Review by C.J. Bunce
The hilarious half-hour comedy Animal Control began in 2023 on Fox, with the fourth season arriving on Netflix this past August. So how does that season measure up? Now is a great time to catch up with all four seasons as Season 5 is coming to Fox in only one week, and we have a first look at the series below. Is it possible for a show about Animal Control officers to be funny? Yes, yes, it is. In fact it may be the funniest new series airing right now. The series stars Joel McHale as Frank, a bitter senior animal control officer in northwest Seattle. The show began with Frank without a partner–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). The new partner is “Shred” Taylor, former professional Olympic snowboarder played by Michael Rowland. Rowland began as the earnest newbie and perfect point-of-view character, and he hasn’t changed much in four seasons. In another truck from their division is Amit Patel, played by Ravi V. Patel, a typical family man whose home responsibilities frequently get in the way of work (and vice versa). 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. Will they or won’t they, and did they or didn’t they? Let’s get caught up.
Boss Emily Price (Vella Lovell), once a nervous newcomer, is finally making progress with the precinct. 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. She only gets tested more and more in Season 4, which saw Seattle city cutting costs, forcing the competing precinct to merge into their offices, all reporting to Emily. Frank’s nemesis, Templeton Dudge (played by Gerry Dee), led the other precinct and he’s not happy. The shuffling uproots Frank, too, who was comfortable being #1. Templeton, who was creepy-stalking Victoria earlier in the show, now wants Emily’s job. As Season 4 arrived, Emily and Shred finally became an item, but they tried to keep the whole thing under wraps, creating lots of humor for the show. But as the season drew to a close, pictures of Emily and Shred together were broadcast to the world. The city bosses found out and as the season cliffhanger, now Emily is suspended. Get ready for Season 5 to begin with Templeton leading the precinct.
Despite a setting about manging loose wild and domestic animals in the city, the stories are really about office politics adapted to a job often involving 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 the leads come together with real chemistry. That includes a former squatter in a house co-owned by Patel and Shred named Parker, played by Josh Segarra, whose quirky charisma makes him an easy full member of the cast. But wait–Victoria and Parker face a break-up in Season 4.
New to the picture is Templeton’s lieutenant, the ferociously loyal Daisy, played by Kyla Pratt. She mirrors the relationship Emily has with her own loyal assistant Bettany, played by Krystal Smith. Daisy’s so good at supporting Templeton it’s like the pranks and office politics are tilted in favor of Templeton for Season 4, including seeing Templeton taking credit for a bear cub rescue by Frank. If the writers need to upgrade one element of the series it’s finding funnier, less snarky, scenarios for Bettany and Daisy.
Frank has more problems to face, including Emily assigning him to ride with big donor Roman Park, played again by Joel McHale’s Community co-star Ken Jeong. Further thwarting Team Emily is an intransigent city worker played by another former Community cast member, Jim Rash. Animal Control is the perfect series for these kinds of cast reunions.
But along with all the humor, the clever set-ups and joke writing, the series wouldn’t succeed without having a heart, too. Viewers get to see that Frank loves animals despite being such a gruff fellow, even more than what we saw earlier with his appreciation of a wild cougar in the Season 2 finale. Frank must fight to get his dog back in one episode. And just as you think he might open up to Victoria, he steps aside to allow a romantic horse-riding evening between Victoria and Parker. Always wound-up Emily lets her hair down, only she does it at the wrong time. Shred couldn’t be a nicer guy, but his nice factor is cranked to eleven, resulting in a ruined first date for him and Emily. And Patel and Victoria get to face the grief of the hardships of working with the deaths of animals.
Romance! Conflicts! Humor! An emotional support donkey! A Sip and Snip Event to neuter cats and dogs!
The chemistry, the chaos, the drama comes to a head when Templeton is nominated for the year’s best Animal Control officer. This prompts Frank to accomplish the unthinkable–rescue 24 animals in 24 hours. The rest of the season is a freight train to the end.
So get caught up now. You won’t regret it. Then check out this first look at Season 5, but fair warning, this preview may give away too much of the season:
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. The first four seasons of Animal Control are available now on Netflix. Look for Season 5 to premiere on the Fox network beginning September 27, 2026, with new episodes each Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Central.
