Dwayne Johnson Gets in Character for 'Young Rock' Christmas Special — See the First Look

The NBC show will air a special Christmas episode inspired by A Christmas Carol on Dec. 15

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Published on December 9, 2021 02:19 PM

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is reliving Christmases past.

PEOPLE has the exclusive first look photos from Young Rock's Christmas episode, Young Rock: A Christmas Peril. The NBC sitcom will air the special episode, inspired by the classic film A Christmas Carol, on Dec. 15.

A sneak peak into the special shows Johnson, 49, wearing a page boy hat and walking with a crutch. Throughout the episode, each of the younger Dwaynes will be subjected to their own horrible Christmases. Details of the holiday turmoil include Rocky (Johnson's father) and Dwayne working as a mall Santa and elf, respectively.

Young Rock's Coach O. will also make an appearance to host a "disastrous Christmas," according to NBC. Another photo shows Matthew Willig, who plays Andre the Giant, dressed as Pére Noël the French version of Santa Claus.

The special episode is directed by Nahnatchka Khan, who also created Fresh Off the Boat and Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23.

Of the holiday plot and working with Johnson, Klan tells PEOPLE: "I had a blast directing our twisted Young Rock version of A Christmas Carol. The more Dwayne Johnsons on screen at once, the better!"

Young Rock first aired in February. Its plot, based on true events, follows adult Johnson in 2032 as he runs for president. Flashbacks to other parts of his life tell the story of Johnson's upbringing, with his past selves played by Uli Latukefu, Bradley Constant and Adrian Groulx.

So far, there's only been one season of Young Rock, but its plot is split into many different time periods. Brian Gewirtz, an executive producer on the show, explained the format in conversation with ComicBook.

"When we first started conceiving [Young Rock], a lot of the brainstorming revolved around Dwayne telling stories of his life to our partners and the show creators, Nahnatchka Khan and Jeff Chang," he said. "The stories were so wild and so buried throughout his life."

Season 2 of Young Rock is expected to air on March 15, 2022, according to Johnson.