Summary

Animal Control stars Joel McHale, Vella Lovell, and Grace Palmer engage in a fierce Heads Up game, exclusively with Collider.

Season 3 premieres with chaotic animal escapades and high stakes, including a viral gorilla rescue.

The team grapples with wrangling NFL mascots and an elusive penguin named Oreo this season while balancing work with their personal lives.

After much anticipation, the 2025 TV season is in full swing, and Animal Control is back for its third season this week. In celebration of the wildly hilarious sitcom’s return and a whole new roster of shenanigans, we played an epic game of Heads Up with three of the show’s stars, Joel McHale, Vella Lovell, and Grace Palmer. While the results — in the wise words of Beyoncé — are “APES—” crazy, it was time to test the team running the Northwest Seattle Division’s A.C. precinct. After all, this is a squad that’s no stranger to “bear-ly” keeping it together when in the same room, so how did they fare in a game of Heads Up?
This past December at the Fox Studio Lot in L.A., McHale, Lovell, and Palmer went head-to-head in a fun and fierce game, with only one emerging as the ultimate winner. Armed with cards full of clues about Animal Control characters, keywords, and moments from all three seasons, each played for themselves with only one coming out as a clear winner. While all was in good fun, nothing was off-limits, from animals to a character’s — ahem — safe word! Spoiler alert: Things got “otter-ly” out of hand!
‘Animal Control’ Season 3 Is Brimming With Shenanigans and Guest Stars

Animal Control Season 3 picks up with its signature blend of quirky humor and chaotic animal-related escapades when it premieres this Thursday on Fox, but the stakes for the A.C. team are higher than ever. This season, things get a lot more wild as the crew deals with a spectacular zoo break that sees giraffes, gorillas, and penguins on the loose, setting the stage for more wild and absurd situations. Amid the chaos, Frank (McHale) is forced to confront his personal life, particularly his complex breakup with Yazmin (Sarah Chalke) — yes, she’s back and things are not what they seem, at least to the complex former cop.
Meanwhile, Amit’s (Ravi Patel) gorilla rescue goes viral, which adds a surprising layer of public attention to the hapless officer. As Animal Control continues to explore the tension between the straightforwardness of animals and the messiness of human relationships, Emily (Lovell), always the driven member of the team, finds herself navigating the pressures of her career and personal life, especially after Shred’s new girlfriend Isabelle (Chelsea Frei) is everywhere.

Related

‘Animal Control’s Joel McHale & Ravi Patel Talk Ken Jeong’s Appearance and Tease What’s Ahead in Season 2

Season 2 of ‘Animal Control’ continues to bring some very special guests on the workplace sitcom.

As the team must grapple with the increasing difficulty of balancing their wild work with their equally unpredictable personal lives, Frank, Shred (Michael Rowland), and the rest of the team confront absurd scenarios, such as wrangling NFL mascots alongside Rob Gronkowski this season and dealing with an elusive penguin named Oreo that they must capture. Victoria (Palmer) gets in the middle of some serious relationship stuff while confronting her feelings for Frank and her past in the shape of her sister arriving from New Zealand (played by her real-life sibling, Eve Palmer).
This year promises a large roster of recurring guest stars, including Krystal Smith and Thomas Lennon, who bring fresh dynamics to the show. But the return of Ken Jeong as the unhinged dog trainer Roman Park promises to stir up the most chaos. As the series pushes its absurdity even further, Animal Control is gearing up for a wildly fun and exciting new season.
For more with the cast, stay tuned to Collider for our full interview on what’s coming up for Season 3 and more. Animal Control Season 3 premieres January 2 on Fox and streams the next day on Hulu.

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A group of animal control workers begin to see their lives complicated by humans and not so much by animals.

Release Date

February 16, 2023

Creator

Bob Fisher, Rob Greenberg, Dan Sterling

Cast

Joel McHale
, Vella Lovell
, Michael Rowland
, Ravi Patel
, Grace Palmer
, Gerry Dee
, Amy Goodmurphy
, Kelli Ogmundson

Main Genre

Comedy

Seasons

3

Studio

Roughhouse Productions, Middletown News, Wow a Fox, Fox Entertainment Studios

Distributor

FOX

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Watch on Hulu