It was the moment Young Rock fans have been waiting for: Election day.
The May 24 season two finale of the hit NBC comedy finally revealed the results of Dwayne Johnson's 2032 presidential run. So did the pro wrestler turned acting icon turned fictional politician officially become your new favorite TV president?
Unfortunately not, as Johnson shockingly lost to opponent Brayden Taft. So what do the surprising election results mean for season three of Young Rock?
Show creator and executive producer Nahnatchka Khan is weighing in on Johnson's political loss, where next season will lead, plus her thoughts on Johnson running for president in real life. Read on for E! News' exclusive Q&A with Khan.
E! News: From a storytelling perspective, why did you have Johnson lose the election?
Nahnatchka Khan: When we first got picked up for season two we started having our broad strokes story sessions with Jeff Chiang, the co-creator, and Dwayne and everybody and I think that we just always want to kind of do the unexpected. We talked through those scenarios and it was really appealing to all of us the idea of, "What if it doesn't go the way people think it's going to go?" It kind of fits into the overall theme of Young Rock itself, which is life is a roller coaster, and even somebody who is as successful as Dwayne has been in real life, it's not been easy. There's been so many ups and downs…Sometimes it just doesn't go the way you think it's going to.
E!: What does his loss mean for season three?
NK: It's early days and we still have to have our story meetings, but we're not gonna backtrack. We're committed to that it didn't go his way. He didn't win and we're following him in the aftermath of that. Again, keeping in the theme of how Dwayne deals with a set-back like that.
E!: Will Johnson pursue other political endeavors in season three?
NK: It will be a lot, he'll feel it. I don't think he'll bounce back up the next day and be like, "OK, what's next?" I think that we really wanna say he put his whole heart into this and feeling the repercussions of that before figuring out what the next step is.
E!: Why do you think Johnson is so beloved to the point where it's believable he could run a successful political campaign?
NK: I think that he has such an innate empathy and understanding for just people's struggles and daily lives…Because he has experienced what that feels like, there's just a connection that he feels to people and that they feel with him. The idea of having somebody in a position of power that understands you and has maybe experienced on a level what you have and who's had to fight for everything he has. He doesn't come from a polished, Ivy League-educated background and he's one of the smartest people that I've met. He's so intuitive and just understands the connection with people.
E!: What do you think the odds are that he'll actually run for president in the near future?
NK: Listen, he's got a tequila company, he's owning a football league, he's got a lot of stuff going on. We haven't really talked about it but I'd be curious what the Vegas odds are on that.
E!: But it says a lot about him that a lot of people would probably vote for Johnson over many current politicians, right?
NK: Totally. Absolutely. I think there was some article that came out, like a Newsweek thing that said—I can't remember the percentage—but whatever percentage of people would love to see him run and it was quite high. I was like, "Oh my God, amazing."
Catch up on Young Rock season two on Peacock.
(E!, NBC and Peacock are all part of the NBCUniversal family)