written by Katie Campione, Deadline
The premiere of Animal Control has laughed up a streaming record for Fox.
After three days of delayed viewing, the episode delivered 4.5M multi-platform viewers, which is a 114% increase from its live + same-day audience (2.1M).
About 1.3M of those viewers came from Hulu and Fox Now, making the episode Fox’s most-streamed scripted debut ever. The premiere of Animal Control, which stars Joel McHale, surpassed both 9-1-1: Lone Star and The Last Man on Earth for the streaming title.
In delayed viewing, the episode has also become Fox’s most-watched comedy telecast since the 2021 series finale of Last Man Standing (excluding NFL lead-ins).
Animal Control follows a group of local Animal Control workers whose lives are complicated by the fact that animals are simple, but humans are not. McHale will play 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.
The series also stars Michael Rowland, Vella Lovell, Ravi Patel, Grace Palmer, Alvina August, Kelli Ogmundson, and Gerry Dee. Created by Bob Fisher, Rob Greenberg and Dan Sterling, the series is produced by Fox Entertainment Studios. McHale also executive produces along with Fisher, Greenberg and Sterling as well as Tad Quill who came on board after the series was picked up. Quill previously co-created Fox’s The Moodys with Fisher and Greenberg.
