Rooster
Genre Comedy
Created by Bill Lawrence
Matt Tarses
Starring
  • Steve Carell
  • Danielle Deadwyler
  • Phil Dunster
  • Charly Clive
  • Lauren Tsai
  • John C. McGinley
Music by Andrew Watt
Opening theme "I Played the Fool" by Michael Stipe and Andrew Watt
Country of origin United States
Original language English
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 1
Production
Executive producers
  • Bill Lawrence
  • Matt Tarses
  • Jeff Ingold
  • Liza Katzer
  • Steve Carell
  • Jonathan Krisel
  • Barbie Adler
  • Annie Mebane
  • David Stassen
  • Anthony King
  • David Hyman
Cinematography Blake McClure
Editor Ali Greer
Running time 34 minutes
Production companies
  • Two Soups Productions
  • Doozer Productions
  • Warner Bros. Television
Original release
Network HBO
Release March 8, 2026 (2026-03-08) –
present

Rooster is an American comedy series created by Bill Lawrence and Matt Tarses, and starring Steve Carell. It premiered on March 8, 2026, on HBO.[1][2]

Cast

Main

  • Steve Carell[3] as Greg Russo
  • Danielle Deadwyler[4] as Dylan Shepard
  • Phil Dunster[5] as Archie, Katie's estranged husband who left her for a graduate student
  • Charly Clive[6] as Katie, Greg's daughter
  • Lauren Tsai[7] as Sunny, the graduate student that Archie left Katie for
  • John C. McGinley[8] as Walter Mann, Ludlow College's president

Recurring

  • Annie Mumolo[9] as Cristle
  • Connie Britton[10]
  • Robby Hoffman[11]
  • Scott MacArthur[12]

Episodes

No. Title [13] Directed by Written by Original release date [13] Prod.
code
1 "Release the Brown Fat" Jonathan Krisel Bill Lawrence & Matt Tarses March 8, 2026 (2026-03-08) T12.20101
Greg Russo is a middle-aged author of a series of commercially popular beach read novels about a private investigator named Rooster. He arrives at Ludlow College, a liberal arts college in New England, to present a talk on his books, organized by English professor Dylan Shepard. His real reason for coming to Ludlow is to check on his daughter Katie, an art professor at the college, whose husband and fellow professor Archie has recently left her for a graduate student named Sunny. Katie assures her father that everything is fine, but he encourages her to talk to Archie. On his first night at Ludlow, Greg and Dylan share a drink at the local inn and reminisce about their lives. He offers to walk her home, but gently rebuffs her advances. The next day, Katie goes to Archie's home and learns that Sunny is pregnant; after forcing Archie out, Katie burns his most prized possession—a first-edition copy of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace—in the fireplace, only for the fire to go out of control and burn Archie's house down. When Greg arrives at the scene, Katie refuses to deny her involvement in causing the fire.
2 "Trousers" TBA TBA March 15, 2026 (2026-03-15) TBA
3 "White Whale" TBA TBA March 22, 2026 (2026-03-22) TBA

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.[3][1]

Phil Dunster joined the cast in November 2024 with Charly Clive joining the cast as Carell's daughter the following month.[6][5] Danielle Deadwyler, Lauren Tsai and John C. McGinley joined the cast in February 2025.[7][4][8] Connie Britton and Annie Mumolo joined the cast in recurring roles in June 2025.[9][10] The following month, Robby Hoffman and Scott MacArthur joined the cast in recurring roles.[11][12]

Filming

Principal photography for Rooster began in June 2025 at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California which served as Ludlow College.[14][15] Exteriors were filmed at the University of the Pacific over the course of two weeks.[16] 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.[17] Extras during the university shoot had to wear autumnal clothing in 100°F / 37°C heat.[18] Additional footage for Ludlow College was shot at Occidental College and the University of Southern California.[19] Studio filming for interiors took place at Warner Bros. Studios Burbank. Principal photography wrapped in August 2025.[20]

Release

The series premiered on HBO on March 8, 2026.[2]

Reception

The series holds an 88% approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 42 reviews. 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."[21] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 66 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable".[22]

References

  1. ^ a b Gomez, Dessi (December 8, 2025). "Bill Lawrence's HBO Comedy Series Starring Steve Carell Has Its Title And Premiere Window". Deadline. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "HBO Original Comedy Series ROOSTER, Starring Steve Carell, From Bill Lawrence And Matt Tarses, Debuts March 8". Warner Bros. Discovery Pressroom. February 5, 2026. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  3. ^ a b Otterson, Joe (May 20, 2024). "Steve Carell to Star in HBO Comedy Series From Bill Lawrence, Matt Tarses". Variety. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  4. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (February 19, 2025). "HBO's Steve Carell Comedy Series Adds Danielle Deadwyler To Cast". Deadline. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  5. ^ a b Porter, Rick (November 8, 2024). "'Ted Lasso' Star Phil Dunster Boards HBO's Steve Carell Comedy". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  6. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (December 12, 2024). "HBO's Steve Carell Comedy Series Casts Charly Clive As Co-Lead". Deadline. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  7. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (February 28, 2025). "HBO's Steve Carell Comedy Series Adds Lauren Tsai To Cast". Deadline. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  8. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (February 25, 2025). "John C. McGinley Joins HBO's Steve Carell Comedy Series In 'Scrubs' Reunion With Creators Bill Lawrence & Matt Tarses". Deadline. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  9. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (June 16, 2025). "HBO's Steve Carell Comedy Series Adds Annie Mumolo". Deadline. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  10. ^ a b Cordero, Rosy (June 18, 2025). "Connie Britton Joins HBO's Steve Carell Comedy Series". Deadline. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  11. ^ a b Riley, Jenelle (July 7, 2025). "'Hacks' Breakout Robby Hoffman Joins Steve Carell's New HBO Comedy (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  12. ^ a b Otterson, Joe (July 29, 2025). "'Running Point' Star Scott MacArthur Joins Steve Carell College Comedy at HBO (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  13. ^ a b "Shows A–Z – Rooster on HBO". The Futon Critic. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
  14. ^ Karcher, Carmela (June 10, 2025). "Filming for HBO series starring Steve Carell takes over Stockton's University of the Pacific". CBS News. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  15. ^ Porras, Gabriel (June 12, 2025). "Stockton sees economic boost from new HBO series shoot". KXTV. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  16. ^ Gallucci, Nicole (March 9, 2026). "Where Is 'Rooster' Filmed? And Is Ludlow College Real?". Decider. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
  17. ^ Gentile, Dan (March 9, 2026). "Overlooked Calif. university is the background for Steve Carell's new HBO show, 'Rooster'". SFGate. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
  18. ^ ABC10 (March 6, 2026). "Pacific student says filming Steve Carell's new HBO show in Stockton was a summer highlight". Yahoo! Entertainment. Retrieved March 9, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ Shrestha, Naman (March 8, 2026). "Where is HBO's Rooster Filmed?". Moviedelic. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
  20. ^ "All 8 Rooster (2026) Filming Locations Revealed". Tonboriday. March 8, 2026. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
  21. ^ "Rooster: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
  22. ^ "Rooster: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved March 12, 2026.