Animal Control

Didn't expect much after reading many of these reviews, (some seem weirdly personal), but was surprised how funny I thought it was. It's not Seinfeld or MASH of course but not even close to some of the lame shows (I'm looking at you Night Court), but all I can suggest is try it because it's a pleasing cast, yes Joel McHale is pretty much Jeff Winger 2.0, but what's wrong with that? It kind of reminded me of Community in that I actually laughed out loud a couple of times and am looking forward to more episodes. Give it an opportunity, it won't be the first time a show that actually is funny gets canceled, but I plan on enjoying while I can.

Season 1: 7 stars (2 viewings, 1/26/2024, 8/30/2024)

There was a point in time when I was watching 10-15 different active sitcoms at once. But the ones I liked all concluded, except for GOAT It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. And I haven't found any good new ones.

After trying 20+ newer sitcoms, I finally came across one I really like in Animal Control. It reminds me of many of the traditional sitcoms from the golden age. And it fulfils the number one most important attribute of a sitcom: likeable/funny characters.

I was already familiar with Joel McHale from Community. He plays basically the same character, and he's just as entertaining as in Community. The guy that plays Shred is surprisingly charming. And I like the rest of the cast, especially Victoria.

Now I'm hoping it still gets better, especially with the laugh count. There are definitely a bunch of laugh-out-loud moments, but a lot of the runtime maxes out at amusing. We've seen similar things with other hits, where the first season is a little weaker comedically (ie. The Office, Parks & Rec). Also I think they may have sped through some romance drama a little too fast.

I had a good time with this season and am looking forward to more. I think most people will enjoy it.

Season 2: 6 stars (1 viewing, 9/2/2024)

Unfortunately, I did not feel the typical season 2 bump-up in comedy or number of laughs per episode. I wasn't really feeling the first half of the season, only laughing a few times per episode. But it finishes strong with some really good episodes. I'll watch season 3, but it needs to get better now or I don't think it will last long.

Season 3: 4 stars (1 viewing, 7/15/2025)

I just wasn't laughing. Maybe a few chuckles over the entire season. And it feels fairly cartoony. It's unfortunate, but I won't be continuing with this show.

I like the premise of Animal Control. And there have been a few genuinely funny moments (albeit very silly ones).

I'm finding the interaction between Joel McHale and Michael Rowland to be really fun. Michael Rowland is a break-out star in this series, in my opinion. He plays his character with such a sincerity that you can't help but like him. And it makes Joel McHale tormenting him all the more funny.

The reason I'm giving this a 6 instead of something higher is because of some of the weak points:

1) The show lacks some energy. It's almost there, but not quite. I think as the characters become more three-dimensional that will improve, though.

2) Grace Palmer's character needs to be dialed back a couple of notches on the sex talk. It's just not funny. Her character is just sex and drugs with an interesting Kiwi accent. However, Grace Palmer's character isn't very likeable, even though I can see that her comedic timing could be good.

3) Ravi Patel's character is B-O-R-I-N-G.

I'll continue to watch for now. I'm hoping most of my complaints above will be resolved as the show gets its legs under it. Time will tell.

Giving it a few episodes to see if it finds it's stride. I'm a big fan of Joe McHale. My only gripe at this point is the portal of an animal control department. Ive never seem a city with more than 1 Animal Control pickup working at the same time. Normally the employees are stoned and you can't get ahold of them for days. In this show. They actually patrol AND respond to calls. It's like the show writers never visited a real animal control office. Lol. Anyway. First episode wasn't terrible. I think it has potential and will definitely give it a few episodes to decide. The supporting cast is pretty good. Fingers crossed.

I genuinely enjoy these workplace comedies. And I love like 70% of anything that Joel McHale is in. I think it has enough potential to give it a chance to last 2-3 seasons in order to find its footing. Too many networks throw dozens of shows out there and see what sticks and abandon them before the reach their full potential (The Mick). I can only imagine if they'd cancel The Office or Parks and Rec in their infancy. The cast is diverse and they all seem like good enough comedy actors. I didn't recognize any of the writers which could bode well. I guess my gist is give the show time to breathe before dropping it.