American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden 2025 Tv Series Review Trailer
Before entering an ostrich enclosure, Frank, an animal control officer, slips something into his partner’s back pocket. It’s a stick of beef jerky, and within seconds, Frank is cracking up as the flightless birds chase his hapless colleague.

That’s the general vibe of “Animal Control,” a new sitcom from Fox. Here, “Community” alum Joel McHale plays Frank, an ex-cop who was fired after trying to root out corruption. (This is a clever trick to sidestep the current national conversation about policing: Our complicated protagonist was kicked off the force for being too virtuous.) His partner, a Fred who goes by Shred (Michael Rowland), also came to this particular force through an unconventional path; he’s a former professional snowboarder whose laid-back character suggests that, deep down, he never left the slopes.
Their relationship is the backbone of “Animal Control,” but that backbone could use some chiropractic help to straighten out. McHale is an actor who has to be careful to fall on the right side of the line between sardonic and caustic; here, he doesn’t quite pull it off, and one wonders if his case for staying on the police force was weakened by being such an annoying guy. A recurring device is Frank yelling at Fred to stop telling corny jokes before he gets his coffee, and while the jokes are certainly dumb, there’s an edge to Frank’s insistence that comes off as off-putting, as if the show is making us feel guilty for wanting to have fun with him.
As Fred, Rowland is an appealing presence, and I also liked Vella Lovell as the pair’s boss. Much of what Animal Control does is, in this show’s narrative, low-stakes and charmingly offbeat, leaving room for workplace comedy scenes that could just as easily be at an elementary school or a paper supplier. That’s why it feels urgent for the show to recalibrate Frank’s character. His jokes are too mean-spirited, his antipathy for Fred is too crafted. We get it: These unlikely companions will end up loving each other. But right now, with Fred in outer space, it seems like an asymmetrical fight — and one in which Frank’s dyspepsia gets a little out of control. Maybe the loudest growls would be best left for the creatures he’s helping.
“Animal Control” premieres Thursday, Feb. 16 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Fox.
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