Rooster is an American comedy-drama series created by Bill Lawrence and Matt Tarses and starring Steve Carell. It premiered on March 8, 2026 on HBO and received positive reviews. In April 2026, the series was renewed for a second season. At the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, Carell received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.
Contents
Premise
The series is set on the New England campus of Ludlow College, centering on well-tred and semi-dysfunctional author Greg Russo's complicated relationship with his daughter Katie. Katie, an art history instructor, is shown navigating campus life during a separation from her husband, another professor at the fictional Ludlow. He has taken a graduate student as a lover. The show also investigates academic and administrative waters.
Cast and characters
Main
Steve Carell as Greg Russo
Danielle Deadwyler as Dylan Shepard
Phil Dunster as Archie Bates, Katie's estranged husband who left her for a graduate student
Charly Clive as Katie Russo, Greg's daughter
Lauren Tsai as Sunny, the graduate student for whom Archie left Katie
John C. McGinley as Walter Mann, Ludlow College's president
Recurring
Annie Mumolo as Crisle, Walter's executive assistant
Connie Britton as Elizabeth "Beth" Stoddard, Greg's ex-wife and Katie's mother
Rory Scovel as Officer Donnie Mullins, a campus police officer
Alan Ruck as Dean Vincent Riggs
Robby Hoffman as Mo, Sunny's friend and roommate
Madison Hu as Eva
Rick Glassman as Professor Donaldson
Scott MacArthur as Coach Jake
Guest
Nancy Carell as Susan Riggs, Dean Riggs' wife
Brenda Strong as Joanie, President Mann's wife
Jim O'Heir as Fred Sulewski, Sunny's father
Timothy Stack as Graham, the accident-prone president of the Board of Trustees
Additionally, Maximo Salas co-stars as Tommy Newton, a student who befriends Greg.
Production
The ten-part series is written and created by Bill Lawrence and Matt Tarses and received a straight-to-series order from HBO in 2024. The cast is led by Steve Carell who is also an executive producer alongside Lawrence, Tarses, Jeff Ingold, Liza Katzer, Jonathan Krisel, Barbie Adler, Annie Mebane, David Stassen and Anthony King. It is produced by Warner Bros. Television and Doozer Productions.
Phil Dunster joined the cast in November 2024, with Charly Clive joining the cast as Carell's daughter the following month. In February 2025, Danielle Deadwyler, Lauren Tsai and John C. McGinley joined the cast. In June 2025, Annie Mumolo and Connie Britton joined the cast in recurring roles. In July 2025, Robby Hoffman and Scott MacArthur joined the cast in recurring roles.
On April 9, 2026, HBO renewed the series for a second season.
Filming
Principal photography for Rooster began in June 2025 at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California which served as Ludlow College. Exteriors were filmed at the University of the Pacific over the course of four days. Looking to emulate an elite East Coast liberal arts school, co-creator Matt Tarses originally envisioned shooting Rooster at his alma mater Williams College in Massachusetts. However, the studio had approved shooting interiors in Los Angeles so they needed to find a college within driving distance of Los Angeles. Extras during the university shoot had to wear autumnal clothing in 100 °F / 37 °C heat. Additional footage for Ludlow College was shot at Occidental College and the University of Southern California. Studio filming for interiors took place at Warner Bros. Studios Burbank. Principal photography wrapped in August 2025.
Release
The series premiered on HBO on March 8, 2026.
Reception
Critical response
The first season holds an 88% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 56 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Rooster nestles in with humor and heart thanks to Steve Carell's soothing performance and Danielle Deadwyler's exuberant support, leading Bill Lawrence's kind-spirited, good-time new series to lovely heights." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 68 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. It has been compared to Lawrence's other TV series, namely Ted Lasso and Shrinking, and called by some critics as "hangout TV" and "found family TV".
Audience viewership
The series became the most-watched comedy premiere on HBO in the United States in over a decade, drawing 2.4 million viewers in the U.S. across platforms in its first three days of availability.