By Patrick Hipes
November 23, 2020
Young Rock, the upcoming NBC series inspired by the life of Dwayne Johnson, has started in on production in Queensland, Australia, Universal Television said Monday. The division of Universal Studio Group is producing the series, which will chronicle Johnson’s formative years. NBC gave it a straight-to-series order in January.
Johnson, the actor and ex-wrestling star, is set to appear in each episode of the series, from Fresh Off the Boat creator Nahnatchka Khan and co-executive producer Jeff Chiang, who co-wrote the pilot episode. The duo executive produce alongside Johnson, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia, Brian Gewirtz and Jennifer Carreras. Australian natives Jeffrey Walker, who will serve as co-executive producer, and Daina Reid are directing various episodes throughout the series.
The cast includes Adrian Groulx as Dwayne Johnson (aka Dewey) at age 10, Bradley Constant as Johnson at age 15 and Uli Latukefu Johnson from ages 18-20. Stacey Leilua and Joseph Lee Anderson play Johnson’s parents. Ana Tuisila, Fasitua Amosa and John Tui also star.
Johnson helped get things underway from the set at Screen Queensland Studios, where NBCUniversal International Studios’ Matchbox Pictures oversees production; the comedy has also been shooting in locations in and around Brisbane and South East Queensland.
Walker is repped by Innovative Artists and attorney Rob Szymanski.