Arya Catna | Contributing Illustrator

Those expecting to find Steve Carell star as a chicken in “Rooster,” HBO Max’s new comedy series, are going to be thoroughly disappointed. But those expecting him to play a beach-read writer who shows up at the college his daughter, Katie (Charly Clive), works at to comedically save her and her marriage will… well, also be disappointed.

Even though “Rooster” charmingly portrays a father-daughter relationship with a couple of entertaining side characters, its low stakes and lack of compelling humor ultimately make it amount to little more than a traditional comfort show. 

Carell, who is best known for playing Michael Scott on “The Office,” stars as Greg Russo, an aging author best known for his trashy “Rooster” adventure novels, for which the series is named. Katie, Greg’s daughter, is newly single after her husband, fellow professor Archie (Phil Dunster), left her for a graduate student named Sunny (Lauren Tsai). When Greg arrives at Ludlow College, a generic fictional northeastern school, he is officially there to give a talk about his books to students in the poetry class of Professor Dylan Shepherd (Danielle Deadwyler). 

But, in reality, Greg came to Ludlow because he cares about his daughter and wants to help Katie put her life back together. However, Katie has little interest in that. After a shocking revelation, she takes smoking back up, questions whether she should start dating again, and sets Archie’s treasured first-edition copy of “War and Peace” on fire. After seeing Katie’s condition, Greg takes up the writer-in-residence role at Ludlow College to stick around for a few months and help her get back on her feet. 

Despite its intriguing premise, “Rooster” is not a plot-focused comedy. Instead of its characters growing through conflict with one another each episode, “Rooster” has a relaxed, soft tone. It is the television equivalent of small talk with a mutual friend — nothing exciting but nothing offensive, either. 

Each episode mostly concerns low-stakes skirmishes like Sunny looking for an internship, Greg avoiding an official university party, or Archie splitting hairs with Katie’s roommate, Mo (Robby Hoffman). There’s nothing wrong with a show like this; it is just not what everyone is looking for.

But a core issue with “Rooster” is that its core instigating conflict, that being Archie and Katie’s highly strained relationship, is plainly uncompelling. Clive, as Katie, effectively shows the audience both Katie’s anger at Archie for leaving her and her lasting desire to be with him. That is on top of her well-delivered one-liners like “it does my heart good to see you suffer” aimed at her husband. 

But Dunster, as Archie, insufficiently matches her energy and performance. Dunster plays Archie as earnestly interested in both Katie and Sunny, but he never shows the mortification, remorse, or self-loathing that might be expected from someone who ditched their wife for a student. Instead, Archie comes off as ungenuine, uninteresting, and overall undeserving of all of this conflict surrounding him.

But there are some strong aspects of the show. John C. McGinley’s performance as Walter, Ludlow College’s health-obsessed and far-too-often-shirtless president, always injects an exciting energy into each scene he joins. Similarly, Annie Mumolo’s turn as Cristie, Walter’s secretary, who may be (not so) subtly flirting with Greg, also steals scenes.

Dylan, the confident poetry professor, is set up to be a romantic option for Greg, but feels underutilized and insufficiently developed, even among such a small cast. 

Cinematographer Blake McClure effectively captures the beauty of Ludlow’s campus in well-lit shots rich in blues and greens, even if a few angles are too blurry or artistic to feel realistic. The costumes from Heidi Higginbotham consistently offer intriguing patterns and colors, fleshing out the world of Ludlow while never drawing too much attention to themselves.

Unfortunately, laugh-out-loud jokes in “Rooster” are few and far between, because the majority of the humor feels a little unsophisticated. If your idea of comedy is having someone loudly chew corn nuts during a serious conversation or someone having to awkwardly decide between a fist bump and a high five, then “Rooster” might be the perfect show for you.

One of the funniest moments is when Greg calls a student his “white whale” and the editing jump-cuts to him in a correctional meeting with administration for alleged fatphobia, but when practically the same joke happens twice more in the same episode, it loses its luster.

Carell, as Greg, effectively sells the writing to the best of his ability, delivering otherwise underwhelming lines in his characteristically blunt style. He sweetly shows Greg’s desire to help Katie however possible, and when he tackles Archie or hides in the bushes it is positively excellent physical comedy. 

But, at least in the episodes released so far, “Rooster” has sidestepped any moments of drama or catharsis. Katie spits “at least I didn’t move to Florida to hide from my life” at Greg, in reference to her parents’ divorce, but nothing substantive results from it. They just move on.

Similarly, any moment in which Archie and Katie are stuck together has been played for laughs through either romantic references or angry yelling, instead of giving those scenes more emotional weight or drama.

Comedies like “Hacks” more effectively sprinkle in character growth and drama in between its punchlines, while shows like “The Studio” which barely take themselves seriously are more dependably hilarious and entertaining than “Rooster.”

Of course, this still is exactly what many people want in a show. 

“Rooster” is broadly appealing, highly successful, and always earns a laugh or two, even if not consistently. Carell, Clive, McGinley, and Mumolo all make the most of the material they have. Even if the drama is not there, the one-liners and comfort still are. 

“Rooster” is perfectly charming and offers a sweet, if sometimes superficial, escape to Ludlow College.

“Rooster” is releasing episodes weekly on HBO Max. Six out of ten episodes are currently available for streaming.