Young Rock and Kenan will both be sticking around for second seasons. NBC officially confirmed the half-hour comedies will be returning to their primetime lineup next season.
“It has been a true joy to watch Dwayne Johnson & Kenan Thompson on NBC every week and see families connect with their relatable, entertaining, and heartwarming stories,” stated Lisa Katz, President, Scripted Programming, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “We’re thrilled to renew both of these shows for another season and can’t wait to see more from Dwayne, Kenan, and the incredibly talented casts and producing teams behind each of them.”
NBC reports Young Rock‘s first episode was watched by more than 13 million viewers, and the series is ranked as the #2 new comedy among adults between 18 and 49.
The series is inspired by Dwayne Johnson’s childhood and Johnson both stars in and executive produces. The cast of season one also includes Joseph Lee Anderson, Stacey Leilua, Adrian Groulx, Bradley Constant, Uli Latukefu, Ana Tuisila, Fasitua Amosa, and John Tui.
Joining Dwayne Johnson as executive producers for the first season are Nahnatchka Khan, Jeff Chiang, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia, Brian Gewirtz, and Jennifer Carreras.
Young Rock premiered in February 2021 and will wrap up season one in May.
The premiere of Kenan starring SNL‘s longest-running cast member Kenan Thompson drew in 7.4 million viewers, the fourth biggest digital comedy launch for NBC. In addition to Thompson, the season one cast features Don Johnson, Chris Redd, Kimrie Lewis, Dani Lane, and Dannah Lane. Thompson executive produces with Lorne Michaels, David Caspe, Jackie Clarke, Ken Whittingham, and Andrew Singer.
The Young Rock Plot, Courtesy of NBC:
Young Rock 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 explores 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.
Kenan Description:
This single-camera comedy follows a widowed dad, Kenan (Thompson), who’s juggling a high-profile job as the host of an Atlanta morning show and raising his two girls. As Kenan tries to move on, his father-in-law Rick (Johnson), brother Gary (Redd) and co-workers all have strong opinions on the best way to live his life.
