Recently, Steve Carell had a misunderstanding with his adult daughter over whether or not to give her a ride home. While both preferred she take an Uber, they agreed Carell could go hours out of his way to drive her instead — thinking it was what the other really wanted to do. His wife, Nancy, eventually stepped in, telling them to stop “acting like idiots” and to just be honest. That’s when Carell realized he was “trying too hard” to do what he thought was a good dad deed.
“She would really have preferred to take the Uber and I would really have preferred to just go home without dropping her off,” Carell said in a recent interview.
That type of push and pull between a father and his adult daughter is at the center of Carell’s new series “Rooster,” premiering Sunday on HBO. Carell plays Greg Russo, a successful author of “beach reads” whose protagonist is named Rooster. When Greg’s daughter Katie , a professor at Ludlow College, finds herself in the middle of a humiliating breakup, he takes a job at the small liberal arts school to stay close to her.
The series, created by Bill Lawrence and Matt Tarses, is Carell’s first outright television comedy since leaving “The Office” in 2011.
Carell said he was already a fan of Lawrence but reading the pilot episode was all he needed to be “in instantly.” He loved the tone and how unique it was.
Casting Carell to be the lead in your comedy is like winning the lottery, says Tarses. “You’re excited, you get this guy, and then he exceeds your expectations, and then, he’s a nicer guy than you think.”
They credit Carell for taking moments that weren’t meant to be funny and adding comedic touches, like when Greg folds his puffy coat before handing it to an attendant at a party.
In another scene, Katie explains to Greg why she has a problem with him being at the school. As she speaks, Carell opted to eat a handful of corn nuts, causing a noisy distraction.
“We had to turn the volume down,” said Lawrence. “I could have watched it for two hours.”
While Carell is making a return to comedy with “Rooster,” Danielle Deadwyler, known for dramatic roles like “Till” and “The Piano Lesson,” is making her debut in the genre. She plays a poetry professor who finds herself promoted to dean.
“I needed something to balance me out and to allow my nervous system to recoup itself after years of drama,” said Deadwyler, who says she’s learned that comedic acting is still “just acting” and a “through line of everything is the need to stay extremely grounded.”
John C. McGinley of “ Scrubs, ” plays the president of Ludlow College with a penchant for gossip. He invites faculty and students to partake in a backyard cold plunge and sauna as a sort of “safe space” for sharing feelings.
It’s a daily ritual in McGinley’s own life that he’s been doing for about 25 years. Lawrence knew this about McGinley and decided to make it a regular practice for his character. “One of Billy’s biggest strengths is he writes from familiarity,” said McGinley.
Phil Dunster is Archie, Katie’s narcissistic estranged husband. He already had a relationship with Lawrence from working on “ Ted Lasso. ” Like Carell, Dunster was impressed by the script.
“When I read the script, it was just like, ‘Oh man, I wanna watch this show.’ I think that’s a really nice feeling when you have come across something that you go, ‘Oh, I’d love to watch this.’”
A hallmark of a Bill Lawrence show is that there are quirky supporting characters who end up becoming a running joke throughout the series and “Rooster” is no different. There’s a police officer who often misplaces his gun and an administrative assistant who throws herself at Greg when no one is watching.
Lawrence says “part of the fun is just kind of leaning into the curve of what’s working” and being open to writing more about those characters, big or small, who pop on screen.
“The only hassle with this show is too many things, at least to us, are working, and now we have to figure out a way to keep this whole world of people together, because they’re all blowing up,” he said.
