Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is set to make his small-screen debut (excluding his extensive WWE career) this Sunday, starring in HBO comedy-drama Ballers. Produced by Johnson himself - alongside Hollywood star Mark Wahlberg - the series revolves around a group of professional athletes and their extensive entourages, including friends, family, agents and hangers-on. The show has already drawn comparisons with Entourage, both focusing on the murky private lives of the young, rich and reckless. If the trailer is anything to go by, Ballers has style in abundance - featuring plenty of tailored suits, flashy sports cars, bikini-clad models and wild mansion parties - but hasn't yet revealed much in the way of substance. Starring as ex-linebacker Spencer Strasmore, Johnson's role looks to be that of a guiding force for the younger characters, potentially bringing themes such as companionship, betrayal, and an inability to let go of the past to the fore. The teaser also heavily implies a strong undercurrent of rivalry and violence bubbling beneath its outward sense of glamour, with smash cuts showing snippets of fistfights and car crashes to go with the bone-crunching onfield action. Here's everything you need to know about Ballers before its pilot episode, airing this Sunday on HBO.
