The Rock in red zone with this HBO series
AFTER EXCAVATING his family from an apocalyptic California earthquake, The Rock now must save himself.
“Ballers” stars Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson, who’s still filling up movie screens in the disaster film “San Andreas,” as a former football star trying to carve out a career as a financial adviser to fellow athletes. While he doesn’t phrase it this way, he’s hoping to help them avoid mistakes he made.
As this suggests, “Ballers” weaves serious matters into a lot of sports comedy. Call it the newest expansion franchise in TV’s burgeoning field of dramedy.
Pro football doesn’t come off well. Teams are cold, cynical and uncaring. Fans, personal representatives and groupies aren’t much better. Our core players, happily, are. Besides Johnson’s Spencer Strasmore, that includes retired nice guy Charles Greane (Omar Benson Miller), high-maintenance wide receiver Ricky Jerret (John David Washington), rising star Vernon (Donovan Carter), ace agent Jason (Troy Garity) and the widow Tina (LeToya Luckett).
They’re all trying to enjoy and maximize the brief, high-octane rush of sports stardom, and viewers won’t have much trouble believing the tough stuff. Conversely, the sitcom side of the show’s DNA sometimes makes the characters feel like caricatures.
“Ballers” won’t win the Super Bowl, but it’ll keep you watching.