Seattle’s favorite Animal Control office won’t be shutting down just yet. As expected, Fox has picked up its flagship live-action workplace comedy series starring Joel McHale for a fourth season, meaning more animal-based antics are to be had with Frank Shaw and his rag-tag team of fellow officers. The series has continued to be a hit both critically and in terms of ratings for the network, being sold to over 70 international territories and more than doubling its live + same-day ratings thanks to streaming on Hulu. It’ll be back in time for the 2025-26 season, locking up Fox‘s comedy slate with the also-renewed Going Dutch.
Through three seasons, Animal Control has followed the jaded and cynical Frank (McHale) as he learns to embrace life as an animal control officer after being fired from the police force for trying to expose corruption in the department. Fortunately, he is almost supernaturally capable of understanding animals. Paired with the idealistic former professional snowboarder Fred “Shred” Taylor (Michael Rowland), he slowly finds his life and new job more complicated by humans than the furry, scaly, and feathery creatures he deals with day in and day out. The Season 3 finale teased some big things for the future, too, with Frank finally recognizing his feelings for Victoria (Grace Palmer) and Shred finally sharing a kiss with the office’s tireless director, Emily (Vella Lovell).
A Season 4 renewal ensures that McHale will continue to have a big role to play at Fox on multiple fronts. Aside from Animal Control, he’s also set to take over for Patton Oswalt on the second season of The 1% Club, premiering this June. For his comedy series, he co-stars with the trio of Rowland, Lovell, and Palmer, as well as Ravi V. Patel. Last season also brought in plenty of exciting new and returning guests like Thomas Lennon, Lucy Punch, Josh Segarra, Eve Palmer, Rob Gronkowski, Krystal Smith, and, of course, McHale‘s Community co-star Ken Jeong as dog whisperer Roman Park.
‘Animal Control’ Is the Latest in a Line of High-Profile Fox Renewals
Animal Control hails from the trio of Bob Fisher, Rob Greenberg, and Dan Sterling, with McHale and Tad Quill serving as executive producers. They’re just one of several teams that have already been secured for the coming season at Fox, joining the smash hit medical drama Doc and the novel adaptation Murder in a Small Town. The biggest renewal, however, has been saved for the Animation Domination lineup of The Simpsons, Family Guy, Bob’s Burgers, and the returning American Dad!, all of which earned four-season orders in a network megadeal. Regarding Animal Control and the Denis Leary-led Going Dutch specifically, Fox Television Network President Michael Thorn hailed the moves as crucial steps in building a solid foundation for comedy, saying in a statement:
“Animal Control and Going Dutch are proven winners thanks to signature Fox characters brought to life by Joel and Denis — two of the funniest comedic voices on TV today, giving us an ideal foundation for building our new comedy block. With a focus on creating irreverent, fun workplace humor that’s both outrageous and unpredictable, Joel, Denis, their castmates and production teams deliver reliably laugh-out-loud moments week-after-week that will keep fans coming back season-after-season.”
Animal Control Seasons 1-3 are now streaming on Hulu.
via Collider