Fox has officially kicked off 2026-27 renewals with a Season 5 order for workplace comedy Animal Control, starring Joel McHale.
As noted in Deadline’s annual Fox Renewal Status Report, Animal Control‘s pickup was expected and will be followed soon by others, with Doc renewal possibly next and Best Medicine, Memory of a Killer and Murder In A Small Town all looking good. (On the unscripted side, a Fear Factor renewal is pending.)
Animal Control has been considered a shoo-in because the series is owned by Fox — produced by Fox Entertainment Studios and distributed worldwide by Fox Entertainment Global — and has been making money for the company. It has been doing respectably on Fox and next day on Hulu while also selling internationally and was recently licensed to Netflix.
According to Fox, through its first eight weeks on Netflix, Animal Control Seasons 1-3 have delivered over 1 billion minutes watched, making it the platform’s #1 acquired comedy series in total viewers and #3 in minutes watched, behind only Young Sheldon and Seinfeld.
Underscoring the network’s support for the series, Fox gave it an NFL football lead-in for the Season 4 premiere in December.
“With the writing, ensemble, and audience response all landing at new levels, renewing Animal Control was an easy decision,” said Michael Thorn, President of Fox Television Network. “The series launched to new highs in its fourth season, which is a direct reflection of the show’s continued creative growth, outstanding producing team, and the incredible Joel McHale as our lead.”
The “new highs” refer to the Season 4 premiere hitting series high in total viewers and adults 18-49 and becoming the first broadcast comedy in more than 15 years to see a fourth season launch outperform all three prior season premieres.
However, the Season 4 opener of Animal Control was an outlier — it is the first and only so far episode of the show to get an NFL lead-in, making comparisons impossible. Following that big ratings spike for the premiere, the series has returned to its usual viewership levels.
Animal Control is executive produced by Bob Fisher, Rob Greenberg, Dan Sterling, showrunner Tad Quill, and McHale, and stars McHale, Michael Rowland, Vella Lovell, Ravi V. Patel, and Grace Palmer. The series follows a group of local Animal Control workers whose lives are complicated by the fact that animals are simple, but humans are not.
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