Animal Control Moves to Sundays for a Bigger Season 5

Animal Control is returning with a new night, a workplace dispute and a very Seattle-specific emergency. Season 5 premieres Sunday, September 27, at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT on Fox, placing the Joel McHale comedy directly after the Season 38 premiere of The Simpsons.

A new night and a missing mascot

The move from Thursdays to Sundays gives the series a different position in Fox’s comedy schedule. The premiere, titled “Seahawks & Piglets,” starts with Frank Shaw leading the precinct team in a work stoppage. His commitment to the cause is quickly tested by a major call involving the recovery of the Seattle Seahawks’ missing mascot.

That setup keeps the show’s familiar formula intact: a recognizable civic problem becomes stranger once animals, office politics and Frank’s impatience collide. Early review access covered the season’s first two episodes, which continue the single-camera comedy’s mix of field calls and ensemble conflict rather than reshaping it into a different kind of series.

The precinct gets more crowded

McHale returns as Frank alongside Michael Rowland as Fred “Shred” Taylor, Vella Lovell as Emily Price, Ravi Patel as Amit Patel and Grace Palmer as Victoria Sands. Gerry Dee and Kyla Pratt are also back as Templeton Dudge and Daisy. Their characters are expected to become more directly involved in Frank’s workplace this season, creating new friction inside the precinct instead of leaving their stories on the edges.

The fifth-season milestone is notable for a network comedy that has built its following through cast chemistry rather than constant reinvention. Its animal rescues still provide the immediate comic hook, but the durable engine is the team’s response to Frank: coworkers regularly have to decide whether to challenge his cynicism, join his latest scheme or clean up the consequences.

Viewers can watch the premiere on Fox, while streaming availability includes Hulu and Disney+ through the network’s distribution arrangements. Local Fox access and live-TV packages vary by market. With a Sunday slot and a premiere built around both labor tension and a runaway sports mascot, the show is entering Season 5 by leaning into the oddball workplace identity that carried it this far.