Animal Control is an American sitcom that premiered on February 16, 2023 on FOX. It is a production of Fox Entertainment Studios.
Plot[]
Frank Shaw is an opinionated, eccentric Animal Control officer who may not have gone to college but still the most well-read person in the room. A former cop, Frank tried to expose corruption in his department, but his efforts got him fired, which may explain why he’s so cynical and curmudgeonly. He has an almost superhuman ability to understand animals. Humans...not so much. Frank is assigned a new partner, Fred “Shred” Taylor, an optimistic rookie Animal Control officer. They both report into their sweet-natured and endearingly awkward boss Emily Price. Amit Patel and Victoria Sands are also partners in the Animal Control office – though they could not be more opposite. Rounding out the precinct is veterinarian Dr. Summers, receptionist Dolores Stubb and Templeton Dudge, an Animal Control officer from a neighboring precinct with a real chip on his shoulder.
Cast[]
- Joel McHale as Frank Shaw, a disillusioned and emotionally distant Senior Animal Control Officer. His bad attitude stems from once being a cop but was fired after finding evidence of corruption among his force.
- 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 and the others do not want her to leave on account of how easy it is to take advantage of her.
- Michael Rowland as Fred Taylor, Frank's new partner. An idealistic amateur Animal Control officer and a former professional snowboarder. His unbound idealism causes him to deflect the negativity that his precinct often dishes out, but just barely.
- Ravi 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.
Production[]
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. In October of that year, Joel McHale joined the series as the lead and executive producer. Vella Lovell and Ravi Patel joined the cast later that same month. 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. In May 2023, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on March 6, 2024. In February 2024, the series was renewed for a third season which premiered on January 2, 2025. In May 2025, the series was renewed for a fourth season.
Reception[]
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 60% approval rating with an average rating of 6/10, based on ten critic reviews. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 68 out of 100 based on seven critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
