The much-anticipated Community film was unveiled at Peacock last month. However, it appears that this is not the only upcoming project for the actor Joel McHale. The actor’s casting in the Fox comedy series Animal Control was confirmed today. It will be McHale’s first series since his comeback to television comedy. Fox allegedly ordered the pilot for the single-camera comedy Animal Control this past summer. According to the synopsis, the programme will focus on a “collection of local Animal Control officials” whose job is challenging not because of the animals they deal with but because of the humans.
McHale will portray Frank, a “cynical and curmudgeonly” former police officer who lost his job for seeking to expose corruption. Frank, however, learns that while he may be good with animals, he is not so great with people. It has not been revealed who else will be joining McHale in the cast. McHale has been in two successful comedy programmes, Community and The Great Indoors on CBS. Besides regular parts on shows like Black-ish and Will & Grace, he has also hosted the satirical entertainment news programme The Soup. McHale had recurring roles on the critically acclaimed FX and Hulu series The Bear and as the DC character Starman on the sitcom Stargirl.
Bob Fisher, Rob Greenberg, and Dan Sterling are responsible for the writing for Animal Control. Written by Fisher before was the film Wedding Crashers, as well as the TV series Sirens. As an added bonus, Greenberg has written for Frasier, and Sterling has written for King of the Hill. Along with Tad Quill and Joel McHale, all three will serve as executive producers for the show. Previously, Fisher, Greenberg, and Quill collaborated on the creation of the FOX sitcom The Moodys, which starred Denis Leary.
President of Fox Entertainment Michael Thorn had this to say about McHale’s major role in the show: From the very beginning of development, Dan, Rob, Tad, and Bob saw Joel in the role of the lead in “Animal Control,” so it’s great to finally have him on board. Joel is the ideal choice to bring Frank to life because of his scathing wit and ability to view the world through a humorous lens in all of his endeavours.
In the event that there are more developments about Animal Control, please do not hesitate to check back here. Here’s how the rest of McHale’s Frank persona is described:
“An outspoken, wacky Animal Control officer who, despite his lack of formal education, seems to be the smartest person in the room. Frank is a former police officer who became jaded and grouchy when he was sacked for trying to uncover wrongdoing in his department. He has a remarkable capacity for equine empathy. People, though, not so much.