The first two seasons of the Fox series Animal Control are available on Netflix after Fox Entertainment Global recently closed a deal with the streamer for the U.S. streaming rights to the single-camera comedy starring Joel McHale. That surprise Dec. 26 drop will be followed by the release of Season 3 and eventually the upcoming fourth season, which debuts on Fox later today, Dec. 28.
The previous seasons migrated to Netflix from Hulu, which has in-season rights to all Fox series, getting new episodes the day after they premiere on the broadcast network and Fox One. As of Dec. 28, only the “rolling 5” most recent Episodes 6-10 of Season 3 are available on the Disney platform.
Fox has been selling its fully owned series across platforms and countries. On the scripted side, Animal Control follows the sale to Netflix of its two other fully owned returning series, animated comedies Krapopolis and Grimsburg.
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Additionally, Sony Pictures Television recently made a deal with Netflix for the domestic library rights to Fox medical drama Doc, whose proceeds are shared by Fox Entertainment as a co-producing partner.
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 stars as Frank Shaw, an overqualified, over-opinionated Animal Control officer who has an almost superhuman ability to understand animals. But humans … not so much. A former cop, Frank tried to expose corruption in his department, but his efforts got him fired, which might explain why he’s so cynical and curmudgeonly. It also stars Michael Rowland, Vella Lovell, Ravi Patel and Grace Palmer.
The series, which premiered in February 2023, was created by Bob Fisher, Rob Greenberg and Dan Sterling. It is produced by Fox Entertainment Studios with production services provided by Jax Media. It is exec produced by McHale, Fisher, Greenberg, Sterling and Tad Quill.