AceShowbiz - Steve Carell stars in Rooster, HBO’s latest comedy series created by the team behind Scrubs, Bill Lawrence and Matt Tarses. The show premiered to an impressive 2.4 million U.S. cross-platform viewers within its first three days, marking it as HBO’s most-watched comedy debut in the U.S. since June 2015, when The Brink launched.

Although the television landscape has changed significantly in recent years, making direct comparisons challenging, Rooster’s strong opening is notable. The Brink similarly featured prominent stars, Jack Black and Tim Robbins, but lasted only one season. This reflects a trend where comedies with well-known actors tend to attract larger initial audiences compared to HBO’s creator-performer shows, which often require more time to build viewership.

Viewership for Rooster has shown promising growth, increasing fourfold since its premiere night. Its Sunday companion, the limited series DTF St. Louis, also saw a rise in viewers, growing 12% from its first week to reach 2.8 million U.S. viewers.

Set on a college campus, Rooster explores the complex relationship between an author, played by Carell, and his daughter, portrayed by Charly Clive. The cast also includes Danielle Deadwyler, Phil Dunster, John C. McGinley, and Lauren Tsai, with Connie Britton appearing in a recurring role.

Executive producers on the series include co-showrunners Lawrence and Tarses, alongside Jeff Ingold and Liza Katzer from Doozer, Jonathan Krisel, Barbie Adler, Annie Mebane, David Stassen, Anthony King, David Hyman, and Carell himself. The series is produced by Warner Bros. Television, home to both Doozer and Tarses under overall deals.