Is there anything that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson can’t do?
The former University of Miami Hurricane, the ex-WWE superstar, the hot commodity of Fast & Furious, the comedic talent of Central Intelligence… Johnson delivers as HBO’s headliner in Ballers as Stephen Strasmore, sports agent. Directed by Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights, Patriots Day, Deepwater Horizon), the show highlights the realities, humor, and struggle of athletes (and those who manage them) off of the field.
Johnson is joined by a host of actors and real-life sports stars playing themselves (or at least the caricature of themselves. There’s the opening beef that Johnson’s Strasmore has with his ex-teammate Terrell Suggs of the Baltimore Ravens, the meddling of a (somewhat) fictionalized Jay Glazer, the life of a downsized Miami great (Omar Miller), and the ‘help’ Strasmore receives from his sidekick (Rob Corddry). Overall, it’s funnier than anything else, but there are still some digs provided about how fame appears versus what it’s really like.
Bonus features included with the second season’s ten episodes are the special ‘play-by-play’ on each of the ten episodes that include firsthand takes by executive producer Evan Reilly and Johnson.
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