This sophisticated, character-driven sitcom from the creators of Scrubs and Ted Lasso is very funny. And it’s proof that all that drama hasn’t blunted Carrell’s comic edge
H
ere’s a funny thing. When comically gifted actors go “straight”, taking on dramatic roles with zero laughs, the world falls over its feet to give them flowers. You might not realise it from looking at every single acting award ever handed out but comedy is much harder than drama. Both share techniques and aim at truth. But with comedy, rhythm and originality are crucial, and the spotlight is merciless. (Fart noise.)
From Robin Williams to Jim Carrey, Hugh Laurie to Daniel Kaluuya, when an actor gets more admiration keeping the hahas in, they often don’t go back. Which brings me to Rooster, a show that, along with last year’s Four Seasons, marks Steve Carell’s return to TV comedy. Since leaving The Office, Carell has spent 13 years fictionally fathering drug addicts, being an abusive wrestler-philanthropist, and getting fired from his job as a news anchor for sexual misconduct. (That was on The Morning Show, not Anchorman.) Incredible projects, obviously. But don’t they sometimes have the hint of homework?
Rooster (Monday, 10pm, Sky One) is the story of Greg Russo (Carell), a trashy novelist who returns to Ludlow, the liberal arts college where his wife left him 25 years ago. His daughter Katie, who teaches art history there, is going through her own marital strife – her husband Archie has left her to pursue an affair with a student. Greg wants to support Katie through her incipient breakdown, now that she’s a social pariah living in a dead hockey coach’s house. How did he die? asks Greg. “I think he killed himself because his father was focusing on the wrong part of the story,” she replies, tartly.
