- Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
- Verdict: “Rooster” finds co-creator Bill Lawrence putting together another cast of flawed but likable misfits, this time on the campus of a small liberal arts college. Steve Carell brings self-effacing warmth to his starring role as a novelist turned professor, and the show follows his lead over the course of its 10-episode first season.
- Premiere date/time: March 8 at 10 p.m. ET
- Where to watch: Stream episodes weekly on HBO Max
Even without looking at the credits, it’s pretty easy to tell that the new HBO series “Rooster” was co-created by Bill Lawrence. The creator or co-creator of shows like “Scrubs,” “Cougar Town,” “Ted Lasso” and “Shrinking” has a particular sensibility that shines through right away in “Rooster,” which is another Lawrence comedy about lovable misfits thrown together in a manufactured setting (hospital, cul-de-sac, soccer team, therapy practice) and forming a makeshift family. Here, the setting is a New England liberal arts college, but the way that the flawed, well-intentioned characters relate to each other could have been lifted from any other Lawrence show from the past 25 years.That’s not a bad thing, though, and Lawrence and co-creator Matt Tarses come up with distinctive and appealing characters who aren’t just variations on past Lawrence creations. There’s a bit more tension and conflict in the central relationships, at least in the six episodes (out of 10 total) provided for review, along with some gentle skewering of academic culture. “Rooster” isn’t nearly as dark as this week’s other new dramedy series set on a small college campus, Netflix’s “Vladimir,” but it’s more pointed in its social commentary than might be expected from Lawrence.Still, the main draw of “Rooster” is spending time with these pleasant, funny, mostly relatable characters, led by Steve Carell as bestselling novelist Greg Russo, who reluctantly accepts a job as writer-in-residence at the school where his daughter Katie (Charly Clive) teaches art history. The show is as cozy as the perpetually autumnal campus where it’s set, and a perfect addition to Lawrence’s portfolio of warm, heartfelt comedies.
