Dwayne Johnson takes on the role of a retired NFL player in HBO series Ballers.
Created by Stephen Levinson (Entourage), the sports comedy drama follows Spencer Strasmore (Johnson) as he navigates his new career as a financial manager for other NFL players following his retirement from the sport.
Other cast members include Rob Corddry, John David Washington, Omar Miller, Troy Garity, London Brown and Jazmyn Simon.
The show first premiered on HBO in 2015 and concluded after five seasons in October 2019.
Why did Ballers come to an end?
Johnson first announced Ballers was ending in August 2019 on Instagram, ahead of the season five premiere.
While HBO never explicitly stated the reason behind its cancellation, the show’s ratings had dropped significantly in its later seasons. The season one finale achieved a viewership of 1.4million in the US, which had dropped to 0.6million by the season four finale.
The declining interest was also reflected in the show’s critical reception. The first season released to an 81 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes, which had slipped to 67 per cent by the third season.
The success of other HBO shows like Barry and Succession is also a possible factor, with Ballers potentially falling off the network’s priority list.
What has Dwayne Johnson done since Ballers?
Johnson has mostly starred in blockbuster films since Ballers came to an end in 2019, including Disney’s Jungle Cruise, Red Notice, Black Adam and Fast X.
In a two-star review of Black Adam, NME wrote: “Why hire the most magnetic movie star in the world, only to have him pout and scowl for two hours? It doesn’t make sense, and it sinks the picture.”
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