Review | ‘Rooster’ premiere is a huge disappointment

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

I was lost from the start of the first episode. “Rooster”’s confusing and awkward humor left me wondering where this series might be heading, but I don’t think I’ll stick around long enough to find out.

The first episode of the television comedy, “Rooster,” released on March 8, 2026, centers around the complexities of a father-daughter relationship. The show follows divorced, best-selling author Greg Russo (Steve Carell) and his daughter, art history professor Katie Russo (Charly Clive), as she navigates life in the liminal period following her husband’s affair with a grad student.

Greg visits Katie at the college where she teaches under the cover of hosting a book reading event for his best-selling series. Their newfound proximity forces the two to lean on each other while navigating life after heartbreak, turning their tragic love stories into a lighthearted comedy series. However, the series is less happy go lucky than it promised to be and more of a sloppy attempt to cater to a younger audience.

From the beginning, every joke the characters make comes off as trying to resonate with adolescent viewers. Most of the dialogue includes some obscenely crude topics like drugs, violence or sexual innuendos. The show’s creators are trying to relate to college students, but instead of coming off as hip and cool, it just feels creepy coming from people who are twice the age of their intended audience. The series is a continuation of the battle of generations — with older generations consistently trying to serve their younger audience and relate to them through humor. This attempt tiptoes its way across the line from dark satire and into a jarring misrepresentation.

All the characters in this series fit into one of the classic sitcom archetypes in an over-exaggerated manner. Off the bat, the show introduces the weird, old boss who’s trying to be relatable, the outspoken secretary who conflicts with him and the “woke” college student, all within the first 10 minutes of the episode. The whiplash I received from all the introductions makes me believe that the script lacked quality humor, so the showrunners felt the need to lay all their cards on the table at once. The half-developed characters served lukewarm jokes that were unengaging.

Carell’s character fits the classic trope of a humorless, awkward, divorced dad who is trying to help his daughter get through a tough time in her life. He is meant to be the character who is so unfunny it hurts, and Carell really hits the nail on the head. He plays into the awkwardness super well, which makes this show such a hard watch. Before watching the series, I had bigger expectations for Carell’s character because of what a big name he is in comedy television. He embodies each character with no filter, especially in “The Office” as Michael Scott. Still, Carell’s performance feels overdone, making me cringe whenever he interacts with anyone on screen. His character cannot seem to get through a scene without making some odd comment about the situation he’s in, which made me turn away from the screen in second-hand embarrassment.

One of my biggest problems with this show is how they attempt to mix the comedic moments with more heartfelt, dramatic ones between family members. The show’s creators stretched themselves thin trying to cover both comedy and drama genres, instead of just sticking to one. The combination of the two really doesn’t work in this show’s case, especially when they go from talking about love to making a comparison about it feeling like “getting shot in the face.” The jokes come off dry and make Greg’s advice to his daughter feel meaningless.

The only time the drama-comedy succeeds in fusing the genres is when the father-daughter duo seeks revenge from Katie’s cheating husband, Archie. In a moment of confrontation, Greg is able to harness his awkwardness into a shield for Katie, using it to interrogate Archie and shame him for his affair. The moment turns bittersweet when Greg turns it into an opportunity for Archie to fight for Katie, even though he made a mistake. This aggression toward Archie felt like the only time the characters were not trying to milk a laugh out of the audience. The humor came across as natural for Greg’s character, instead of a one-off joke that didn’t make any sense for the scenario. The awkward dad personality that the creators of the show were pushing finally comes out in a moment where they take the time to let two of the main characters interact. Instead of churning out bad joke after bad joke in an attempt to give their show more entertainment value, Carell has room to shine.

Overall, “Rooster” is not a show that can be taken seriously. It has its moments of humor that I can agree are endearing, but most of the time, it ends up being a mess of off-handed one-liners that are out of place within the scene. I can’t say I’ll be tuning in for the next episode — unless I am in the mood for some mindless entertainment.