FOX Casts Joel McHale in New Office Workplace Comedy, ‘Animal Control’

According to the Hollywood Reporter, FOX has just announced that they have cast Joel McHale (Community, Crime Scene Kitchen) to star in their latest office workplace comedy, Animal Control. The show, which was given a straight-to-series order back in July, will purportedly be a single-camera, workplace comedy emulating such shows as The Office or What We Do In the Shadows, and will follow the lives of a group of intrepid, local Animal Control workers lead by McHale’s character.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, McHale will star as Frank, a dogmatic and unconventional former police officer who was fired for trying to expose the corruption within his department and now finds himself clinging to his former glory after signing up to become part of his community’s local Animal Control unit. However, what Frank may lack in interpersonal skills, he more than makes up for with his near supernatural talent to understand and connect with animals, a skill that will likely prove to be highly instrumental in Frank’s journey of self-discovery and self-reflection.

This will be McHale’s second show with FOX following his work on Crime Scene Kitchen, which was released back in spring of 2021 and renewed for a second season earlier this year back in May. Animal Control will serve as FOX’s first, entirely independent series from Fox Entertainment Studios following the studio’s acquisition by Disney all the way back in 2019.

Bob Fisher, Rob Greenberg, and Tad Quill (executive producers of The Moodys) will serve as executive producers for the show, alongside Dan Sterling (The Office, The Interview) and McHale himself. According to Michael Thorn, president of entertainment at Fox, McHale was the first person that their team of execs had in mind for the role of Frank since Animal Control’s early development. This will be one of several projects that McHale is currently apart of this year, including his roles as Sylvester Pemberton/ Starman in Stargirl and his reprisal as Jeff Winger in Peacock’s upcoming Community movie.

A release date for the series has still yet to be announced.

Paul Hurley: I am a Screenwriting major currently attending Loyola Marymount University who plans on graduating in the Fall 2023 semester. I have a passion for writing, literary analysis, and all things television! Some of my hobbies outside of work include skateboarding, going to the beach, and just lounging about my apartment with my dog.
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