Rooster (2026) Review: Steve Carell Goes Back to College

Is Rooster worth watching?

Yes. Rooster is a warm, quietly affecting campus comedy that gives Steve Carell one of his best television roles since The Office, playing vanity and hurt in the same breath. The show’s appeal lies in its generous ensemble and its tender father-daughter story, which becomes more moving as the season goes on. The reservation is familiarity: the setup and many of its beats follow a well-worn comic template, and it takes a few episodes to find its rhythm.

What is Rooster about?

Greg Russo (Carell) is a best-selling novelist whose personal life is in freefall. Out of options and short on dignity, he accepts a teaching post at the New England college where his grown daughter (Charly Clive) is a rising professor. She is not entirely delighted to have her famous father strutting through her workplace, and he is not entirely sure how to be useful to anyone, least of all her.

Around them is a faculty full of big personalities, including Danielle Deadwyler as a colleague distinctly unimpressed by Greg’s reputation and John C. McGinley as a dean who treats the new arrival with open hostility. Phil Dunster and Lauren Tsai round out the ensemble.

Rooster was created by Bill Lawrence and Matt Tarses. It is an American comedy in English, streaming on HBO Max, and this review covers its first season of 10 episodes. The series is ongoing.

Carell’s preening, wounded rooster

The title describes Greg perfectly: a man who puffs himself up to hide how fragile he feels. Carell has long excelled at characters whose self-regard is a shield, and here he pitches the performance softer than his most famous comic roles. Greg can be vain, needy and embarrassing, but Carell lets the audience see the loneliness beneath the bluster, and the show’s funniest scenes are often its saddest too.

The heart of the series is his relationship with his daughter. Charly Clive gives her a dry, exasperated intelligence that makes her far more than a foil, and their scenes together, full of old grievances and awkward attempts at connection, carry real emotional weight. The show understands that a parent and an adult child can love each other deeply and still not know how to talk.

Lawrence’s ensemble comedy on campus

Anyone who has watched Scrubs, Ted Lasso or Shrinking will recognise the Bill Lawrence touch: a workplace family, rapid-fire banter, sentimental turns and a firm belief that people can become better versions of themselves. John C. McGinley, a Lawrence regular since Scrubs, is gleefully abrasive as the dean, and Danielle Deadwyler, better known for intense dramatic work, shows a sharp comic edge as a colleague who refuses to be charmed.

The college setting offers some easy jokes about academic politics, rivalries and the absurdity of faculty life, and a best-selling author with no teaching experience is a reliable engine for comic embarrassment. Above all, the campus works as a cosy backdrop for a show that wants to comfort as much as it wants to amuse.

Where the formula shows

The drawback is that Rooster rarely surprises. The arc of a self-absorbed man softened by community and family is one audiences have seen many times, including in Lawrence’s own work, and some supporting characters exist mainly to deliver quips or life lessons. The early episodes are also uneven, with the satire of academia feeling gentler than it could be. The show improves as it leans into its emotional side, but it never quite escapes the sense of a comfortable formula.

Who should watch Rooster?

It is ideal for Steve Carell fans, viewers who enjoyed Ted Lasso or Shrinking, and anyone looking for character-driven comedy with a sentimental streak. Ten episodes in a single season make it an easy weekend watch. It carries an adult rating for strong language and some sexual humour, but the tone is warm rather than edgy.

If it works for you, try:

• Ted Lasso for Bill Lawrence’s signature blend of workplace comedy and heartfelt optimism.
• BoJack Horseman for a darker, more searching comedy about a self-absorbed celebrity trying to be better.
• The Comeback for a sharper satire of fame and humiliation.

The verdict

Rooster is a kind-hearted, well-cast comedy that uses a familiar setup to tell a touching story about a father and daughter learning to know each other. It follows the Bill Lawrence formula closely and takes time to settle, but Steve Carell’s layered performance makes it well worth a look.

Rating: 4/5