Steve Carell is going to college! Well, Greg Russo portrayed by Steve Carell is going to college where his daughter teaches: Ludlow College, a liberal arts school in New England.

The series starts off with Greg being dropped off by a student at the University. Things are already tense as it seems students want nothing to do with him. He is then approached by professor Dylan Shepard portrayed by Danielle Deadwyler. She is the one who greets him and takes him to a class where he is supposed to guest lecture about his book series: Rooster. It’s about a private investigator. He was asked by this school to talk about his books. 

When Greg speaks to the class, they are obviously very disengaged. A student questions his writing specifically regarding the female characters. He is taken back by this, but he manages to keep things professional.

After the lecture, Dylan takes Greg to see Ludlow College’s president Walter Mann, portrayed by John C. McGinley. It is then revealed that the real reason Greg came to the school was not to lecture about his book series, but to see his daughter Katie. She and her husband, Archie, went through a college scandal as Archie left her for a graduate student. Walter tries to get Greg to open up and tells him that the relationship probably won’t last. He needs to release the brown fat; which means getting into a sauna then a cold plunge everyday. Walter then offers Greg a job, but he tells him that he needs time to think about it. 

Greg goes to the class where Katie is teaching, and she visibly doesn’t want him there. She tells her students to make Greg as uncomfortable as possible by telling him that they love him. They walk and catch up after her class. Katie isn’t doing well at all, and Greg isn’t really helping because his head is too up in the clouds thinking about his series and whether or not people like it. They then see Archie and the student Sunny on a bench having lunch, so they quickly hide in the bushes. Archie and Sunny kiss which causes Katie to have a meltdown and leave, leaving Greg alone. Archie and Sunny then leave and there is another couple sharing a kiss behind them. Greg is spotted in the bushes and one of the students pulls out her phone and records him, this causes him to bolt.

He goes to a liquor store and buys a couple of bottles of water. A student from the class recognizes him and tells him that he loves his book series. This makes Greg smile a bit. The student then explains how he forgot his wallet and Greg offers to buy the cases of beer that he is holding for him. They step outside and they are immediately stopped by an officer. It turns out this student was not 21. He does eventually come clean, but it took a lot of convincing. This leaves Greg feeling worse.   

Greg is in the house where he’s staying at and tries to call Katie, no response. This is mostly because she is out walking her dog in front of Archie’s house and she climbs a tree to get a better look. Archie spots her and she is humiliated. Greg decides to go out for a drink by himself and Dylan sees him before approaching him. She tells him that he should have a real good drink instead of bar nuts and they get to chatting. He tells her that he himself is divorced and that he’s worried about Katie. He also despises Archie for cheating on her. Dylan encourages him to talk to Archie and tell him to man up, because what he did was unacceptable. Greg decides to take her advice. He then walks Dylan home. She invites him to come in, but he immediately rejects her. He just doesn’t think it’s a good idea and he brings up how much older he is. Greg suggests that they take things very slow, maybe just a drink? Dylan then invites him in for a drink and he rejects her again. She goes into her house and slams the door in his face.  

Archie sends Sunny off on her bike as she has a dentist appointment. Greg confronts Archie in front of his house. They sit down in his living room and talk things out. Archie tells Greg that he really does love Katie, and that they were going through their own issues before Sunny came into his life. Greg isn’t really having it and he puts his foot down and tells Archie to man up. He also makes fun of his War & Peace book that’s right by the fireplace.

Katie learns that Greg talked to Archie and she is really mad. However, she was meaning to talk to him and she feels like her dad gave her that extra push. She invites Greg to stay with her as she realizes that he only wants the best for her. 

The next day, Katie confronts Archie in his house and Greg spends that day with Walter in the sauna. It’s then learned that Greg has rejected Walter’s offer. Katie is so angry at Archie as she loved him and wonders what kind of a person could do such a thing. Archie tells her that he really does love her and that he was planning to beg for her forgiveness. However, Sunny didn’t go to the dentist the other day, she went to the doctor, she’s pregnant. Katie is furious. She kicks him out of his own house. While he’s gone, she takes the War & Peace book and throws it into the fireplace before burning it. Little sparks begin to spew out of the fireplace and the curtains catch on fire.    

Greg is on the phone with his ex-wife before he hears sirens and he sees a big puff of smoke. He follows it, and Archie’s entire house has burned down. Katie tells him to say that she was with him all morning. An officer approaches them; it’s the same officer from the liquor store. Greg tells him that Katie was with him and she immediately denies it. He leaves to get a pen. Things are going to get interesting. 

This seems like it will be a very fun series with comedic elements. This is clearly a father- daughter relationship story which is very heartwarming. Greg is trying to patch things up; with Katie, he came to that school for her after what Archie did to her. Steve Carell is no doubt an incredible actor, and he brings his own spin on every character that he portrays. It seems like we will learn more about Rooster and what that series means to him. We may get to learn more about his ex-wife and what he is going to do while he is in town visiting his daughter. It will be interesting to find out what is going to happen to Katie and Archie in the coming episodes. Archie is going to be a dad, and Katie just burned down his house! Things will clearly unravel in coming episodes as the pilot notoriously sets things up for us. 

7/10