Fox is sticking with laughs. The network has renewed its two live-action comedy series – Animal Control and Going Dutch.
Animal Control, which stars Joel McHale, is returning for its fourth season and Going Dutch, which stars Denis Leary, returns for its second season. Both single-camera shows, which are owned by Fox, will return in the 2025/26 season.
The renewal of Animal Control is not a surprise; the show remains Fox’s live-action comedy flagship and was its first fully-owned live-action series to break out, plus it has sold the show in over 70 international territories including in the UK to Channel 4, in Australia to Foxtel and Binge, in Canada to CBC and in New Zealand to TVNZ.
The network said that with in-season streaming – the show is available on Hulu – it more than doubles its live+same day ratings.
Going Dutch was less of a sure thing. The show launched well, retaining nearly 100% of its Animal Control lead-in on for its premiere episode, but did lose linear viewers over the course of its ten episodes, which ran from January through to the middle of March. The fact that it is wholly owned by Fox helped its renewal chances, giving Fox Entertainment Global the chance to sell it internationally as well.
As a result of the renewals, Fox may now not be looking to pick up any new half-hours for the 25/26 season.
They are the latest renewals for the network, which has already picked up its hot freshman Doc with a rare 22-episode order and Canadian-made rookie Murder In a Small Town as well as a recent mega-deal for its animated titles The Simpsons, Family Guy and Bob’s Burgers, as well as the return of American Dad, in a four-season renewal.
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 over-qualified, 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 may explain why he’s so cynical and curmudgeonly. He has an almost superhuman ability to understand animals but not quite humans. It also stars Michael Rowland, Vella Lovell, Ravi Patel and Grace Palmer.
The series, which premiered in February 2023 and its third season launched in January, 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.
Going Dutch centers on the arrogant, loudmouth U.S. Army Colonel Patrick Quinn (Denis Leary) — after an epically unfiltered rant — is reassigned to the Netherlands, where he is punished with a command position at the least strategic army base in the world, notable for its Michelin Star-commissary, top-notch bowling alley, lavender-infused laundry and the best (and only) fromagerie in the U.S. Armed Forces. Surrounded by a diverse group of military misfits, the colonel tries to reinstate discipline and professionalism with the help of the base’s previous interim leader, who just happens to be his estranged daughter, Captain Maggie Quinn (Taylor Misiak). It also stars Danny Pudi, Laci Mosley and Hal Cumpston.
The series, which is produced by Fox Entertainment Studios, came out of a broadcast direct deal between Leary and the company. It was created by Joel Church-Cooper, who exec produces alongside Denis Leary and Jack Leary, through their production company Amoeba.
Leary recently told Deadline that he was delighted to be able to film in Ireland, where he has family, and welcomed the ten-episode run, rather than the 20+ episodes of yesteryear.
“The thing that sold me was the 10 episodes because that gives me freedom to do other stuff,” he said. “Quality-wise, you can control things better with less episodes.”
“Animal Control and Going Dutch are proven winners thanks to signature Fox characters brought to life by Joel and Denis — two of the funniest comedic voices on TV today, giving us an ideal foundation for building our new comedy block,” said Michael Thorn, President, Fox Television Network. “With a focus on creating irreverent, fun workplace humor that’s both outrageous and unpredictable, Joel, Denis, their castmates and production teams deliver reliably laugh-out-loud moments week-after-week that will keep fans coming back season-after-season.”
