Joel McHale has committed to starring in and executive producing Fox’s single-camera comedy Animal Control, set, as the title suggests, in the world of animal control workers. The Emmy Award nominee will play a character named Frank in Fox’s first wholly-owned live-action comedy.
The comedy will be executive produced by Bob Fisher (Wedding Crashers), Rob Greenberg (How I Met Your Mother), Dan Sterling (The Office), and Tad Quill (The Moodys). Fox Entertainment Studios is producing.
“Dan, Rob, Tad, and Bob had envisioned Joel as the lead of Animal Control from the very moment we began development, and we are all ecstatic to have him on board. Joel’s acerbic wit and ability to bring a comedic lens to everything he’s involved with make him the perfect person to bring Frank to life,” said Michael Thorn, President of Entertainment of FOX Entertainment.
Joel McHale’s credits include Community, Starman, The Bear, and hosting Crime Scene Kitchen.
Fox offered the following description of the series:
Animal Control will follow a group of local Animal Control workers whose lives are complicated by the fact that animals are simple, but humans are not. McHale will portray 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.
