‘Animal Control’ Boss Previews Major Changes in Season 5

Fox’s best live-action sitcom since New Girl and Brooklyn Nine-Nine is back for Season 5, and according to Animal Control showrunner Tad Quill, things are just as fun off camera as they are on.

“The cast has an amazing chemistry,” he raves of the ensemble led by Joel McHale. “They really do. They’re all friends. They’re up in Vancouver and they just have a great chemistry and they’ve all become really good friends over the years, it’s so great. And Joel’s a fantastic leader on set, so it’s got a really good vibe up there.”

Kicking off with a turn of events that really bites, McHale’s Seattle-based rescue worker Frank Shaw and his team are up to their tailbones in work woes after Frank’s sworn foe, Templeton (Gerry Dee), takes over the precinct. Turns out their director Emily (the perfectly beleaguered Vella Lovell) is still out on suspension for dating subordinate Shred (Michael Rowland) and “that’s going to be a whole set of new problems they’ll have to deal with,” previews Quill. Things only get worse once Ken Jeong returns as ostentatious dog trainer and influencer Roman Park.

Bettina Strauss/FOX

“There’s actually an existential threat,” says Quill. “He’s gotten a contract with the city, he’s already shut down one precinct, and he’s gunning for our precinct. So, it starts off that Templeton and Frank are obviously at odds and there is a power struggle within the precinct, but then they quickly have to align to fight off Roman’s attempts to take over the whole thing.”

Quill goes on to explain that their fight will last well beyond the season premiere and inspire some staffers to jump ship. “There’s a major poach halfway through the season,” he confirms. “Roman’s big edge is that he’s all about tech. He’s got drones, he’s got these self-driving trucks. It’s all state-of-the-art animal control, while our [team] is all about the human touch. So, it’s a great arc through the season and it all comes down to whether or not the city council’s going to vote to keep us open.”

At the same time, Emily and Shred will be navigating a new living situation, as well as the adorably affable ex-skier’s job-related crises tied to “an ongoing battle with a crow that’s tormenting him,” Quill reveals, adding that Shred will also briefly start a band with coworker Patel (Ravi Patel), who finds himself trading places with their free-spirited teammate Victoria (Grace Palmer, a stealth weapon when it comes to comebacks).

Bettina Strauss/FOX

“Victoria has a new love in her life and it is a small six-pound-pig that imprints on her on a call,” Quill laughs. “In a weird way, she and Patel kind of switch roles because Patel’s family goes to India for an extended period of time because his mother-in-law’s sick. He is footloose and fancy-free without his kids and his family and he is just out on the town getting into all sorts of trouble. Meanwhile, Victoria — that’s usually her lane, that’s her thing — is becoming a mother to this pig [that] takes up a lot of her emotional bandwidth. But she’s very in love with the pig as well.”

As for other critters causing chaos this season, Quill confirms that we’ll see Frank respond to his “dream call” after the Seattle Seahawks’ mascot gets loose, a “cool, stylized S.W.A.T. rescue” involving an illegal breeding mill and a pack of cuddly canines, an escaped boa constrictor inside the precinct, and a storyline inspired by the real-life case of a pack of coyotes that have taken up residence in an abandoned West Hollywood residential building.

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'Animal Control' Season 5 Cast, Premiere Date, and More Details

But it’s the upcoming episode featuring what Quill calls “Animal Control‘s version of the Highland games” that’s really off-the-leash. “All of the precincts compete against each other in things like the cat rescue and dog grooming… There’s even a filing competition.”

Honestly, if there is any show that can turn puppy-cuts and paperwork into comedy gold, it’s this menagerie.

Animal Control, Season 5 Premiere, Sunday, September 27, 8:30/7:30c, Fox