Spoilers for Rooster Season 1, Episode 6 are ahead! Read with caution, and stream the series with an HBO Max subscription.
Even though Alan Ruck’s character Riggs had a health scare on Rooster that hospitalized him and left him unconscious for episodes, I figured he would return. I was not looking forward to it, either, because the dean is a jerk. So, I thought I would dread this day on the 2026 TV schedule. However, I had the chance to chat with the Succession star about his character’s comeback, and now I’m actually looking forward to how his return impacts the story.
Now, toward the end of Episode 6, Danielle Deadwyler’s Dylan finally starts to make the dean’s office look like it's hers. She’s gotten comfortable in her new role, and she’s quite good at it, too. However, right as she’s doing that, Ruck’s character Riggs comes into the space smoking a cigarette and saying, “Miss me?” He then proceeds to say there’s “no way” Emily Dickinson could have written all those poems as he sits down at the desk in the office, and Dylan looks absolutely shell-shocked.
It’s honestly sad to see him take the job back, because Dylan had just found her footing. So, with that in mind, I asked Ruck what kind of havoc Riggs could wreak on the rest of the season. His answer surprised me, as he shared his thoughts on his character’s return and what could happen next:
We'll see how much he gets rained in or not. But, you know, I mean, those kinds of guys, if you don't put him in check, they're just gonna steamroll, you know? And I mean, it's regressive. I mean, it's funny, it's great that there's somebody like this who's clearly, you know, somebody you can say, ‘Well, he's an idiot.’ I mean, ‘What decade are you living in?’ You know? So it's good that we have somebody like this that we can make fun of, [and] you know, hold up to ridicule.
Well, this certainly makes me more excited about Riggs’ return. While it can be said that Phil Dunster’s Rooster character isn’t great (seeing as he's a cheater and very self-centered), I wouldn’t say he’s evil. I also think there are plenty of other characters in this show who have big flaws. However, again, they aren’t evil. I think Riggs is evil.
As Ruck explained, the dean is not living in the now, and he’s not respecting the standards he really should be following. He’s “regressive,” as the Ferris Bueller’s Day Off actor put it, and it’s hard to see someone like that in such an influential place of power. That was clear before Dylan took over, but it became glaringly obvious when he returned and took his job back without even considering his colleague's feelings or work.
However, I’m hopeful that as he steps back into the gig, he’ll be taught a forceful lesson or two. Dylan deserves that job, she’s good at it, and my hope is that she’ll be permanently in it by the end of the season.
Meanwhile, Riggs should be knocked off his high horse and humbled a bit. Based on Ruck’s comments, it seems like it’s possible that the dean could finally be put in his rightful place, and that makes me pumped to see what happens next.
So, to see if that happens, you can catch new episodes of the critically acclaimed comedy Rooster every Sunday at 10 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.
