Dwayne Johnson and Will Ferrell Team Up for Wrestling Comedy Series at Fox
Posted on Friday, October 21st, 2016 by Ethan Anderton
As if Dwayne Johnson weren’t already busy enough with his own TV show Ballers, not to mention the two dozen or so movies he has in various stages of production and development, he’s adding another project to his roster.
The Fast and Furious franchise star will be returning to his roots in the wrestling world by teaming with Will Ferrell to produce a comedy series set behind the scenes of a fictional wrestling organization. The concept of the show is actually inspired by the real-life experiences shared by the former wrestler who was known as The Rock and Brian Gewirtz, who had no experience in the wrestling world before he went on to become the head writer at WWE.
Find out more about the Dwayne Johnson and Will Ferrell wrestling series after the jump.
Variety reports Johnson will be producing the series (along with Gewirtz) through his Seven Bucks Productions banner while Ferrell will do the same through his Gary Sanchez Productions outfit. Fox has already given the project a put pilot commitment, which means it will air as a pilot or a special, or else the network has to pay a penalty to the producers. That pilot will be written by Andrew Gurland, the creator of the underrated series Married on FX.
The show will follow an odd pairing of a charismatic young wrestler, not unlike Dwayne Johnson in his early years, who collaborates with an awkward comedy writer who is new to the world of wrestling. The wrestler will do everything he can to help guide the former sitcom writer through the insane world of muscled-up alpha males and pro wrestling, including all the crazy passionate fans that come with it.
Johnson hyped up the show in a statement:
This November will mark the 20th anniversary of my professional wrestling debut. I was 24 years old, putting in the hard work, making $40 bucks per match and had no clue of the long journey that lay ahead of me with characters and backstage stories so colorful you’d think there’s no way that can be true. The entertaining show that goes on in front of the crowd pales in comparison to the insanely entertaining show that goes on backstage. Brian and myself can’t wait to tell our stories.
Gewirtz commented on his own experiences as well:
Coming from Hollywood to the wrestling industry, with its intense backstage atmosphere and larger than life personalities, was a major culture shock. After working in the business for over 15 years, Dwayne and I had encounters and experiences that were unbelievable as well as unforgettable. We can’t wait to bring this project to the fans.
This sounds like it has the potential to be a show along the lines of Ballers meets Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. As someone who has absolutely no interest in professional wrestling whatsoever, and is often befuddled by the hordes of passionate fans, I’m wholly interested in seeing what this series reveals about what happens behind the scenes, especially with someone like Dwayne Johnson producing it.
Posted on Friday, October 21st, 2016 by Ethan Anderton
As if Dwayne Johnson weren’t already busy enough with his own TV show Ballers, not to mention the two dozen or so movies he has in various stages of production and development, he’s adding another project to his roster.
The Fast and Furious franchise star will be returning to his roots in the wrestling world by teaming with Will Ferrell to produce a comedy series set behind the scenes of a fictional wrestling organization. The concept of the show is actually inspired by the real-life experiences shared by the former wrestler who was known as The Rock and Brian Gewirtz, who had no experience in the wrestling world before he went on to become the head writer at WWE.
Find out more about the Dwayne Johnson and Will Ferrell wrestling series after the jump.
Variety reports Johnson will be producing the series (along with Gewirtz) through his Seven Bucks Productions banner while Ferrell will do the same through his Gary Sanchez Productions outfit. Fox has already given the project a put pilot commitment, which means it will air as a pilot or a special, or else the network has to pay a penalty to the producers. That pilot will be written by Andrew Gurland, the creator of the underrated series Married on FX.
The show will follow an odd pairing of a charismatic young wrestler, not unlike Dwayne Johnson in his early years, who collaborates with an awkward comedy writer who is new to the world of wrestling. The wrestler will do everything he can to help guide the former sitcom writer through the insane world of muscled-up alpha males and pro wrestling, including all the crazy passionate fans that come with it.
Johnson hyped up the show in a statement:
This November will mark the 20th anniversary of my professional wrestling debut. I was 24 years old, putting in the hard work, making $40 bucks per match and had no clue of the long journey that lay ahead of me with characters and backstage stories so colorful you’d think there’s no way that can be true. The entertaining show that goes on in front of the crowd pales in comparison to the insanely entertaining show that goes on backstage. Brian and myself can’t wait to tell our stories.
Gewirtz commented on his own experiences as well:
Coming from Hollywood to the wrestling industry, with its intense backstage atmosphere and larger than life personalities, was a major culture shock. After working in the business for over 15 years, Dwayne and I had encounters and experiences that were unbelievable as well as unforgettable. We can’t wait to bring this project to the fans.
This sounds like it has the potential to be a show along the lines of Ballers meets Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. As someone who has absolutely no interest in professional wrestling whatsoever, and is often befuddled by the hordes of passionate fans, I’m wholly interested in seeing what this series reveals about what happens behind the scenes, especially with someone like Dwayne Johnson producing it.
