NBC is doubling down on its relationship with Dwayne Johnson and Kenan Thompson. It has just been announced that the network has renewed Johnson's Young Rock and Thompson's Kenan for season two. This marks the second and third renewal for a comedy series on the network after they handed Mr. Mayor a second season last month. Lisa Katz, President of Scripted Programming at NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, had this to say about the renewals:
"It has been a true joy to watch Dwayne Johnson and Kenan Thompson on NBC every week and see families connect with their relatable, entertaining and heartwarming stories. 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."
Young Rock has performed steadily since making its premiere back in February. NBC states that Young Rock is the number two new comedy of the season in the coveted 18-49 demographic and the pilot episode has been seen by 13.4 million viewers across various platforms. Speaking of other platforms, the network also pointed out that Young Rock is its top comedy debut across digital platforms on record through 60 days with 3.6 million digital views. The bottom line here is, NBC knows it's good to stay in business with Dwayne Johnson.
Young Rock focuses on the different chapter's in Johson's life as he's growing up. From his early days 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, Young Rock 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. Johnson appears on the series as himself and the show also stars Joseph Lee Anderson, Stacey Leilua, Adrian Groulx, Bradley Constant, Uli Latukefu, Ana Tuisila, Fasitua Amosa, and John Tui.
The other renewed comedy from this block, Kenan, has also been a solid performer for NBC. The network says that the show, which also premiered in February, ranks as its number four digital comedy launch to-date and the first episode has been watched by 7.4 million viewers across various platforms. Kenan Thompson is a mainstay at NBC as he still fully appears as a regular on Saturday Night Live so this is another example of staying in business with the right people.
Kenan is a single-camera comedy that follows a widowed dad, played by Thompson, who's juggling a high-profile job as the host of an Atlanta morning show and raising his two girls. Kenan is trying to move on but his father-in-law Rick (Don Johnson), brother Gary (Chris Redd), and co-workers all have strong opinions on how Kenan should live his life. The series also stars Kimrie Lewis, Dani and Dannah Lane.
Have YOU been watching Young Rock and Kenan? Happy to see them return?