Yes, I noticed it immediately. The warmth, the messy lovable main character, the fast talking, the emotional gut punch hiding inside what looks like a straightforward comedy. You can feel it from the first episode. And then you check the credits and it all makes sense.
Rooster was created by Bill Lawrence and Matt Tarses. Lawrence you know from Scrubs. Tarses was a writer and executive producer on Scrubs too, and both of them also worked together on Bad Monkey. And if you have watched Ted Lasso, you can feel that in every scene. Same universe. Same emotional language. A man who is a little lost, a little too eager, a little too open, trying to be good in a world that keeps making it complicated. The fast-paced dialogue, the emotionally broken but lovable characters, the moments of humor followed by something that actually gets you. That is not an accident. That is a style. And it works.
What It Is
Greg Russo (Steve Carell) is a bestselling novelist known for a series of airport thrillers, who gets a job as writer-in-residence at a small New England college. The catch is that his daughter Katie (Charly Clive) is already there, a professor of art history whose marriage is falling apart. Greg arrives to help, ends up staying, and manages to make everything both better and worse at the same time. You know the type. You probably love the type.
Zach Braff Behind the Camera
Here is the part I love. Zach Braff directed episodes 3 and 4 of Rooster while simultaneously starring in the Scrubs revival. So Bill Lawrence literally called his old friend from Scrubs to come direct his new show. That is exactly the kind of full circle moment that makes you smile. And Braff has been doing this with Lawrence for 25 years now, directing episodes of Scrubs, Ted Lasso, and Shrinking before this. He knows exactly what Lawrence wants and is not afraid to push him somewhere new.
If you have not seen [Garden State], go watch it. It came out in 2004, he wrote and directed it, and it stars Natalie Portman in one of the warmest and most quietly devastating performances of her career.
Speaking of Braff as a director, if you have not seen [Garden State], go watch it. It came out in 2004, he wrote and directed it, and it stars Natalie Portman in one of the warmest and most quietly devastating performances of her career. It is a criminally underrated film that deserves far more love than it gets. The fact that this is the same man who also played JD for nine years and is now directing Steve Carell on HBO is genuinely remarkable.
Steve Carell
He is great as always. He knows exactly how to take a man who keeps getting himself into ridiculous situations and make him feel like a real person rather than a cartoon. The warmth is never forced. The cringe is never cruel. He carries the whole show and makes it look effortless.
The rest of the cast is strong. Danielle Deadwyler is a genuine joy every time she is on screen. John C. McGinley as the college president is very good, and seeing him back in Bill Lawrence's world while Braff is behind the camera is a lot of fun. Charly Clive as Katie holds her own opposite Carell in scenes that could easily have been swallowed by his presence.
The Honest Part
It is not a perfect season. Through its first episodes the show is still trying to figure out exactly what it wants to be. Some of the college campus comedy is a bit broad. Some jokes land with a thud. There are moments where you can feel the show reaching for something it has not quite found yet. That is fine. That is what first seasons are for.
The DNA is good. The cast is excellent. The potential is obvious and exciting. This is the kind of show that figures itself out in Season 2 and becomes something you tell everyone about.
The Verdict
I laughed. I genuinely laughed. And by the end of the season I was already looking forward to seeing what they do with more space, more confidence, and a cast that clearly works together. Season 2 is already confirmed. I will be there.
Rooster has everything it needs to be bigger and better. It just needs a season to find itself.