Steve Carell to Star in Bill Lawrence Comedy, Which Seems to Be All the Rage Right Now

It's been a big day already for Bill Lawrence, as Apple TV+ revealed the first look at his latest Floridian comedy Bad Monkey, which stars Vince Vaughn as a slightly disgraced detective exiled to a job as a health inspector. Now HBO has announced a new comedy from Lawrence and his Scrubs buddy Matt Tarses (who's also worked on The Goldbergs and Sports Night) that will star Steve Carell. 

The as-yet-untitled series is set on a college campus and will see Carell, the erstwhile Uncle Vanya, play an author with a "complicated relationship with his daughter" (is there any other kind?). The broad strokes sound a bit like the late Lucky Hank, which starred Bob Odenkirk as an author on a college campus with a complex relationship with his daughter (along with virtually every Gen Z-er the show mistook for a millennial). But that show was ultimately more about dashed expectations and middle age; we'll have to wait to learn whether Carell's character will go through an existential crisis of his own. 

HBO has already ordered Lawrence's new comedy to series with 10 episodes. The first episode is written by Bill Lawrence and Matt Tarses, who are executive producing with Jeff Ingold and Liza Katzer of Doozer Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television (where both Doozer and Tarses are under overall deals). Carell will co-executive produce in addition to starring. The Office alum has yet another high-profile project in the works; he's reuniting with Tina Fey for Netflix's Four Seasons.

Danette Chavez is the Editor-in-Chief of Primetimer and its biggest fan of puns.