Fox picked up Animal Control to series without asking them to shoot a pilot first, and there is a good reason why. The show is the funniest new sitcom of the year.
Tonight at 9p, you will meet Frank Shaw (Joel McHale), a grumpy animal control officer. He is a lone wolf who doesn’t like to work with anyone. But he has to. So he is given a new partner.
Shred (Michael Rowland) is a former champion snowboarder who decided to transition to animal control after injuring his knee. He is a ray of sunshine to Frank’s dark cloud, and his partner hates that, so he will torture him.
And during his first week, Shred screws up when he goes into a house to deal with a weasel on his own. What can go wrong? The weasel runs into the fireplace and comes out on fire. Therefore, the animal sets the living room on fire. On a positive note, at least he escaped when Frank entered the house.
There is another set of partners at the office. Amit (Ravi Patel) is a nice guy who is exhausted from being a dad to kids and animals. He works with Victoria (Grace Palmer), who is more like one of the boys than the boys. Amit and Victoria’s lives are complete opposites which is why they work so well together.
And then there is Emily (Vella Lovell). She is their boss. She is overly nice and fights so hard for her team. That is why they take advantage of her and get her to do what they want.
Together they make a great team who can take on any animal that comes their way, and there aren’t a lot of cats and dogs—something my cat did not like about the show.
Let’s get back to the animals. In the first three episodes, they take on hungry ostriches, bunnies on hallucinogenic mushrooms, and a kangaroo that can kick ass, or should I say nuts? And I can’t wait to see what other animals they have to bring back to base as the season goes on.
And as the season goes on, you will see this work family take care of each other. Shred will keep chipping away at Frank’s ice-cold exterior while Frank rains on his parade. Victoria will get Amit to loosen up, and he will make her more domesticated. And Emily will try to keep them all from getting fired for various reasons because her animal control is more like Animal House.
The show has a lot of heart, chemistry, laughs, and animals! Who doesn’t love animals? Probably the cast after having to work them. But since we don’t, we get to sit back and enjoy the show that is as warm and fuzzy as a bear in a hot tub.
You can watch Animal Control on Fox Thursdays at 9p or stream it on Hulu the day after it airs.
Fox announced today that it picked up The Simpsons, Family Guy, and Bob’s Burgers for two more seasons. That will bring their totals to 36, 23, and 15 seasons, respectively.
“With this trio of renewals, we celebrate excellence in animation on FOX, our wonderful, long-time partnership with 20th Television and the brilliant creators and incredible voices behind these forever favorites,” said Michael Thorn, President, Scripted Programming for FOX Entertainment. “Three-plus decades of The Simpsons, more than two decades of Family Guy and over a decade of Bob’s Burgers proves the enduring power of the animation genre on our network and the infinite fan affinity for these outrageously funny comedy classics.”
The Simpsons’ renewal means it broke its own record of the longest-running scripted show. At this rate, the show will outlive its voice actors.
The three animated series join The Great North and Krapopolis in the 2023-2024 lineup.
It is December, and we just learned what is the first broadcast scripted show that won’t be back for another season on Fox. That title goes to Monarch.
Never heard of it? It was a Country Music Soap Opera that starred Trace Adkins and Susan Sarandon. Well, they lied about the latter because they killed her off in the first episode. Not that that was a bad thing. But they kept pushing that she was starring in the series.
When it comes to the show, I tried watching it, but after three episodes, I stopped. I just couldn’t do it anymore, and I have low standards. Since it is all about me, that is why it won’t be back. Not that it did terribly in the ratings.
Fantasy Island was supposed to return in the summer, but Fox decided to postpone the season premiere. So I thought it would come back in the Fall. But it wasn’t. Now, the reimagination will finally be back for its second season on January 2nd. That is just one of the many shows that will be debuting on Fox at the beginning of the year.
Here is the schedule of when Alert, Accused, Special Forces: World Toughest Test, Next Level Chef, Animal Control, 9-1-1: Lonestar, and Celebrity Name That Tune will have their premieres.
Monday, Jan. 2:
8:00-9:00 PM FANTASY ISLAND (Season Premiere)
Wednesday, Jan. 4:
8:00-10:00 PM SPECIAL FORCES: WORLD’S TOUGHEST TEST (Two-Hour Series Premiere) `
Thursdays, beginning Jan. 5:
8:00-9:00 PM HELL’S KITCHEN (Winter Premiere)
9:00-9:30 PM WELCOME TO FLATCH (Winter Premiere)
9:30-10:00 PM CALL ME KAT (Winter Premiere)
Sunday, Jan. 8:
8:00-9:00 PM ET/5:00-6:00 PM PT ALERT (Series Premiere)
9:00-9:30 PM BOB’S BURGERS
9:30-10:00 PM FAMILY GUY
Mondays, beginning Jan. 9:
8:00-9:00 PM FANTASY ISLAND
9:00-10:00 PM ALERT (Time Period Premiere)
Wednesdays, beginning Jan. 11:
8:00-9:00 PM CELEBRITY NAME THAT TUNE (Season Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM SPECIAL FORCES: WORLD’S TOUGHEST TEST (Time Period Premiere)
Tuesday, Jan. 17
8:00-9:00 PM 9-1-1: LONE STAR (Season Premiere)
Tuesdays, beginning Jan. 24:
8:00-9:00 PM 9-1-1: LONE STAR
9:00-10:00 PM ACCUSED (Time Period Premiere)
Sunday, Feb. 12
10:30-11:40 PM ET/7:30-8:40 PM PT NEXT LEVEL CHEF (Season Premiere)
Thursdays, beginning Feb. 16:
8:00-9:00 PM NEXT LEVEL CHEF (Time Period Premiere)
9:00-9:30 PM ANIMAL CONTROL (Series Premiere)
9:30-10:00 PM CALL ME KAT
In case you are going, but where is The Masked Singer? Fox says that it will be back in the Spring.
To read descriptions about the new shows, then click here!
Did you know that Duncanville was airing its third season on Fox? You didn’t? You are not alone.
Therefore today, the network pulled the plug on the animated series, and the six remaining episodes will stream on Hulu later this year, according to Deadline.
The show was created by Amy Poehler, who starred in the show with Ty Burrell.
Are you going to miss it?
UPDATE: The CW cancelled the Nancy Drew spinoff, Tom Swift, after one season.
