{"id":769737,"date":"2026-05-03T05:13:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T05:13:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/769737\/"},"modified":"2026-05-03T05:13:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T05:13:13","slug":"steve-carells-11-emmy-misses-can-he-win-for-rooster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/769737\/","title":{"rendered":"Steve Carell’s 11 Emmy Misses: Can He Win for ‘Rooster’?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tThere\u2019s a secret contender in the Emmy race, and it\u2019s \u201cRooster<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHBO Max<\/a> already has an incredibly robust television slate for the Primetime Emmys, with dramas like \u201cThe Pitt\u201d and \u201cTask,\u201d comedies like \u201cHacks\u201d and \u201cThe Comeback,\u201d and miniseries such as \u201cHalf Man\u201d and \u201cDTF St. Louis.\u201d One legitimate question swirling is whether enough voters will get to it by the time Emmy ballots are cast<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a crowded television landscape where visibility matters as much as quality, \u201cRooster\u201d is building an audience and has become one of the best-kept secrets of the season. The new comedy, co-created by Bill Lawrence and Matt Tarses \u2014 the famed \u201cScrubs\u201d duo \u2014 and starring Steve Carell<\/a>, trades the therapy couches of \u201cShrinking\u201d for lecture halls and professor office hours, delivering a college-set ensemble piece that hums with the same sweet intelligence and humor. If \u201cShrinking\u201d is about healing others, \u201cRooster\u201d is about the passion rooted within an author\u2019s relationship with his daughter.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd at the center of it all is Carell \u2014 an 11-time Emmy nominee who is overdue, undervalued, and once again, doing some of his career-best work. If the studio is looking for a winning, overdue narrative for a performer, they don\u2019t have to look far.<\/p>\n

\n\tCarell, who famously lost six consecutive Emmy bids in lead comedy actor for his iconic turn as Dunder Mifflin boss Michael Scott in NBC\u2019s \u201cThe Office,\u201d has long been one of TV\u2019s most glaring omissions in the winner\u2019s column. He stands alongside some of the Emmys\u2019 most stinging shutouts: Angela Lansbury \u2014 whose 18 acting nominations without a single win remain the most ever in Emmy history \u2014 alongside others like Don Cheadle (11), Kristen Wiig (10) and \u201cBetter Call Saul\u201d star Bob Odenkirk (7).<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cRooster\u201d gives Carell the kind of role Emmy voters claim to reward. It\u2019s funny yet bruised in unexpected ways. His portrayal of best-selling thriller writer Greg Russo \u2014 adrift in a New England college after a disastrous campus speaking engagement \u2014 lands in that sweet spot between comedy and drama that has increasingly defined the modern Emmy landscape.<\/p>\n

\n\tIf there\u2019s a path, it starts with him.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut \u201cRooster\u201d isn\u2019t a one-man showcase. The ensemble is where the series makes its strongest case as a legitimate contender. Danielle Deadwyler delivers the sharp, grounded turn that reminds voters why she\u2019s one of the most respected actors of her generation \u2014 despite missing out on worthy Oscar nominations for \u201cTill\u201d and \u201cThe Piano Lesson,\u201d in which she earned BAFTA, SAG and Critics Choice love but was bypassed by the Academy in both campaigns. This year, she\u2019ll be a triple threat with this, a guest drama turn in her network cousin \u201cEuphoria\u201d and guest comedy actress for her scene-stealing work in the fourth season of FX\u2019s \u201cThe Bear\u201d \u2014 in the episode appearance (\u201cWorms\u201d).<\/p>\n

\n\tAnnie Mumolo, the Oscar-nominated co-screenwriter of \u201cBridesmaids\u201d (alongside the same Wiig in the snubbed-Emmy company above), leans into the show\u2019s tonal balancing act, bringing absurdity that has her standing out as a potential love interest for Carell, with a hilarious twist. Charly Clive \u2014 best known for the British dark comedy \u201cPure\u201d \u2014 anchors the father-daughter dynamic as Katie, the art history professor whose life Greg keeps clumsily inserting himself into. And Emmy nominee Phil Dunster, recognized in 2023 for supporting comedy actor on \u201cTed Lasso,\u201d continues his post-Richmond ascent with a turn that uses his charm into an unlikable son-in-law role while still bringing vulnerability in equal measure. Veteran John C. McGinley \u2014 Lawrence\u2019s \u201cScrubs\u201d alum \u2014 and Connie Britton, herself a five-time Emmy nominee (guest contender?), round out the impressive bench. <\/p>\n

\n\tHBO, a brand synonymous with Emmy dominance, doesn\u2019t have a shortage of contenders this year on the comedy side. However, \u201cRooster\u201d exists slightly off the radar, lacking the immediate cultural footprint, at the moment, of a bigger, louder title. That\u2019s often how genuine threats are missed in the early stages of the awards race. Shows like \u201cBarry\u201d or \u201cSilicon Valley\u201d didn\u2019t begin as juggernauts; they became viable awards contenders through discovery and word of mouth.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cRooster\u201d has that same slow-burn potential. The series drew 2.4 million U.S. viewers in its first three days, the most-watched HBO comedy debut in nearly 11 years, and was renewed for a second season. What works in its favor is the Lawrence-Tarses blueprint. Their shows age well with voters because they reveal themselves over time. The jokes hit harder with repetition, and they tend to be under the awards category of \u201cdelightful\u201d shows, which industry voters get excited to vote for, because when you bring them up, it brings a smile to their faces. It\u2019s the same formula that turned \u201cShrinking\u201d into a player and could do the same here if HBO leans in.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut none of it matters without eyeballs. The Emmys have become increasingly reactionary to conversation and can only focus on one thing at a time. Voters watch what people are talking about or what the media is covering. \u201cRooster\u201d is more whispered than shouted, but that can change quickly. Because if there\u2019s one thing the Television Academy membership loves, it\u2019s an underdog story. And Steve Carell winning his first Emmy after two decades of defining television comedy is a narrative they can get behind.<\/p>\n

\n\tAll it needs is for people to watch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u2019s a secret contender in the Emmy race, and it\u2019s \u201cRooster.\u201d HBO Max already has an incredibly robust…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":769738,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[171,487,269742,101460,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-769737","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-hbo-max","10":"tag-rooster","11":"tag-steve-carell","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-unitedstates","14":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116508937908463556","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=769737"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769737\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/769738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=769737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=769737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=769737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}