Dwayne Johnson-Led Ballers Season 5, Episode 1 Now Streaming on Hotstar in India

Dwayne Johnson is back as ex-NFL player turned financial manager Spencer Strasmore for the final time. The fifth season premiere of Ballers is now streaming on Hotstar in India. Ballers season 5, episode 1 picks up where we left off in season 4, with Strasmore's public showdown with the NCAA, college football's governing body, resulting in him resigning from the company, SportsX, he worked at and Quincy (Eli Goree) being reinstated. HBO hasn't officially announced the episode count for Ballers season 5, though it's likely to be between 8-10 episodes, going by preliminary info and HBO's website.

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In addition to Johnson, Ballers season 5 cast includes Russell Brand as SportsX founder and CEO Lance Klians, Rob Corddry as financial advisor Joe Krutel, John David Washington as NFL player Ricky Jerret, Omar Miller as former NFL player Charles Greane, Donovan W. Carter as family-oriented NFL player Vernon Littlefield, Troy Garity as top-tier sports agent Jason Antolotti, London Brown as Vernon's childhood friend Reggie, Jazmyn Simon as Charles' wife Julie Greane, Arielle Kebbel as TV sportcaster and Spencer's belle Tracy Legette, and Brittany S. Hall as Jerret's girlfriend Amber.

Though Ballers began in Miami, Strasmore has since relocated to Los Angeles. The fifth and final season continues to be set in the western US city in the state of California. While we don't have an official season synopsis, here are the titles for eight episodes of Ballers season 5: episode 1 “Protocol Is for Losers”, episode 2 “Must Be the Shoes”, episode 3 “Copernicursed”, episode 4 “Municipal”, episode 5 “Crumbs”, episode 6 “Edutainment”, episode 7 “Who Wants a Lollipop”, and episode 8 “Players Only”.

Johnson addressed the end of Ballers on Instagram last week: “Cheers to our final season of HBO's Ballers ???? My heart ???? is full of gratitude to all of you for rockin' with us every season. You made us HBO's highest rated comedy for years and most importantly, you helped create and sustain a platform for other actors to have the opportunity to work hard, grow and become household names. To me, the opportunity Ballers created for so many others, is the real gold of our show. I love you, I thank you and enjoy our final season of Ballers.”

The Rock, as he's known, is coming off a leading turn in the Fast and Furious spin-off movie, Hobbs and Shaw. With Ballers ending, his upcoming projects include the sequel Jumanji: The Next Level, and the Disney family adventure Jungle Cruise opposite Emily Blunt. Johnson will next film the Netflix action movie Red Notice, in which he stars alongside Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot.

For HBO, Ballers is one of several series that bid goodbye in 2019, in addition to the likes of Game of Thrones, Veep, Crashing, and Divorce. Silicon Valley will also join Ballers on the list when it premieres in October. For what it's worth, HBO has several new dramas and comedies planned for late 2019 and 2020, including Watchmen, His Dark Materials, The Third Day, Lovecraft Country, Run, and Avenue 5.

Here's the official synopsis for Ballers season 5 episode 1, via HBO:

While peacefully enjoying retirement and reflecting on his past, Spencer gets a tantalising offer to become the first black majority team owner in professional football history. A year after splitting with Spencer, Joe eyes a big swing at Sports X with his new partner, Lance. Ricky finds himself in hot water with Charles, and Vernon considers a life outside of football, much to Reggie's chagrin.

Ballers season 5, episode 1 is out now on Hotstar. New episodes will be released weekly Monday morning in India after airing in the US on HBO.