Dwayne Johnson's 'Young Rock' Among NBC Cancelations This Week

NBC has reportedly canceled two of its three bubble comedies, and "Young Rock" was among this season's cancellations, per The Hollywood Reporter. The series, which follows the childhood and formative years of Hollywood and wrestling icon, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson ("Hobbs & Shaw," "Black Adam"), will not return for a fourth season.

"Young Rock" now ends its run at three seasons and 37 episodes. The series was created by Johnson himself, along with Jeff Chiang and Nahnatchka Khan. Another canceled show was the sophomore series, "Grand Crew." Another NBC comedy, "American Auto," is reportedly still in the bubble.

"Young Rock" also featured Johnson portraying himself in fictionalized scenes set in the future. Johnson also provided voice-over narration for the show, with actor Joseph Lee Anderson as Johnson's real-life father, late WWE Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson.

The series also featured actor Adrian Groulx as young Dwayne, usually from ages 10-14. Bradley Constant portrayed young Dwayne in his teens, and Uli Latukefu played young Dwayne in his late teens and early-to-mid-20s. Stacey Leilua also starred as his mother, Ata Johnson, and Ana Tuisila starred as his grandmother Lia Maivia.

Later seasons depicted Johnson embarking on his career in WWE, where he struggled as a good wrestling guy, or "babyface," who fans didn't care for. However, once Johnson turned heel and became a bad guy, fans started going wild for his character and persona known as "The Rock." The Rock became one of the biggest stars in wrestling, later transitioning into a successful Hollywood film career.

The cancellations were handed down amid an ongoing labor strike by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). THR notes that networks have been taking a wait-and-see approach on some of their bubble shows due to the strike, and some are having to decide whether to pick up contract options on actors, delay decisions on bubble programs, or opt to cancel them. It looks like "Young Rock" fell into the latter category.

The sitcom likely wasn't helped by moving nights for its final season. After the show saw declining ratings from its debut season, it was moved to Fridays for 2022-2023. That put the show directly opposite WWE's "Friday Night SmackDown," which airs from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM on Friday nights on FOX. A show being moved to Fridays is long considered a "death slot" due to the belief that young people often don't watch shows on Friday nights.

The actors' union, SAG-AFTRA, might also be declaring a strike against the AMPTP if a new contract is not made by the upcoming deadline of June 30. As reported by The Blast, over 97% of eligible members who voted on the recent strike authorization ballot voted overwhelmingly in favor of the action. That means that SAG-AFTRA's National Board could call for a strike as early as July 1 if the new contract with the AMPTP is not signed.

Fans and viewers who would still like to watch "Young Rock" can stream all three seasons of 37 episodes on Peacock.