Straight-to-Series, Single-Camera Workplace Comedy to Premiere Mid-Season on FOX
McHale to Attend MIPCOM CANNES in Support of Series’ Launch to International Buyers
Emmy Award nominee Joel McHale (Crime Scene Kitchen, Community) has been cast in the lead role of, and will executive-produce, FOX’s upcoming straight-to-series workplace comedy, Animal Control, it was announced today by Michael Thorn, President of Entertainment of FOX Entertainment.
As FOX Entertainment’s first wholly owned live-action comedy, the single-camera series 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.
Animal Control is produced by FOX Entertainment Studios and also executive-produced by Bob Fisher (Wedding Crashers, Sirens, The Moodys), Rob Greenberg (Frasier, How I Met Your Mother, The Moodys), Dan Sterling (Long Shot, The Interview, Girls, The Office, King of the Hill) and Tad Quill (Scrubs, The Moodys). McHale will attend MIPCOM CANNES next week to support the series when it is introduced to international buyers by FOX Entertainment Global, FOX’s newly formed worldwide content sales unit.
“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 Thorn.
McHale is an actor, comedian and television host. He currently can be seen as “Starman” in the DC Universe series Stargirl and hosts the FOX culinary game show Crime Scene Kitchen. He also will reprise his role as “Jeff Winger” in the upcoming Community movie, based on the hit comedy series of the same name. Other recent projects include the new game show Celebrity Beef, the sci-fi podcast series Black Box and the dark romantic comedy Happily, alongside Kerry Bishe. In 2020, McHale co-hosted FOX’s New Year’s Eve special, alongside his fellow Community co-star Ken Jeong. They also host a podcast, The Darkest Timeline, together.
About FOX Entertainment
With a legacy spanning more than 35-years, FOX Entertainment is one of the world’s most recognizable media brands and a prolific content producer across its iconic broadcast network and both owned and third-party streaming platforms. Known for its independent, innovative spirit and provocative, groundbreaking storytelling, the company was reinvented in 2019 with the formation of the new FOX Entertainment. While maintaining its leadership in broadcast television (9-1-1, The Simpsons, The Cleaning Lady, Hell’s Kitchen, LEGO Masters), the company is actively building a portfolio of businesses and library of owned original content. To date, FOX Entertainment’s long-term growth strategy has included the acquisitions of award-winning powerhouse animation studio Bento Box Entertainment (Bob’s Burgers, The Great North, Krapopolis, Grimsburg, HouseBroken), entertainment platform TMZ, and global production studio MarVista Entertainment, as well as the formation of landmark culinary and lifestyle content venture Studio Ramsay Global (Next Level Chef) in partnership with the legendary Gordon Ramsay. The company also established its in-house unscripted studio FOX Alternative Entertainment (The Masked Singer, I Can See Your Voice, Name That Tune), FOX Entertainment Studios (Monarch, Animal Control) to develop scripted content, the worldwide content sales division, FOX Entertainment Global, and Web3 media and creative technology studio Blockchain Creative Labs.