Created by Bill Lawrence and Matt Tarses – Starring Steve Carrell

I’ve always liked shows created or co-created by Bill Lawrence. He’s been involved in a lot of series I love, including Scrubs, Ted Lasso, Cougar Town, and Shrinking. I always sort of split his shows into two categories in my head, loud and quiet.

Some of his shows lean into exaggerated comedy. Dream sequences, fantasy gags, and moments where a character’s thoughts literally play out on screen. It is almost as if the show exists in some hyper-reality. There is still heart and some very touching moments, but these shows also take very big swings when it comes to the humor.

Watching the first episode of Rooster, it feels like it belongs to the quieter side of his work. The humor here is more grounded and conversational, and also a little uncomfortable in that very human way talking about your feelings can be. There is a sense that in a Lawrence show like this, the world is a little more receptive to kindness. That while the characters may be going through tough times, if they open themselves up to the right people, they’ll be okay. Rooster seems like perhaps it is set in one of those worlds.

The first episode mostly introduces us to a group of people who clearly aren’t okay yet.

Steve Carell plays Greg Russo, a man who seems to still be struggling after his divorce. Watching him move through conversations is almost painful in a funny way. He’s constantly squirming through social interactions, trying to figure out how to exist in a life that doesn’t quite feel settled yet.

His daughter Katie, played by Charly Clive, is dealing with her own marriage falling apart. Something that mirrors Greg’s experience in a way that gives their relationship an extra layer of tension. She seems fully aware of how messy things are in her life, but treats it more like something embarrassing than something worth confronting directly.

Danielle Deadwyler plays Dylan Sheppard and brings a lot of charisma and wit to the role, though even she feels like someone holding something back.

There are also a fun performances from Rory Scovel as the local college town cop and from John C. McGinley, who at first feels like a larger-than-life character but already hints that there’s more going on beneath the surface.

The feeling the entire first episode gave me was that everyone here seems like a dam holding back whatever they’re dealing with, plugging small leaks instead of confronting the pressure behind it.

That’s what I liked most about the premiere. It doesn’t feel like a show rushing toward big plot twists. Instead, it feels interested in slowly revealing who these people are and what they’re carrying around with them and hopefully, it will show us how they lighten their load and return back to the human race.

If it continues in that direction, it could land right in that sweet spot Bill Lawrence’s shows often find — funny, awkward, heartwarming, and quietly thoughtful about how people try to put their lives back together.

Verdict: Solid Start