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‘Rooster’ sets HBO release date as Steve Carell returns to TV in wacky college comedy

Steve Carell returns to HBO as a famous author whose attempt to save his daughter pulls him deep into campus chaos.

Steve Carell is heading back to TV, and no, he’s not bringing Michael Scott with him. This time, he’s playing a father who desperately wants to help but isn’t sure he should. HBO has finally locked in a release date for ‘Rooster’, the upcoming series that puts Carell back at the center of a complicated family story. The 10-episode show is set to premiere on March 8, with new episodes rolling out every Sunday night at 10 p.m. ET all the way through May 10, as reported by Brit + Co. Carell stars as Greg Russo, a wildly successful author whose books are familiar enough that parents recognize his name instantly.

That becomes oddly useful when his personal life starts bleeding into professional spaces. In the show, he finds himself spending far more time on a college campus than expected, all because of his relationship with his daughter, Katie, played by Charly Clive. The setup is deceptively simple. Greg loves his daughter. He worries about her. He wants to protect her. And that instinct, the one that tells him to swoop in and fix things, may be doing more harm than good. According to the newly released trailer, Katie is a college professor whose life has started to spiral.

Her husband, also a faculty member, leaves her for a graduate student. The revelation detonates both her personal and professional stability. Things escalate fast. There’s a fire. There’s a very public punch thrown on campus. Suddenly, Katie’s job looks less secure, and Greg decides it’s time to step in. That’s how he ends up visiting the college, where the administration quickly realizes he’s not just a concerned dad. He’s a celebrity author with a fanbase that includes their own students. “You’re a bestselling author parents have actually heard of,” the college president tells him. “We could really use your help,” as quoted by Finger Lakes Daily News. 

Helping, in this case, means Greg taking on a teaching role at the school. The move turns him into an instant hit with students who grew up reading his books. To them, he’s not just a visiting professor. He’s “Rooster,” the heroic figure from his novels. But, Greg isn’t so sure. In one moment from the trailer, he admits that whenever Katie struggles, his instinct is to charge in and save the day. But this time feels different. In his words, “But I can’t fix this. I’m not Rooster.” A student offers a counterpoint. “This is college. You can be the Rooster if you want,” they tell him. 

Carell has walked this territory before, which is part of what makes ‘Rooster’ interesting. He’s played fathers grappling with damaged relationships in past projects, from the ‘Beautiful Boy’ to ‘The Four Seasons’. The show doesn’t frame Greg as a villain or a hero. He’s flawed. Overbearing at times. Earnest to a fault. His fame complicates everything, especially when it intersects with Katie’s struggle to be taken seriously on her own terms. Is he helping her, or is he making her smaller by constantly standing in front of her? That tension drives the series.