Marcus Errico
2026-02-05 21:35:00
Maybe this time Steve Carell will make it out of a TV series alive.
After being killed off his last two shows — The Four Seasons and The Morning Show — The Office star is back in action for HBO’s upcoming comedy series Rooster. The first trailer dropped on Thursday, showing Carell in typically fine form as “Rooster,” an oddly-nicknamed author and long-suffering dad trying to deal with his daughter’s (Charly Clive) anger-management issues. Watch the preview below and read on for everything to know about the new show, including its awards prospects.
The plot
The logline, per HBO: “A comedy set on a college campus centering on an author’s (Carell) complicated relationship with his daughter (Clive).”
The cast
Aside from Carell and Clive, the series has a loaded ensemble that includes Danielle Deadwyler (The Piano Lesson), Phil Dunster (Ted Lasso), John C. McGinley (Scrubs), and Lauren Tsai (Legion). Connie Britton (Friday Night Light) also appears.
The creative team
The show is created and run by Scrubs alums Bill Lawrence (whose credits also include Ted Lasso and Shrinking) and Matt Tarses. Executive producers include Lawrence, Tarses, Carell, Jeff Ingold, Liza Katzer, Jonathan Krisel, Barbie Adler, Annie Mebane, David Stassen, Anthony King, and David Hyman.
Premiere date
The 10-episode first season of Rooster premieres on March 8 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and HBO Max, with new installments debuting Sundays.
Awards potential?
Can HBO and the guy behind Ted Lasso help Carell finally lasso an Emmy? While he’s still one of TV’s most reliably entertaining performers, Carell has never managed to cash in on any of his 11 nominations through the years. Ten of those nods came for acting and producing on The Office, and his recent nomination was for his ill-fated turn in The Morning Show. (Carell does have a Golden Globe and two SAG Actor Awards for his Office work.)
Lawrence, meanwhile, is two-time Emmy winner for producing Apple TV’s Ted Lasso, and HBO/HBO Max has a proven track record at bringing home the gold for its comedy series — as evidenced by Veep, Hacks, Sex and the City, et al. With The Studio star and reigning Best Comedy Actor champ Seth Rogen presumably out the race this year, Carell could definitely make the grade.
