Looking for a show to fill the void left by having to wait for the next season of 'Shrinking'?
Then maybe Steve Carrell's new sitcom is the answer.
Set on a university campus in New England, 'Rooster' sees Carrell play Greg Russo, the author of a series of popular novels about a private investigator.
Invited to speak to Ludlow College students by Danielle Deadwyler's English professor Dylan Shephard, going to the university enables him to rekindle his relationship with his daughter, Charly Clive's Katie Russo who is a lecturer.
Katie's marriage to Phil Dunster's fickle academic Archie has, however, fallen apart.
Archie has left Katie for Lauren Tsai's grad student Sunny who is pregnant with their child.
Katie is so distraught by his betrayal, she breaks into Archie's home and burns his prized possession, a first edition of 'War and Peace' by throwing it in the fire, only for his entire house to go up in flames.
With Katie facing the sack, Greg caves in to pressure from the college president, John C McGinley's Walter Mann to teach creative writing for a semester and soon he is at the heart of campus life, relishing his interactions with the students, other academics and also a chance to help Katie.
Written by creators Bill Lawrence and Matt Tarses as well as Annie Mebane, David Stassen, Barbie Adler, Genevieve Aniello, Alain Bala, Tom MacDonald, Anthony King and Matthew Kerr, 'Rooster' trades off the genial charm of Carrell who comfortably anchors the show.
Like 'Shrinking' he has a good cast around him with Clive, McGinley, Tsai and especially Deadwyler enjoying much of the material the writers produce.
Annie Mumolo also catches the eye as Walter's secretary Cristie, as does Rory Scovel as the campus town police officer Donnie Mullins who takes his job far too seriously.
Maximo Salas is good value as a struggling student, Tommy who idolises Greg and Robby Hoffman is fun as Sunny's roommate Mo, who just can't hide her disdain for Archie.
Connie Britton pops up as Greg's ex wife Elizabeth who may or may not be angling for Walter's job and Alan Ruck appears as an arrogant Dean, Riggs.
But if there is a weak point, it's Phil Dunster's Archie whose character is so shallow and self serving, he just irritates.
With Jonathan Krisel, Zach Braff, Oz Rodriguez and Anu Valia directing episodes, Season One of 'Rooster' feels a little like the initial season of 'Shrinking'.
It's a pretty good show with mostly well written characters and some strong laugh out loud moments, even if it isn't the complete article.
It mostly satisfies and like 'Shrinking,' it has potential to shine if audiences and HBO have the patience to let it grow.
Here's hoping it's allowed to reach its full potential.
('Rooster' was broadcast on Sky Comedy between March 9-May 2026, with all episodes made available for streaming on HBO, Now TV and Sky Services on the same dates)
Few sitcoms have managed to make their mark as quickly as the first series of 'Amandaland'.
No doubt helped by the fact that it was a spin-off of the hugely popular 'Motherland,' audiences were quick to buy into a new scenario where Lucy Punch's wannabe influencer Amanda Hughes moved to a new part of London - South Harsden - and was reunited with Philippa Dunne's Irish mammy and subservient friend, Anne Flynn.
It helped that the writing team of Barunka O'Shaughnessy, Helen Serafinowicz and Holly Walsh had plied their trade on 'Motherland'.
But the writing team also crafted new, instantly likeable characters from Samuel Anderson's grounded next door neighbour Mal and Ekow Quartey's affable JJ to Rochenda Sandall and Siobhan McSweeney's lesbian couple Fi and Della.
With Joanna Lumley also reviving her occasional 'Motherland' role as Amanda's devil may care, sharp tongued mum Felicity, the first series was a big ratings hit - thanks to its sharp comic writing, an accomplished cast and some solid direction by 'Friday Night Dinner' star Simon Bird and Alyssa McClelland.
Landing a Christmas Day episode featuring Jennifer Saunders last year was a big feather in the show's cap.
However the episode, which moved most of the action out of Amanda's beloved "SoHa," disappointed and it injected some doubt around whether 'Amandaland' had lost its mojo.
Fortunately, the show gets back on track in Series Two.
Amanda continues to work very hard to be taken seriously as an influencer, championing a local Nordic coffee house in one episode while Anne stumbles into online fame for her plants.
With Della working at sea, Fi develops a dog walking business and surprises everyone, including herself.
Mal adjusts to his ex-wife, Harriet Webb's food bank employee Abs playing a much bigger role in raising their son, Archie Smith's Ned while JJ still desperately tries to impress them all.
Felicity finds herself crashing at Amanda's house, with her daughter increasingly appalled by her behaviour.
Anne is delighted that her beloved son, Jack Veal's Darius is the boyfriend of Amanda's daughter, Miley Locke's Georgie but she's also horrified by the prospect of them drinking, potentially taking drugs and having sex.
Amanda somehow seems more vulnerable, as her fellow parents and neighbours raise a sceptical eyebrow at her deluded, self-serving antics and her desperation to be regerded as influencer.
Punch again delivers a knockout performance at the heart of the show and continues to gel brilliantly with Dunne and Lumley.
Anderson, Sandall, Quartey, Veal, Locke and Smith strengthen their hand by further fleshing out their characters, while Webb is a strong addition to the cast.
If McSweeney feels a bit peripheral to the action, when she is onscreen she's a welcome, sardonic presence.
But if the show has a real star player, it is Dunne who delivers the bulk of the biggest laughs in the series, as Anne moves beyond simply acting like Amanda' lapdog.
With episodes written by Holly Walsh and Laurence Rickard and David Sant directing, 'Amandaland' has discovered its comedy satnav and has wisely brought the show back to SoHa.
Keeping it rooted there can ensure the show continues to go from strength to strength.
('Amandaland' was broadcast on BBC1 between May 6-June , 2026 with all episodes made available for streaming on the BBC iPlayer on 2026)
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