Faculty campuses present good TV settings, mixing fish-out-of-water tales, office laughs, tenure battles, and professor-student tensions. The brand new 10-episode comedy Rooster, created by Ted Lasso producer Invoice Lawrence and his Scrubs accomplice Matt Tarses, weaves in all these acquainted components.
Major Plot and Characters
Steve Carell stars as Greg Russo, a top-selling creator of fast-paced motion novels centered on the bare-chested, ripped hero Rooster—a personality mirroring Russo’s personal vibe. Lawrence and Tarses modeled him after Florida author Carl Hiaasen, following their 2024 adaptation of Hiaasen’s Dangerous Monkey for tv.
Russo arrives at his daughter Katie’s (Charly Clive) college to assist her cope after she learns her professor husband Archie (Phil Dunster from Ted Lasso) cheated with grad pupil Sunny (Lauren Tsai). Russo grapples along with his divorce from Katie’s mom 5 years earlier.
English division dean Walter (John C. McGinley) convinces Russo to guest-lecture for a category of largely baffled college students unfamiliar along with his pulp books—all besides one working-class outlier. Katie, buoyed by Russo’s recommendation, plans to fix her marriage however as an alternative quits the faculty and torches Archie’s campus home in a botched try to break a uncommon ebook.
Heartfelt Sitcom Vibes
Negotiators strike a deal shielding Katie from arson fees whereas she stays on campus—supplied Russo takes the artist-in-residence position. This premise delivers traditional sitcom power, balancing Ted Lasso‘s feel-good type with the subtler chew of Lawrence’s Shrinking.
Comedy sparks from Russo’s old-school methods clashing with trendy campus norms, like unintentional misgendering, a bungled Moby Dick ‘white whale’ quip, Michael Scott-esque pratfalls, and wild pupil nights. The emotional core lies in Russo and Katie’s father-daughter dynamic, elevated by Carell and Clive’s sharp timing and chemistry.
Carell thrives because the uneasy middle-aged outsider in tight-knit academia, backed by a powerful forged that includes Danielle Deadwyler, Connie Britton, and Alan Ruck. Followers of The Workplace‘s Michael Scott will take pleasure in this gentler model.
Rooster premieres on HBO Max March 9.
