HBO Renews Rooster for Second Season

HBO has renewed its comedy series "Rooster" for a second season, the network announced Thursday, just five episodes into the freshman run. The decision highlights the show's strong early performance, with the first four episodes averaging 5.8 million U.S. viewers across platforms and positioning it as HBO's most-watched new comedy in more than a decade.

The series, which premiered March 8, airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on HBO, with episodes available on HBO Max shortly after. The 10-episode first season is set in the fall at the fictional Ludlow College and follows Greg Russo, a bestselling author played by Steve Carell, who arrives on campus to support his daughter Katie, portrayed by Charly Clive, amid her personal crisis following her divorce from her husband, played by Phil Dunster. Greg accepts a writer-in-residence position at the college, where he navigates quirky relationships, forms unexpected bonds and attempts to help Katie through her emotional turmoil. The cast also includes Danielle Deadwyler, John C. McGinley, Lauren Tsai, Annie Mumolo, Rory Scovel and Robby Hoffman.

Created and co-showrun by Bill Lawrence, known for "Ted Lasso" and "Shrinking," and Matt Tarses,...