<\/p>\n
Recently, Steve Carell<\/a> had a misunderstanding with his adult daughter over whether or not to give her a ride home. While both preferred she take an Uber, they agreed Carell could go hours out of his way to drive her instead \u2014 thinking it was what the other really wanted to do. His wife, Nancy, eventually stepped in, telling them to stop \u201cacting like idiots\u201d and to just be honest. That’s when Carell realized he was \u201ctrying too hard\u201d to do what he thought was a good dad deed.<\/p>\n \u201cShe would really have preferred to take the Uber and I would really have preferred to just go home without dropping her off,\u201d Carell said in a recent interview.<\/p>\n That type of push and pull between a father and his adult daughter is at the center of Carell’s new series \u201cRooster,\u201d premiering Sunday on HBO. Carell plays Greg Russo, a successful author of \u201cbeach reads\u201d whose protagonist is named Rooster. When Greg’s daughter Katie (Charly Clive), a professor at Ludlow College, finds herself in the middle of a humiliating breakup, he takes a job at the small liberal arts school to stay close to her.<\/p>\n The series, created by Bill Lawrence and Matt Tarses, is Carell’s first outright television comedy<\/a> since leaving \u201cThe Office\u201d in 2011.<\/p>\n Carell said he was already a fan of Lawrence but reading the pilot episode was all he needed to be \u201cin instantly.\u201d He loved the tone and how unique it was.<\/p>\n Making simple moments funny<\/p>\n Casting Carell to be the lead in your comedy is like winning the lottery, says Tarses. \u201cYou\u2019re excited, you get this guy, and then he exceeds your expectations, and then, he\u2019s a nicer guy than you think.\u201d<\/p>\n They credit Carell for taking moments that weren’t meant to be funny and adding comedic touches, like when Greg folds his puffy coat before handing it to an attendant at a party.<\/p>\n In another scene, Katie explains to Greg why she has a problem with him being at the school. As she speaks, Carell opted to eat a handful of corn nuts, causing a noisy distraction.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had to turn the volume down,\u201d said Lawrence. \u201cI could have watched it for two hours.\u201d<\/p>\n New and returning comedic talent<\/p>\n While Carell is making a return to comedy with \u201cRooster,\u201d Danielle Deadwyler<\/a>, known for dramatic roles like \u201cTill\u201d and \u201cThe Piano Lesson,\u201d is making her debut in the genre. She plays a poetry professor who finds herself promoted to dean.<\/p>\n \u201cI needed something to balance me out and to allow my nervous system to recoup itself after years of drama,\u201d said Deadwyler, who says she’s learned that comedic acting is still \u201cjust acting\u201d and a \u201cthrough line of everything is the need to stay extremely grounded.\u201d<\/p>\n