Thursday, October 01, 2020
NBC's Young Rock Announces Cast; OWN Gets Digital Comedy

Below is the cast for the new NBC comedy Young Rock, which focuses on different chapters of Dwayne Johnson's life. From growing up in a strong and resilient family, to being surrounded by the wild characters of his professional wrestling family, to playing football at the University of Miami, the show will explore the crazy rollercoaster that has shaped Dwayne into the man he is today and the larger-than-life characters he's met along the way. The series will premiere in 2021.
· Adrian Groulx as Dwayne Johnson (AKA Dewey), Age 10 - Honest, headstrong, impressionable and bold.
· Bradley Constant as Dwayne Johnson, Age 15 - Doing his best to fit in as a normal teenager but puberty has other ideas. His size and full mustache have his classmates convinced he's an undercover cop.
· Uli Latukefu as Dwayne Johnson, Age 18-20 - Has just been recruited to play football on a full scholarship at powerhouse University of Miami. Though a super-star talent, a devastating injury his freshman year puts his life at a crossroads.
· Stacey Leilua as Ata Johnson, Dwayne's mother - Grew up in a first generation pro wrestling family. A strong woman, both by nature and necessity, she's a hopeful positive force in young Dwayne's life.
· Joseph Lee Anderson as Rocky Johnson, Dwayne's father - Charismatic and charming, the pro wrestling champion juggles the ups and downs of his career with being a well-intentioned, but unorthodox, husband and father.
· Ana Tuisila as Lia Maivia, Ata's mother and Dwayne's grandmother. The first female pro-wrestling promoter in the country. A sweet loving grandmother and when need be, a cutthroat, ruthless businesswoman.
The series will be executive produced by Nahnatchka Khan, Dwayne Johnson, Jeff Chiang, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia, Brian Gewirtz and Jennifer Carreras. Jeffrey Walker serves as producer director / co-EP. The pilot was co-written by Khan and Chiang. Johnson will appear in each episode as the focus and inspiration of the series will be about his formative years. Universal Television, Seven Bucks Productions and Fierce Baby Productions will produce. Johnson and Garcia's Seven Bucks Productions is a global entertainment force with film revenues exceeding $10 billion worldwide. Johnson recently starred in Jumanji: The Next Level, which has grossed nearly $800 million worldwide, and will next star in Disney's Jungle Cruise.
Writer/director/showrunner Khan's Fierce Baby Productions is a film and TV production company focused on amplifying new voices and perspectives in both comedy and drama. Khan is the creator and executive producer of the groundbreaking ABC television series Fresh Off the Boat, which recently ended its six-year run, and previously Don't Trust the B---- In Apartment 23, which ran for two seasons on ABC.
OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network announced its first ever digital animated short-form comedy series Sincerely, Camille from creator Munirah Safiyah Jones (Junt Land). A key component to the network's OWN YOUR VOTE nonpartisan get-out-the-vote initiative, the six-part original series offers a humorous, irreverent, and informative take on politics and the issues impacting Black women in the lead-up to the 2020 November election. The first two episodes launched Tuesday, September 29, on Twitter and is also available across OWN's digital platforms and the network's Watch OWN App as of yesterday, Wednesday, September 30. Subsequent episodes, each approximately five minutes in length, will roll out twice weekly.
Sincerely, Camille follows a trio of women - Camille, Staci, and Sara - navigating life, work and relationships in the throes of the 2020 presidential election cycle. Three friends, three different viewpoints, three varying approaches to evoking civic participation. The series follows the women's efforts to get their communities informed, engaged, and inspired to act in one of the most important elections in American history. The satirical series provides powerful insight and edgy social commentary on the current political climate and the choices Black women face this fall.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Friday, May 30
Happy's Place - "Don't Sweat It" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bobbie asks Isabella to move in with her, but when Isabella sees that Bobbie likes to address conflict head on, Isabella decides it might not be the best idea.
Happy's Place - "Fish Fry Monday" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Emmett sees Bobbie drowning in work, he devises a clever ruse to give her a much-needed day off fishing, all under the guise of reviving the tavern's Fish Fry Mondays; Isabella dives into the world of bartending with Gabby.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 26)
Friday, May 30
- Nathan Fielder (The Rehearsal/The Curse) - Watch Nathan on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Paula Poundstone (Home Movies) - Paula performs stand-up comedy on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Nathan Lane (Mid-Century Modern/Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Ralph Macchio (Eight Is Enough) - Ralph swings by for a chat about Karate Kid: Legends on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Justina Machado (One Day at a Time) - Justina chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. She also talks about Broadway's Real Women Have Curves: The Musical on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
- Yara Shahidi (grown-ish/black-ish) - Yara is telling Drew about the new venture she's taking on, where she's currently at with dating and more on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Don Darryl Rivera (Only Murders in the Building) - Don talks about Broadway's Aladdin on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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