Steve Carell's "heartfelt" new comedy Rooster gets future confirmed after first episodes air

Steve Carell has another hit comedy series on his hands as the future of Rooster is looking very bright indeed.

The new series, available via Sky, NOW and HBO Max in the UK, explores the relationship between successful author Greg (Carell) and his daughter, university professor Katie (Charly Clive), as the latter suffers a hurtful separation from her husband.

Co-created by Bill Lawrence (of Scrubs, Ted Lasso and Shrinking fame), it isn't exactly surprising that Rooster has struck a chord, with HBO reporting average viewership just shy of 6 million per episode in the US alone.

This makes it the most-watched debut season of a comedy on the American broadcaster in more than a decade, with the number of fans sure to grow as it continues to roll out overseas. (New episodes are currently airing on Mondays in the UK.)

With steady momentum behind it, HBO has officially handed Rooster an early renewal for season 2, weeks ahead of the current run's finale (scheduled for mid-May).

Responding to the news, co-showrunner Lawrence commented that the show had been a "career highlight" for himself and his longtime collaborator Matt Tarses.

He continued: "We are so grateful to Warner Bros Television and HBO for being such great partners and to Casey [Bloys], Amy [Gravitt] and Channing [Dungey, HBO/Warner executives] for giving us the opportunity to keep making this show with Steve and our amazing cast."

Gravitt added: "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... We're looking forward to seeing what Ludlow's Spring Semester has in store for this incredible comedy ensemble."

Rooster stars Carell and Clive spoke to Radio Times earlier this month about their collaboration on the project, with the former drawing comparisons with his own experience of parenting.

"I think when your kids transition from being little kids to adults, everything changes, and their needs change," he mused.

"Your responsibility to them is still intact, but it's a different responsibility, and the most difficult aspect is letting them make their own mistakes, as opposed to trying to make everything good all the time, because otherwise you don't learn."

Carell shared: "That's something I'm definitely working through with my own kids at this point. But they're turning into such interesting, fun, smart, kind adults."

Rooster also stars Danielle Deadwyler, who recently joined Ryan Coogler's The X-Files reboot, plus Scrubs alum John C McGinley, Ted Lasso's Phil Dunster and Lauren Tsai (of Marvel drama Legion).

Rooster is available on Sky, NOW and HBO Max.

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