HBO's Rooster Promotes Three to Series Regulars for Season 2
Maximo Salas, Annie Mumolo and Rory Scovel have been upped to series regulars for Season 2 of HBO's comedy Rooster, according to a Deadline report published 24 August 2026 (Deadline).
A "series regular" upgrade means the actors move from recurring or guest billing to guaranteed appearances across the season — a step up in both screen time and contract security.
All three played recurring roles in the show's first season. Mumolo plays Cristle, assistant to Ludlow College president Walter Mann, played by John C. McGinley. Cristle shared a romantic spark with Steve Carell's Greg Russo — a visiting author who arrives at the small-college campus to deliver a guest lecture and ends up staying on as a visiting professor, partly to help his daughter Katie (Charly Clive) navigate her troubled marriage to Russian studies professor Archie Bates (Phil Dunster).
Salas plays Tommy, revealed in Season 1 to be Cristle's son, who forges a bond with Greg over writing in the classroom. Scovel rounds out the trio as Officer Donnie Mullins, the local cop who keeps a watchful eye on Greg. None of the show's existing series regulars are departing ahead of Season 2, Decider reported in May 2026 — not even McGinley.
Rooster has been a strong performer by HBO's comedy standards. The pilot drew 2.4 million U.S. cross-platform viewers in its first three days of availability, making it the most-watched HBO comedy debut of the past decade when accounting for changes in distribution. The 10-episode first season averaged 6.5 million U.S. viewers per episode, with the finale tallying 2.2 million in its first three days. Individual episodes ranged between 2.2 million and 2.5 million U.S. viewers in the L3 window — live plus three days of delayed viewing.
For viewers, the promotions signal that three of the show's most reliably funny supporting characters will have more room to breathe. Cristle's family connection to Tommy, and her will-they-won't-they dynamic with Greg, gave Season 1 some of its warmest beats. Officer Mullins, meanwhile, served as a running gag with a badge. More of all three is a bet that the comedy worked best when it leaned into its ensemble rather than just its star.
The ensemble is deep. Beyond Carell, the cast includes Danielle Deadwyler as Dylan Shepherd and Lauren Tsai as Sunny Salewski. Connie Britton guest stars as Elizabeth, Greg's ex-wife and Katie's mother, while Alan Ruck appears as Dean Riggs, a longtime friend of Walter Mann.
Season 2 hails from co-showrunners Bill Lawrence and Matt Tarses, with Lawrence and Carell among the executive producers. The series is produced by Warner Bros. Television, where both Lawrence's Doozer banner and Tarses hold overall deals — agreements that keep a writer-producer exclusively within a studio's orbit.
Mumolo is represented by UTA, Thruline Entertainment and Jackoway Austen Tyerman. Salas is with Innovative Artist Entertainment, 11:11 Management and Toczek Suddleson Law Group. Scovel is represented by Mosaic, UTA and Schreck Rose.
