There’s a secret contender in the Emmy race, and it’s “Rooster.”
HBO Max already has an incredibly robust television slate for the Primetime Emmys, with dramas like “The Pitt” and “Task,” comedies like “Hacks” and “The Comeback,” and miniseries such as “Half Man” and “DTF St. Louis.” One legitimate question swirling is whether enough voters will get to it by the time Emmy ballots are cast.
In a crowded television landscape where visibility matters as much as quality, “Rooster” is building an audience and has become one of the best-kept secrets of the season. The new comedy, co-created by Bill Lawrence and Matt Tarses — the famed “Scrubs” duo — and starring Steve Carell, trades the therapy couches of “Shrinking” for lecture halls and professor office hours, delivering a college-set ensemble piece that hums with the same sweet intelligence and humor. If “Shrinking” is about healing others, “Rooster” is about the passion rooted within an author’s relationship with his daughter.
And at the center of it all is Carell — an 11-time Emmy nominee who is overdue, undervalued, and once again, doing some of his career-best work. If the studio is looking for a winning, overdue narrative for a performer, they don’t have to look far.
