What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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T2 WHATS UP! March 13 - 19, 2022 TV FEATURE BY RACHEL JONES TV Media D wayne "The Rock" Johnson ("Jumanji: Welcome to the Jun- gle," 2017) is a man who needs no introduction. Except for those who've been living under a rock (pun not intended, but gladly left in), chances are nearly everyone with a television will have heard of the professional wrestler-turned-Hollywood action star. Now, after a suc- cessful freshman season of "smelling what the Rock is cooking," Johnson's biographi- cal sitcom "Young Rock" re- turns for Season 2 Tuesday, March 15, on NBC. Created by Johnson and "Don't Trust the B—- in Apart- ment 23's" Nahnatchka Khan, the comedy series follows the legend himself throughout his formative upbringing and on to the year 2032, when John- son stars as a presidential ver- sion of himself; a plot choice that has left many fans of the show (and the man) wonder- ing whether this is a plan he has for the future. During Johnson's (for now fictional) campaign on the show, he sits for a series of in- terviews that trigger memo- ries from different time peri- ods in his life. Given that John- son is now heading into his 50th year, he can hardly play the younger versions of him- self, so this is where Adrian Groulx ("See"), Bradley Con- stant ("Following Phil," 2018) and Uli Latukefu ("Marco Polo") come in. Groulx plays Johnson at 10 years old; Constant portrays the rising star throughout his teenage years, attending high school in Pennsylvania; and Latukefu, who also stars alongside Johnson in the up- coming film "Black Adam," covers Johnson's life as a young adult while he attends the University of Miami, be- ginning in 1990. It's not all Rock on Rock on Rock, however, as Stacey Leilua ("Love Birds," 2011) is just one of the talented stars who round out the cast of the series. Leilua brings life to the role of Ata Johnson, Dwayne's mother. An inspiration to so many and a classic example of a rags-to-riches story, the Rock began adulthood as a broke 20-year-old. Since then, he's become one of the most well- known professional wrestlers on the planet, and more re- cently, one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood. Given his drive to succeed, it comes as no surprise that Johnson has seen the sort of accomplishment he has, though according to an inter- view about the sitcom, John- son stated that he still doesn't feel like he has done enough. Another good reason to spec- ulate about his potential fu- ture run for president, per- haps? Johnson has long claimed that his world-class drive and determination stems from his childhood experiences, a sen- timent that was backed up by Kahn in an interview with Deadline: "There's so much that people don't know about how he got to where he is. I Bentonville Acupuncture 5 x 5 continued on page T10 Uli Latukefu stars in "Young Rock" 'Rock' steady Not a subscriber? No problem, subscribe today and receive an iPad with your subscription*. *iPad must be returned within 30 days of termination of account. now available on the digital replica! NEW INTERACTIVE PUZZLE PAGES Get the new puzzle pages on the digital replica, featuring puzzles daily! CROSSWORDS KIDS' GAMES SUDOKU WORD GAMES STRATEGY & MEMORY NUMBERS Call 479-684-5509 or visit nwaonline.com/nwaipad