Dwayne Johnson and Issa Rae – both already familiar with HBO thanks to their work on Ballers and Insecure, respectively – are collaborating with the network again for a half-hour show revolving around backyard wrestling. It’s currently titled TRE CNT, as in “Tre Count”, a title I can guarantee you will not stick around for long. It’s kind of inexplicable it even made it to the pitch meeting.
The show hails from writer Mohamad El Masri and focuses on Cassius Jones, a young dock worker and struggling pro-wrestler who uses inherited life-insurance money for start-up cash and the deed to a shotgun house from his grandfather and starts a hip-hop centric backyard wrestling empire in Houston’s Third Ward (known as The Tre) with the help of his working-class family, neighbours, and friends.
This project obviously makes total sense for Johnson who first made his name in the WWE as The Rock. He and Rae are also collaborating with Dany Garcia, who produced Ballers through Johnson’s Seven Bucks banner – named after the amount of cash he had in his pocket when he was signed by the WWE.
Considering Johnson and Rae’s work on their respective HBO shows, one assumes that this series will lean more towards comedy, especially at the half-hour length. But we’ll wait and see what they have in mind for what could give audiences a deeper look into the loyal and passionate fandom of wrestling fans. Just don’t expect the title to be stylised like that when the show eventually premieres.
#Peace.Love.TreCount
