![Joel McHale and the Gang Are Armed and Ridiculous in New 'Animal Control' Season 4 Poster [Exclusive]](https://static0.colliderimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/joel-mchale-animal-control-frank-shaw.jpg)
Joel McHale as Frank standing with a uniform and vest on in front of a crowd in Animal Control.Image via FOX
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Ryan O'Rourke
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Ryan O'Rourke is a Senior News Writer at Collider with a specific interest in all things adult animation, video game adaptations, and the work of Mike Flanagan. He is also an experienced baseball writer with over six years of articles between multiple outlets, most notably FanSided's CubbiesCrib. Whether it's taking in a baseball game, a new season of Futurama or Castlevania: Nocturne, or playing the latest From Software title, he is always finding ways to show his fandom. When it comes to gaming and anything that takes inspiration from it, he is deeply opinionated on what's going on. Outside of entertainment, he's a graduate of Eureka College with a Bachelor's in Communication where he honed his craft as a writer. Between The IV Leader at Illinois Valley Community College and The Pegasus at Eureka, he spent the majority of his college career publishing articles on everything from politics to campus happenings and, of course, entertainment for the student body. Those principles he learned covering the 2020 election, Palestine, and so much more are brought here to Collider, where he has gleefully written on everything from the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes to Nathan Lane baby-birding sewer boys.
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After nearly a year of waiting, it's almost time to return to the Northwest Seattle Animal Control station. Fox's hit workplace comedy starring Community's Joel McHale will be back for Season 4 on Thursday, January 15, bringing more critter-centric chaos and surprisingly emotional officer-centric stories to screens everywhere. Collider is excited to prepare viewers for the return with an exclusive new poster featuring the full team of five who have helped the sitcom become an enduring favorite. Wielding catch poles and donning cones of shame, they're armed to take on whatever animals get loose in the city, from run-of-the-mill dogs to escape artist penguins.
Through three seasons so far, Animal Control has explored the humor in how the simple lives of animals collide with the far more complicated existences of the humans in charge of catching them. Season 3's finale, in particular, left things quite open-ended for the unit and their relationships with one another. The typically emotionally repressed and grumpy Frank Shaw (McHale) finally admitted his feelings for Victoria (Grace Palmer) to himself, though it may be too late, with her growing closer to Josh Segarra's Parker. Moreover, Emily (Vella Lovell) and Shred (Michael Rowland) finally acted on their mutual attraction, though it leaves the young officer in a complicated spot with his girlfriend, Isabelle (Chelsea Frei). Between those central stories and more animals on the loose, Season 4 will have much to address with its return.
All the main Animal Control cast members will be back for the occasion, including McHale, Rowland, Lovell, and Palmer, as well as Ravi V. Patel. Also returning is Gerry Dee as Templeton Dudge, though he'll have a new partner this season in the form of The Proud Family, One on One, and Dr. Doolittle franchise star Kyla Pratt. Her character has been described as a sunny and fittingly wacky new addition to the team as "a confident single mom with a healthy appreciation for conspiracy theories." She'll be appearing as a recurring guest star, first being introduced in the premiere and showing up in eight of the ten upcoming episodes.
Who Is Behind 'Animal Control' Season 4?
The Animal Control cast wearing cones and wielding catch poles on the poster for Season 4Image via Fox
Series creators Bob Fisher, Rob Greenberg, and Dan Sterling are all back for Season 4 and executive producing alongside McHale. Also returning as showrunner is Tad Quill. Though McHale has a big hand in the shape of the show behind the scenes, he told Collider's Tania Hussain earlier this year that despite his love for the series, he doesn't have any plans to go beyond his current duties into directing or writing for an episode. "Oh, if I had the attention span to do [all of] that, I would do it in a heartbeat,” he said. “I’ve tried a couple of times, and it hasn’t worked. When something great is presented, like, ‘Do you want to be a part of this thing?’ It’s like, ‘Yeah. Of course.’”
Regardless of whether McHale's just starring and producing or taking the reins, the Animal Control team has the tough task of continuing to improve on a sitcom that has only gotten more acclaim with each season. In her 8/10 review, Hussain called its most recent outing back in January the series' best yet, saying "Thanks to clever writing, a strong ensemble cast, and fresh laughs that deepen emotional layers, the show is a genuine joy to watch, with Season 3 cementing it as a standout series not to be missed." Season 4 has a difficult act to follow, especially with Animal Control coming off its starriest season yet with a guest lineup of new and old faces, including Segarra, Thomas Lennon, Lucy Punch, Eve Palmer, Rob Gronkowski, Krystal Smith, and McHale's riotous Community partner, Ken Jeong, among others.
Animal Control Season 4 premieres on Fox on January 15 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Check out the exclusive poster above.
Animal Control
Like Follow Followed TV-14 Comedy Release Date February 16, 2023 Network FOX Directors Jay Chandrasekhar Writers Dan Sterling, Tad QuillCast
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Joel McHale
Frank Shaw
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Vella Lovell
Emily Price
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