Hometown actor Steve Carell will star in a 10-episode comedy series set on a college campus.  
Steve Carell was a guest on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" on May 13. (Scott Kowalchyk/CBS)
Steve Carell was a guest on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on May 13. (Scott Kowalchyk/CBS)

Forty-two years after graduating from college, Acton’s favorite son, Steve Carell, is headed back to campus, this time for his next TV project.

Carell, 61, will star in a new comedy series on HBO. In a press release Monday, the network announced a 10-episode, half-hour comedy starring Carell, an 11-time Emmy nominee.

Bill Lawrence (“Ted Lasso,” “Shrinking”) and Matt Tarses (“Scrubs,” “The Goldbergs,” “Sports Night”) will write the first episode and serve as executive producers.

The yet-to-be-titled series is described as “a single-camera comedy set on a college campus, centering on an author’s complicated relationship with his daughter.”

Massachusetts funnyman Steve Carell in a scene from the comedy "Space Force." (Netflix)
Steve Carell in a scene from the comedy “Space Force.” (Netflix)

Carell graduated from Denison University in Granville, Ohio, in 1984 with a bachelor’s degree in history. He was a member of Burpee’s Seedy Theatrical Company, a student-run improvisational comedy troupe, and played goalie on the hockey team for four years. He also worked as a disc jockey at the campus radio station under the moniker “Sapphire Steve Carell.”

Carell’s schedule has been packed lately. He just topped the weekend box office in “IF,” directed by his former mate from “The Office” John Krasinski, who grew up in Newton. Carell is also starring on Broadway as the title character in Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya.” Next up is another round of villainous hilarity in “Despicable Me 4,” hitting theaters on July 3, followed by the Netflix comedy series “The Four Seasons,” alongside his “Date Night” co-star Tina Fey, an adaptation of the original film starring Alan Alda and Carol Burnett.

Originally from Acton, Carell has been married to Cohasset actress Nancy Walls since 1995. They have two children. The family spends summers at their home in Cohasset, Carell’s adopted second home. In 2009, Carell bought the historic Marshfield Hills General Store and became a South Shore favorite when he gave a “MarshVegas” shout-out from the Emmy Awards Red Carpet in 2007.

Steve Carell in a scene from “Asteroid City.” (Focus Features)

Nancy Carell, a “Saturday Night Live” alum, appeared in the hit comedy “Bridesmaids” and “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World” opposite her husband. They created the cop comedy “Angie Tribeca,” which ran for four seasons on TBS. The couple met in an improv class at the Second City comedy troupe in Chicago.

Last year, Carell was part of Wes Anderson’s star-studded ensemble in “Asteroid City,” portraying an eccentric motel manager. He earned a SAG nomination for his role as a psychotherapist held captive by a serial killer (Domhnall Gleeson) in “The Patient,” a limited series on FX and Hulu.