Review by C.J. Bunce
If you cut the cable with the networks you may not be aware that Joel McHale is starring in one of the funniest sitcoms on television on a show not called Community. Animal Control began in 2023 on Fox, with four seasons and 43 half-hour episodes already in the can. If you don’t watch Fox you can grab the first three seasons right now on Netflix. Even better, Season 4 is coming to Netflix August 31. So now is a great time to see if it’s possible for a show about Animal Control officers to be funny and deliver a whole new slate of characters you’re going to love.
McHale is very much like his lawyer-turned-community college student on Community, and he brings in the full snark from his days hosting The Soup. He’s a leader, he’s charismatic, he’s opinionated, and he also doesn’t care what anyone thinks. Sounds familiar? This time the character is Frank Shaw, a bitter senior animal control officer in northwest Seattle, where he’s operated without a partner for a year. He lost his last partner, Kevin Bigley’s Rick Doyle, to an incident involving a mink (resulting in Rick losing his ear and getting a generous settlement from the city). That worked out well for Frank, since Frank likes to work alone. When we first catch up with Frank he’s finally getting a new partner.
That new partner is “Shred” Taylor, former professional snowboarder Olympian played by Michael Rowland. Rowland is a great new find as the earnest newbie and perfect point-of-view character. Eager to learn and do his job, Shred is also happy to indulge Frank’s hazing. In another truck from their division is another crew. That’s Amit Patel, played by Ravi V. Patel, a typical family man whose home responsibilities frequently get in the way of work (and vice versa). But 11 years of family life seems to be getting to him. He’s joined by New Zealand emigrant Victoria Sands, played by Grace Palmer. Carefree Victoria and loner Frank have an ongoing prank battle and are the show’s key will-they-or-won’t-they potential couple.
But they aren’t the only couple with potential. The department is led by Rick’s replacement, division newcomer Emily Price, played by Vella Lovell. Emily tends to try too hard to please, she’s not the best in stressful situations, and she’s also ready to lead the department with a new vision. Emily is willing to tap former division boss Rick for help, and soon finds she may have feelings for both Rick and Shred.
Despite a setting about solving loose wild and domestic animals in the city, the stories are really about office politics adapted to a job requiring often dangerous situations. Creators Bob Fisher, Rob Greenberg, and Dan Sterling have accomplished an incredible balancing act, stories that celebrate animals without the heavy drama you’d find in a show like All Creatures Great and Small or your average National Geographic animal documentary. The laughs are the stuff of sitcoms like Community, Parks and Recreation, or even M*A*S*H, and all of the cast comes together with chemistry from the first episode and they don’t lose their way over the first three seasons.
Frank comes from a family of cops, so we meet his grumpy dad (played by John Procaccino) and sparring older brother (played by Thomas Lennon)–lending the show some mild family drama (good for those allergic to heavier drama). Victoria’s citizenship is called into question after her husband in name only decides he wants to get married for real, creating some stakes and a reason for the crew to come to her aid (or at least attempt to). It also brings in Amit’s parents, recently familiar with the citizenship test. Shred and Amit find themselves purchasing and flipping a house together, something they are not so adept at. That results in a squatter named Parker, played by Josh Segarra, whose quirky charisma makes him an easy full member of the cast. Meanwhile Emily tries to keep control of the office, all while trying to raise money to expand the kennels to better serve the animals in their care.
Not helping anything is the cross-town rival, Templeton Dudge (played by Gerry Dee) who, despite Frank’s best efforts, is always a step ahead of the northwest division. Community co-star Ken Jeong enters the picture as a dog whisperer named Roman Park, another guy rubbing Frank the wrong way as he moves in on his territory (Community’s Jim Rash is slated to join the cast in later seasons, and Frank mentioning he took Spanish in community college is a nice throwback).
While Frank and Victoria seem like a pairing unlikely to happen, he revisits a relationship with ex- Yazmin, played by noted sitcom star Sarah Chalke (Scrubs). The personal romance relationship comedy takes Frank to billionaire Fiona Holcomb (played by Ella Enchanted and Hot Fuzz’s Lucy Punch), who also has a relationship going with Victoria.
All these seasons and episodes allow for several recurring and guest actors. Larry Joe Campbell plays Carl, the opportunistic division union representative. Family Law’s Kelli Ogmundson is the first receptionist on-staff, replaced later by Krystal Smith. Chelsei Frei is a local con artist who becomes Shred’s love interest after he breaks it off with a long-distance girlfriend. Keep an eye out for Rachel Dratch as a school principal unhappy with team Victoria-Amit.
But wait! Isn’t this a show about animals? Yes it is, and they are incorporated smartly and without any danger to the animals or their characters, including a weasel that sets fire to a couple’s living room, and a character that should get equal billing with the cast–Oreo the penguin–who escapes the zoo and becomes a local folk hero and focus of several episode threads. A frat house kidnaps a cow and Frank and Shred try to get the cow to walk down the stairs, but without Templeton’s help. A giraffe and cadre of other zoo animals slips by the gates and must be rounded up. Raging raccoons, a pregnant llama, an officer patrol horse, a mysterious cougar known as C38 (a sad point of the series handled well in the first season finale), a tech-stealing swan with a vendetta, ostriches who attack Shred, the guys steal a dog and an emotional support goat… And just try to count the metaphors, like the bull in the China shop, a loose goose, a goose chase, and a red herring that ends up being nothing. Every episode title is a pairing of animals as a theme.
And keep up with collecting license plates from all the states while you’re at it.
With quick wit, clever stories, and impeccable rapid-fire dialogue, Animal Control is truly a keeper, a comedy like so many classic syndicated sitcoms of days gone by. After only three seasons we’ve added it to our “best of the best” list. Get ready for Season 4 coming to Netflix August 31, 2026. For Fox viewers Season 5 makes its way to the fourth network September 27, 2026.
