‘Rooster’s Steve Carell and Bill Lawrence were shocked to learn they missed a major ‘The Office’ Easter egg in Episode 4: “It makes me sad, because I didn’t realize”

If you’re a die-hard fan of The Office, there’s a very good chance you had a visceral reaction when Rooster played R.E.M.’s ’90s hit “Everybody Hurts” in Episode 4. And if so, you’re not alone!

After ditching Walt’s (John C. McGinley) faculty party in Episode 4, Greg (Steve Carell) embraced his inner “Rooster,” partied with Tommy (Maximo Salas) and fellow Ludlow College students, and got a taste of the university experience he never had. He dominated beer pong, smoked some weed, had some deep chats with the boys, and played Edward 40 Hands. But while winding down at a frat-themed party, he activated Sad Dad mode and wallowed over his failed marriage and other present-day problems.

With a 40-oz bottle of booze taped to each hand, Greg sulked in a chair surrounded by college kids who were partying to Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra.” Just then, the vibes shifted as DJ George (Xavier Beloved) cut the music and blasted R.E.M.’s emotional ballad, announcing, “This song is for my friend Greg, who won’t shut up until I play it for him.” As the song swelled, I shifted in my seat and said “oh my god” out loud. When Carell passionately belted the chorus I was downright giddy. Why?! Because surely, I thought, this had to be a reference to Season 2, Episode 4 of The Office, when a depressed Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) cranked that same song in his car to perfectly encapsulate the jealousy he felt over Michael’s (Carell) fascination with Ryan (BJ Novak). It’s one of The Office‘s most memorable needle drops, and two decades later, the scene remains a big, relatable mood. It makes sense that Rooster would want to put their own twist on it, especially with Carell. Except the song wasn’t an intentional callback to The Office! According to Rooster‘s creator and star, it was another happy accident, like the broken bed in Episode 2!

When asked if he was aware that Greg was having a major Dwight Schrute moment, Carell was genuinely surprised. “No, I was not! I didn’t even make that connection, and I hope nobody else does,” the Rooster star said, flashing a big grin. “That was never in anybody’s head.”

“It makes me sad, because I didn’t realize that either,” co-creator Bill Lawrence added. “I’m usually the king of Easter eggs, and I didn’t know. God! There are other intentional Easter eggs in this show, but that is not one of them.” 

Am I absolutely stunned by this delightful coincidence? You bet! But intentional or not, The Office and Rooster‘s “Everybody Hurts” parallels now exist in this world, and for that, I’m thankful.

In both Rooster and The Office, Carell shines as an incredibly funny, magnetic, scene-stealing leading man. And though Michael Scott is much goofier and far less grounded than Carell’s Rooster character, Episode 4 finally saw Greg release his inhibitions and let loose in a shift that Carell described as “horrifying.”

“I never need to go back [to college]. I’m glad I have the memories, but I don’t want to relive any of them,” Carell said with a chuckle. He did, however, share how fun it was to film Episode 4’s party scenes with the younger actors on the series. “Especially for this character who never actually got to do that, who hadn’t gone to college and didn’t have that experience. The kids knew that, and they wanted to help him with that experience,” Carell mused. “It a way, it was their gift to him. It’s not something that’s going to happen all the time. But it was their way of saying, ‘You’re OK. We support you.’”

Since we crushed your dreams of an intentional Office Easter egg in Episode 4, we won’t let you leave without sharing one of the intentional Easter eggs Lawrence slipped into the HBO comedy.

“In Cougar Town they always played this game for six years of that show called Penny Can. And one of the things that Steve’s character is quite skilled and adept at is throwing pennies into a jar,” the co-creator said, joking, “Matt didn’t know that. I snuck it by him because he wouldn’t have let me do it.”

So there you have it, folks! Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for more fun nods to projects past as Rooster Season 1 continues.

New episodes of Rooster premiere Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.