February 16, 2023 (2023-02-16) – present (present)
Animal Control is an American sitcom that premiered on February 16, 2023 on Fox.[1]Animal Control is produced by Roughhouse Productions, Middletown News, Wow a Fox, Fox Entertainment Studios. In May 2023, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on March 6, 2024.[2][3] In February 2024, ahead of the second season premiere, the series was renewed for a third season.[4]
Premise
A group of animal control workers in Seattle begin to see their lives complicated by humans and not so much by animals.
Cast
Main
Joel McHale as Frank Shaw, a disillusioned and emotionally distant Senior Animal Control Officer. His bad attitude stems from once being a cop, fired after finding evidence of corruption among his force. He frequently belittles his new partner Shred and acts like a total jerk to the rest of his precinct.
Vella Lovell as Emily Price, the good-natured director at the A.C. precinct. She often tries to improve her career and get a more well-paying job, but is constantly stone-walled by Commissioner Dudge; the others do not want her to leave on account of how easy it is to take advantage of her.
Michael Rowland as Fred "Shred" Taylor, Frank's new partner. An idealistic amateur Animal Control officer and a former professional snowboarder. His unbounded idealism causes him to deflect the negativity that his precinct often dishes out, but just barely.
Ravi V. Patel as Amit Patel, one of the Animal Control officers of Frank's precinct. He has two daughters and a son who are mostly used for the jokes revolving around his family life.
Grace Palmer as Victoria Sands, a street-smart Animal Control officer from New Zealand and Amit's partner. She is often seen helping Amit come out of his shell in order to do his job. Next to Frank, she takes her job seriously.
Recurring
Gerry Dee as Commissioner Templeton Dudge, the mean-spirited Canadian commissioner of the Seattle Animal Control Officers. He would gladly go out of his way to taunt and harass Frank's precinct due to their less-than-stellar record of handling animals. More often than not, the precinct would gladly give the abuse back.
Kelli Ogmundson as Dolores Stubb, the self-righteous receptionist of Frank's precinct. She has a tendency to meddle with the officers' affairs for prideful reasons. As a result, she is disliked by the officers.
Alvina August as Dr. Colette Summers, the attractive veterinarian in Frank's precinct. She is often targeted as a lust object by the officers, which is a recurring joke in the show.
Kevin Bigley as Rick Doyle, the previous director of the A.C. precinct and Frank's former partner. He left after he was viciously mauled by a mink which resulted in the loss of one of his ears as well as a giant settlement from the city. He has a very positive personality and was well-liked by the staff. Emily seeks his advice on her new position and as a result he becomes a more frequent guest at the precinct because of a growing crush on her.
Krystal Smith as Bettany (season 2), the new assistant to Emily.[5]
Dayah Brar as Addy Patel, Amit's daughter. She is very sassy and he finds her difficult to control.
Tristan D. Lalla as Jack, a vet tech working with Dr. Summers. He has a very no-nonsense personality and seems exhausted by how self-centered the patrol officers are.
John Procaccino as Jimmy Shaw, Frank's cantankerous father with whom he has a contentious relationship.
Ken Jeong as Lee Park (season 2), a well-respected dog whisperer
Sarah Chalke as Yazmin (season 2), Frank's ex-girlfriend.[5]
Thomas Lennon as Patrick Shaw, Frank's older brother (season 2)
In July 2022, it was announced Fox had given a straight-to-series order to Animal Control from Bob Fisher, Rob Greenberg, Dan Sterling and Fox Entertainment, marking Fox Entertainment Studios' first fully owned live-action comedy.[23] In October of that year, Joel McHale joined the series as the lead and executive producer.[24]Vella Lovell and Ravi Patel joined the cast later that same month.[25][26] Most portions of Animal Control are filmed in and around Vancouver, the most populous city in British Columbia, and were filmed in the Vancouver area from October 31, 2022 to January 25, 2023.[27] In May 2023, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on March 6, 2024.[2][3] In February 2024, ahead the second season premiere, Fox renewed the series for a third season.[4]
Reception
Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 60% approval rating with an average rating of 6/10, based on ten critic reviews.[28]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 68 out of 100 based on seven critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[29]
Ratings
Overall
Viewership and ratings per season of Animal Control
