Fox’s new single-camera workplace comedy Animal Control joins the network’s primetime lineup on February 16, 2023 at 9pm ET/PT. The series stars Emmy Award nominee Joel McHale (Community) and marks the network’s first wholly-owned live-action comedy.
In addition to Joel McHale as Frank, the season one cast includes Michael Rowland as Fred “Shred” Taylor, Vella Lovel as Emily Price, Ravi Patel as Amit Patel, and Grace Palmer as Victoria Sands. Alvina August plays Dr. Summers, Kelli Ogmundson is Dolores Stubb, and Gerry Dee is Templeton Dudge. McHale serves as an executive producer along with Bob Fisher (Wedding Crashers), Rob Greenberg (Frasier), Dan Sterling (King of the Hill), and Tad Quill (Scrubs).
“Weasels and Ostriches” Plot: Shred encounters a wild weasel in an attic. Frank slips his Slim Jim in Shred’s back pocket as they approach a dozen ostriches.
The Plot, Courtesy of Fox:
The series follows a group of local Animal Control workers whose lives are complicated by the fact that animals are simple, but humans are not. McHale stars as Frank, an opinionated, eccentric Animal Control officer who may not have gone to college but is 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 in to 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.
