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The Handmaid's Tale and Ugly Betty favourites revealed to be cast in Rooster season 2 episodes

The feel-good comedy from Ted Lasso creator Bill Lawrence is returning for another run...

Michael Urie smiling at the camera, wearing a black suit and bow tie while at the Emmys.

Credit: Monica Schipper / Getty Images

Published: Tuesday, 20 October 2026 at 11:39 am

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HBO Max’s Rooster has announced a host of guest stars for its upcoming second season, including O-T Fagbenle and Michael Urie.

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The series, which is co-created by Bill Lawrence (of Scrubs and Ted Lasso fame), explores the complicated relationship between successful author Greg (Steve Carell) and his daughter, university professor Katie (Charly Clive).

Fagbenle, who's best known for his role as June's (Elizabeth Moss) husband Luke in The Handmaid’s Tale, joins the cast as Hayes, while Urie, who audiences will recognise from his turn as Marc St. James in the ABC comedy drama series Ugly Betty, plays Larry.

Other new guest stars include Sutton Foster (The Music Man), who’s set to play Marti, Lamorne Morris (Spider-Noir), who will star as Caleb, and Zavior Phillips (Bad Monkey), who’s set to play Sam. Details about the new roles are yet to be revealed.

O-T Fagbenle and Elisabeth Moss in The Handmaid's Tale stood looking angry

O-T Fagbenle and Elisabeth Moss in The Handmaid's Tale. Hulu/Steve Wilkie

Rooster earned an early season 2 renewal back in April ahead of the first season’s finale after the show proved to be a huge hit, with average viewership just shy of six million per episode in the US alone, according to HBO.

Co-showrunner Lawrence said at the time that the show had been a "career highlight" for himself and his longtime collaborator Matt Tarses, adding: "We are so grateful to Warner Bros Television and HBO for being such great partners and to Casey [Bloys], Amy [Gravitt] and Channing [Dungey, HBO/Warner executives] for giving us the opportunity to keep making this show with Steve and our amazing cast."

Gravitt added: "It's been heartening to feel the audience embrace Rooster, as we did when we first saw Steve, Bill and Matt bring this character to life... We're looking forward to seeing what Ludlow's Spring Semester has in store for this incredible comedy ensemble."

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Alongside Carell and Clive, season 1 also starred Danielle Deadwyler as Dylan Shepherd, Phil Dunster as Archie Bates, John C. McGinley as Walter Mann, Lauren Tsai as Sunny Salewski, Annie Mumolo as Cristle, Maximo Salas as Tommy, and Rory Scovel as Officer Donnie Mullins.

Rooster season 1 is available on HBO Max now.

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Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.

Authors

RadioTimes.com senior trends writer Molly Moss. She is sitting outside wearing a black top, holding a white teacup with a smily face on it to her mouth

Molly MossTrends Writer

Molly Moss is a Trends Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest trends across TV, film and more. She has an MA in Newspaper Journalism and has previously written for publications including The Guardian, The Times and The Sun Online.

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