9.022 minSeason 4 • Episode 12
LatestThe team arrives at the Animal Control Officer of the Year (ACOOTY) awards and party ahead of the ceremony. It's Frank vs. Templeton for the big prize, and Shred and Emily's secret romance is finally exposed when they are caught kissing.
A group of local animal control workers' lives are complicated by the fact that animals are simple, but humans are not. Leading the crew is Frank, an opinionated, eccentric animal control officer who may not have gone to college but is still the most well-read person in the room. In his past life as a cop, Frank tried to expose corruption in his department, but his efforts got him fired, leaving him cynical and curmudgeonly. Despite his rough exterior, he is blessed with an almost superhuman ability to understand animals.
Acting
McHale's perfect curmudgeon-with-heart energy
Writing
Animals as mirrors for human dysfunction
Practical Effects
Chaotic animal wrangling, zero CGI
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
McHale based Frank's animal communication on watching his own dogs ignore him for 15 years. Method acting, apparently.
The show quietly critiques 'copaganda' by making Frank's police past a failure, not glory—rare for a network comedy in 2023.
US
