To make a show with as cheesy of a name as 'Ballers' work, you have to have a pretty likable lead, luckily we have one of the most charismatic actors around, The Rock, starring. This show also combines two of my absolutely favorite things in life, sports and TV/Film, so I was very interested to see what they would do. The premise of an ex football player trying to revamp his career post-playing on the field, isn't all that interesting. But I had fun with the first episode.
It's a plus that the opening credits feature music from Drake and Lil Wayne, who a few years back proved to be one of Hip-Hop's most lethal tandem. With basically unknown actors besides The Rock and Rob Corddry, the show struggles to keep an audience engaged without making it too unbelievable. But I liked the idea of having it focus on several different players and ex-players. I also loved Taylor Cole in the short-lived NBC series The Event, so it was nice to see her having some work post cancellation. Besides a few throwaway scenes it wasn't a great episode, but The Rock is just so likable that I definitely want to continue with the show. I just hope the show doesn't get too goofy and sticks to what makes being an agent fascinating. But at the same time give us great character drama with a ton of mixed in comedy.
If the show doesn't gloss over the important things of being an NFL player and even shows us shades of Jerry Maguire-esque story, then I think we may have a solid show on our hands.
+The Rock is so likable
+Music
+Atmosphere
+Few actors popping up..
-..But the unknown actors feel flat
-Don't skip over the dramatic elements
7.0/10
It's a plus that the opening credits feature music from Drake and Lil Wayne, who a few years back proved to be one of Hip-Hop's most lethal tandem. With basically unknown actors besides The Rock and Rob Corddry, the show struggles to keep an audience engaged without making it too unbelievable. But I liked the idea of having it focus on several different players and ex-players. I also loved Taylor Cole in the short-lived NBC series The Event, so it was nice to see her having some work post cancellation. Besides a few throwaway scenes it wasn't a great episode, but The Rock is just so likable that I definitely want to continue with the show. I just hope the show doesn't get too goofy and sticks to what makes being an agent fascinating. But at the same time give us great character drama with a ton of mixed in comedy.
If the show doesn't gloss over the important things of being an NFL player and even shows us shades of Jerry Maguire-esque story, then I think we may have a solid show on our hands.
+The Rock is so likable
+Music
+Atmosphere
+Few actors popping up..
-..But the unknown actors feel flat
-Don't skip over the dramatic elements
7.0/10