From “Scrubs” creator Bill Lawrence and co-creator Matt Tarses, HBO’s newest comedy series, “Rooster,” follows Greg Russo (Steve Carell), a best-selling author known for his trashy beach reads. Despite his professional success, he’s still reeling from the end of his marriage due to infidelity. Greg decides to shake off the monotony of his life by taking a position as Writer in Residence at the prestigious (fictional) Ludlow College. While Greg is reluctant to take on the role, he’s thrilled to be closer to his adult daughter, Katie (Charly Clive), Ludlow’s art history professor, who is struggling amid the demise of her own marriage. “Rooster” should be a witty examination of a father/daughter bond. Regrettably, it dissolves into an uninspired narrative riddled with stale jokes and plot points from a different era. Basically, we’ve already seen several iterations of “Rooster” before, like “Father of the Bride,” “Fatherhood” and even themes from Carell’s most recent work, “The Four Seasons.”
“Rooster” opens somewhere in the Northeast at Ludlow, where Greg has been asked to speak to Professor Dylan Shepard’s (Danielle Deadwyler) class about his latest book. Greg’s true motive in agreeing to Dylan’s invitation is to check on Katie who is struggling after her husband, Archie (Phil Dunster), a Russian historian, left her for a graduate student named Sunny (Lauren Tsai). Seeing his only child out of sorts disturbs Greg, so when eclectic Ludlow President Walter Mann (John C. McGinley), offers him a semester-long position at the university, he reluctantly accepts.
Across the 10-episode first season (critics received six for review), Greg embarks on the college experience he never had the chance to partake in during his youth. He bonds with Dylan, explores a new romantic relationship and tries to be there for Katie without smothering her. Instead of playing it safe, Greg attempts to emulate his book character, Rooster, by stepping out of his shell and exploring all that life at Ludlow has to offer, with mixed results.
Unfortunately, “Rooster” is full of predictable characters and circumstances, adding up to a lackluster narrative. The back-and-forth between Archie and Katie is exhausting, and the politics of academia, including budget changes and the revolving door of faculty and staff, are rather dull. Things take a ridiculous turn due to some of the gags involving Greg and his students. In one sequence, Greg, referencing “Moby Dick,” calls a young woman a “white whale,” and he’s called into the dean’s office, accused of body-shaming. Regrettably, the series fully tumbles downhill in Episode 3. Greg trips in the middle of class and uses another student’s breasts to break his fall. Frat boy humor certainly has its place in the ecosystem of comedy, especially if it’s done well. It’s a type of entetainment that Carell has succeded in demonstrating since his big break on “The Office” two decades ago. Still, the quips here feel both recycled and indecorous, as if misogyny and the #MeToo Movement are just ideas to laugh at.
“Rooster” is especially disappointing because there is much to be said about the relationships between fathers and adult daughters, but that dynamic is barely explored here. Over the course of the season, it’s made plain that Greg is the more sensitive parent, while his ex-wife Elizabeth (Connie Britton) takes on the less emotional or traditional “dad” role with Katie. The audience gets glimmers of Katie and Greg’s relationship, but the show is bogged down by dull characters like the policeman who seems to have it out for Greg, and even by its focus on Archie’s point of view, which is just a depiction of narcissism and a formulaic pseudo-midlife crisis.
Despite its star power and creator Lawrence’s previous work on series like “Ted Lasso,” “Shrinking,” and “Cougar Town,” “Rooster” is a dull regurgitation of previously explored themes and figures Carell has portrayed before. Though the actors do their best to expand the material given to them, when it’s all said and done, the show simply doesn’t crow.
“Rooster” premieres March 8 on HBO, with new episodes dropping weekly on Sundays.