Rooster, the comedy series starring Steve Carell, isn’t finished yet.
Just halfway through the first season, HBO has renewed the series for a second season. Season 2 will pick up the story in the spring semester of the fictional Ludlow College.
Success of Season 1
The quick renewal is not a complete surprise, as the first four episodes averaged 5.8 million U.S. viewers, according to HBO. It’s on pace to be the most-watched first-year comedy on HBO in more than a decade.
Rooster also recently landed a $21 million California tax credit for Season 2 after the series premiere garnered 2.4 million U.S. cross-platform viewers in its first three days of availability.
What is Rooster About?
Rooster follows a complicated father-daughter relationship between Greg Russo (Carell) and Katie (Charly Clive). Russo is an author of pulpy, popular novels whose lead character is Rooster, while his daughter is a professor going through a nasty, public divorce.
Russo agrees to be a guest lecturer at the college in exchange for Katie not losing her job after she accidentally burned down her cheating husband’s house.
Other cast members include Danielle Deadwyler, John C. McGinley, Lauren Tsai, Annie Mumolo, Robby Hoffman, Rory Scovel, Alan Ruck, and Connie Britton.
Carell has been excited for the series for a long time, pretty much right after reading the script for the pilot.
He shared with The Hollywood Reporter, “It was one of the best comedy pilots I’ve read — period. Pilots are the hardest to write. You’re creating a world, you’re introducing it to an audience and you have to do it quickly, efficiently, without feeling like it’s all backstory — and be funny at the same time.”
Behind the Scenes
Executive producers for Rooster include Lawrence, Jeff Ingold, Liza Katzer, Tarses, Jonathan Krisel, Barbie Adler, Annie Mebane, David Stassen, Anthony King, David Hyman, and Steve Carell.
Warner Bros. Television is the studio producing the series, with Doozer and Tarses, who have overall deals with the company.
Excitement for More
There is lots of excitement from both the fans and the creators behind the series.
Bill Lawrence shared in a statement: “We are so grateful to Warner Bros. Television and HBO for being such great partners and to Casey, Amy and Channing for giving us the opportunity to keep making this show with Steve and our amazing cast. It’s been a career highlight for both of us, but more for Matt than me.”
Amy Gravitt, EVP of HBO Programming and Head of Comedy Series, also added her input, saying, “It’s been heartening to feel the audience embrace ‘Rooster,’ as we did when we first saw Steve, Bill and Matt bring this character to life. Along with our partners at WBTV and Doozer, we’re looking forward to seeing what Ludlow’s Spring Semester has in store for this incredible comedy ensemble.”
Finally, Clancy Collins White, the President of Creative Affairs at WBD, added, ““‘Rooster’ is a heartfelt, endearing series, and its second-season renewal is richly deserved. Bill Lawrence and Matt Tarses are masters of their craft, bringing their signature heart and humor to life through an incredible cast led by Steve Carell. We’re thrilled to continue this creative journey with HBO and Doozer.”
Rest of Season 1
The remaining episodes of the 10-episode season will be released on Sundays at 10 pm. The season finale will air on May 10th on HBO and HBO Max.