HBO originals streaming on Netflix in their entirety is definitely right up there with fire and brimstone coming down from the skies, rivers and seas boiling, and dogs and cats living together in terms of mass hysteria, but the latest addition to the library is nonetheless destined for the very top.
After a soft launch of sorts with the arrival of Issa Rae’s five-season sitcom Insecure, the streaming service has brought out the big guns after debuting all five seasons and 47 episodes of Dwayne Johnson’s Ballers, with the sports drama virtually guaranteed to be troubling the upper reaches of the most-watched list before too long.
Featuring The Rock in his first-ever and so far last-ever recurring role on the small screen, the actor gives a consistently underrated performance as Spencer Strasmore, a retired NFL player who moves into the cutthroat world of managing some of the league’s biggest names following the end of his own career. Given his collegiate football background and status as the head of a multimedia company, it’s not exactly a stretch for Johnson to get into character, but that doesn’t mean he’s not good value as the lead.
Based on Red Notice becoming Netflix’s most-watched original feature of all-time and even the turgid Skyscraper managing to wind up as one of the platform’s top-viewed titles not too long ago, it’s a safe a bet as any to predict that Ballers will be one of the most popular episodic offerings this time tomorrow, thanks almost entirely to Johnson’s star power.