User reviews

Doesn't work for me.

A retired NFL player, Spencer Strasmore (played by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) now works as a financial adviser / business development manager / client manager at an advice firm, Anderson Financial. His aim is to use his contacts in the football world to get players as clients. The series looks as his life, and the lives of the players.

Maybe you really have to be into the private lives of football players to like this series. To me it just seems mediocre. As a drama, not edgy or gritty enough. As a comedy, not funny enough. While some attempt is given to give the characters some depth, its not enough - I never really felt engaged.

Ultimately, not compelling viewing.

As a great fan of Entourage, I was always looking for similar shows, although, as we all know, it's very hard to find shows like Entourage nowadays. But Ballers seemed to be a good option, I really enjoyed the previous seasons (1-3, the 4th season had its moments but already started going down the hill). But after watching the first episode of 5th season, I won't be watching it anymore. Its ridiculous. Do they think their audience are all a bunch of liberal teenagers? I am truly disappointed with Mark Wahlberg... But I guess Dwayne might be the main problem. Anyway, it's enough for me, the Asian bossy chick dressed like a stripper was extremely cringy, then the rock reading that... Book... Wow, I never thought I would witness such thing in a TV show... And yeah, now they want to grab the e-sports kids attention... What a failure. Good luck of all of you that will keep watching this. I will re-watch entourage instead lol.

Season 1: 5 (1 viewing) Season 2: 6 (1 viewing) Season 3: 5 (1 viewing) Season 4: 4 (1 viewing) eh

Wrote a review previously, but after watching the last episode, I think I've kind of figured this show and Entourage out. They're basically kid's shows for adults. Everyone has a happy ending. Everyone! No one is allowed to stay poor or fail in these shows. People get richer and happier on these shows, they don't lose anything or stay in the same place. I think where Entourage and Ballers messes up is that the supporting characters always end up getting better positions in life, in spite of the person they are. I couldn't believe it when I saw that the Rams made Charles a GM three years after retiring as a player. I mean, the way Charles is written, can anyone see him being a GM? The dude is a GOOF. He is mentally slow. No one would take him seriously as a GM. I'm looking at Martin Mayhew, former GM of the Detroit Lions, former NFL player, retired in 1996, went to law school, graduated in 2000, worked for the Lions and it took about eight years for him to become the GM, and he still was terrible!

Then you have Spence, the Rock's character. This is just Dwayne Johnson vicariously living out a fantasy of his, having a successful career in the NFL, coming out, becoming a financial adviser, then magically buying out the owner and running the place himself. What a freaking fantasy. Oh yeah, he's the financial adviser with a heart of gold. Future pro athletes reading this, don't trust financial advisers, just a word of advice. They're not like Spence.

I actually think this could be a great show without the Rock and the cheesy, unrealistic writing. There needs to be some balance; I want to see a couple people get ripped off, go broke, just fail in life. If you want someone to become a GM in their twenties or a coach, at least explain how they did it, rationally. What a lot of people don't see about this show that most adults can is that many of the people these athletes are around only care about them for their money. The viewers really should see what happens to these guys when the money stops coming in and reality dawns on them for the first time.

This show is so poorly written. The dialogue comes off as so inauthentic and the Spencer character can't talk to a single person without name dropping. Rob Cordry is the one highlight of the show.

The interactions with the "NFL offices" and team front offices are so unbelievable. Fun to see the guest spots but it's just pandering.

The 4th season is so unbelievable it was nearly unwatchable.

The show is produced by the real life "E" from Entourage which explains why the show isn't great since nearly everything he's been involved with is mediocre at best. One of the "writers" is Rashard Mendenhall who hasn't written anything else as far as I can see and was a first round disappointment in the NFL. Also the only person of color in the writing room on his first assignment. It shows in the character dialogue.

Ballers is a view into the fantasy land of being an NFL player, but not everything is champagne and caviar in the mean and nasty pro sports landscape. The show is flat for me because a) the Rock is not believable as a financial adviser. Did he go into this line of work just because his name is Spencer Strasmore, and it sounds like a 200 year old blue blood investment bank? b) the guys on this show, no matter if they throw in some adversity, always get what they want in the end. Like Entourage.. Oh, a magic phone call came in from Dallas, they want to offer you asking price plus $10M. all is fine in the world again! oh you had unprotected sex with that random club girl? your STD test came back negative! no worries! c.) the actors don't seem to care that much. Rob Cordroy is OK, the boss is half decent, but the Jewish/Italian agent looks at the camera half the time, the Rock is playing himself yet again, and the famous guys they get on the show are always brutal.

I started watching this with hope, even though sports stuff isn't my thing. But I do like Dwayne Johnson, who is not only a great piece of eye candy but a good actor who creates empathy for his characters.

I had to give it up a lot sooner than I wanted. The subtitle for this show should have been Thugs With Too Much Money. Any sympathy I should have felt for the stupid loser situations these people get themselves into died the minute they opened their mouths. Let's not even delve into the stereotypical every pretty girl is a harlot trope that is so in your face here.

Bottom line: don't bother with this unless you want clown antics to fall asleep to.

Ballers as a show lacks AUTHENTICITY! I agree with reviewer bdw317 'Ballers Needs More Skilled Hard Edge Black Writers' June 30, 2015 review. That review hits the nail squarely on its head. The show is very superficial with no substance at all. The show isn't breaking any new ground, it just rehashes the same old same old stuff that's decades old. The reason why Empire and Power are having success is that the show's creators are Black! All the major revenue generating sports in America are built off of the exploits of the Black athlete period! Peter Berg and Mark Walhlberg the EP of the show have NO clue on what it's like to be Black in America. NONE!!!