Based on 1 season, 10 episodes · through May 10, 2026
Rooster is an HBO comedy-drama series about an author who takes a teaching job at a college. He does this to support his daughter after her marriage falls apart. The show features a clear focus on girl power, with women finding their own strength and dumping toxic men. It also includes modern college culture themes like safe spaces, speech codes, and a recurring queer character.
Why 64%? See the score breakdownBreakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Rooster.
Woke representation / casting
The show features prominent identity-driven casting. Danielle Deadwyler plays Dylan Shepherd, a highly competent Black female academic who defeats a flawed white male administrator. It also features a confirmed LGBTQ+ element with openly lesbian comic Robby Hoffman as the recurring sarcastic roommate Mo.
60%
Woke political dialogue
There are occasional discussions regarding sexism, privilege, and "problematic" literature. This happens mostly when students criticize Greg's beach-read novels for being sexist. However, this dialogue is largely played for gentle, awkward laughs rather than earnest progressive lectures.
20%
Production
Identity-driven story themes
The story begins as a father-daughter comedy but pivots to a feminist framing in the finale. Both Katie and Sunny dump their "toxic" male partner to find personal autonomy. It also features a confirmed LGBTQ+ character (Mo, played by Robby Hoffman).
50%
Western institutional / cultural critique
The series critiques traditional gender roles and "toxic masculinity" through Archie, a cheating, narcissistic professor, and Dean Riggs, an inept leader. While it also gently satirizes the hypersensitive safety-culture of college students, the overall critique favors modern progressive norms over traditional ones.
40%
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. The show is an original creation rather than an adaptation of existing IP or real-life events.
0%
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Conservative outlets like the Washington Examiner and Hollywood in Toto criticized the show for being too soft on campus cancel culture. They argued that it sanitizes extreme student behavior as a harmless eccentricity. Some viewers on social media also complained that the show humiliated Steve Carell's character by forcing him to constantly apologize to hypersensitive undergraduates.
45%
Creator track record context
Key creators Bill Lawrence and Matt Tarses have low woke scores (17 and 0), reflecting a focus on light, traditional comedies. Steve Carell also has a low score (18). However, some progressive input is present, such as writer Genevieve Aniello, who has a history of queer-centric and feminist projects (65).
20%
