Earlier this year, Dwayne Johnson landed “Ballers,” a comedy pilot at HBO that reunited him with his Pain & Gain co-star Mark Wahlberg. And while Johnson’s film career is currently peaking, he’s about to make the leap to TV in a huge way..
Deadline is reporting that HBO has picked up “Ballers;” which will feature Johnson in the lead as Spencer Strasmore, a retired athlete living in Miami. “Ballers” will revolve around a group of former and current football players, including Spencer, Charles (Omar Benson Miller), Ricky (John David Washington) and Vernon (Donovan Carter). Rob Corddry, Taylor Cole, LeToya Luckett, Jazmyn Simon and Troy Garity will costar in “Ballers.”
Johnson is best known for his long run in the WWE as The Rock, before he landed his first leading film role in The Scorpion King. Johnson has gone on to star in two Fast & Furious sequels, The Rundown, Walking Tall, Race to Witch Mountain and G.I. Joe: Retaliation. On television, Johnson has previously hosted the TNT reality series, “The Hero” and he is starring in the upcoming film, Hercules: The Thracian Wars and the next Fast & Furious sequel.
“Baller” was written by Steve Levinson and the pilot was directed by Peter Berg. Johnson, Levinson, Wahlberg, Berg and Even Reilly will serve as executive producers on “Ballers,” which is expected to begin production later this year.
Earlier this week, HBO also picked up another comedy series called “The Brink,” starring Jack Black and Tim Robbins. Potentially, HBO could build a new night of original programming around both “Ballers” and “The Brink.” But so far, the best bet is that both series will be a part of HBO’s traditional Sunday night lineup.
