with his time growing up in Hawaii, through his college years playing football, and up until the early days of his WWE run. While Johnson did share a scene with Hulk Hogan on the show, both played by actors, the series never presented the big match between the men at WWE WrestleMania X8.
One of the more newsworthy moments in the show’s history came in season two when a young Joe Anoa’i, now Roman Reigns, is seen playing in the Johnson family living room and asks to wrestle a teenage Dwayne. Dwayne responds that a match between the could only take place on a stage like WrestleMania, which has yet to happen in real life, despite lots of hype and speculation.
Young Rock also featured WWE star Becky Lynch showing off some of her acting chops as she joined in season three to portray Rock and Wrestling icon, Cyndi Lauper. Lynch’s performance received critical acclaim and even earned some kind words from Johnson himself.
Behind the scenes, the show had a lot of help from some big names in the industry. Chavo Guerrero served as Wrestling Coordinator, a role he similarly held on the hit Netflix series GLOW, which he won an Emmy for. Guerrero’s participation in the show is what led to him leaving AEW Television after working alongside Andrade El Idolo.
Brian Gewirtz, The Rock’s former WWE writer, served as a producer and writer for the show and has noted that he spoiled with ideas based on how many larger-than-life tales Johnson has from his colorful life.