Hollywood’s omnipresent actor-producer Dwayne Johnson has announced plans to team with USA Network for Muscle Beach, a scripted series rooted in the world of ’80s bodybuilding.
Set against the sun-kissed streets of Venice Beach, Johnson shared some preliminary details about the new show via Instagram, confirming that Muscle Beach hails from co-writers Jeremiah Friedman and Nick Palmer – scribes behind Alpha Squad 7, also starring The Rock. Both will executive produce, alongside Johnson himself, with Dany Garcia and Beau Flynn also involved.
Repackaging the fabled American Dream and situating it in a legendary bodybuilding gym, USA’s all-new drama series chronicles the story of a “tribe of lost souls struggle to reinvent themselves by bench-pressing their way to a bigger, better American dream, no matter what the cost. The series explores the body-obsessed fitness movement that took the nation by storm at the time of the supersized Reagan ’80s, the excess of the era and the many temptations of Los Angeles that will expose the dark side of chasing dreams.”
Muscle Beach will face strong competition from the Arnold Schwarzenegger-endorsed Pump, a series that recently set up shop at CBS that’s also targeting the bodybuilding scene of Venice Beach.
No word yet on casting or a production timeline for Muscle Beach, though Dwayne Johnson will soon be commanding his own stretch of sand when Paramount’s Baywatch trots into theaters next year. It’s but one role on the actor’s bustling slate, with Ballers season 2, Moana and Fast 8 also cramming up the pipeline – to name but a few.
