Lisa Kudrow is set to star in a new Fox animated series titled Housebroken. Formerly known as Therapy Dog, Housebroken takes a look at the crazy suburban lives of humans through the lens of their neighborhood pets, written by executive producers and former Veep team members Clea Duvall, Jennifer Crittenden and Gabrielle Allan. Duvall and Kudrow will be voicing roles in Housebroken along with Sharon Horgan, Will Forte, Nat Faxon, Tony Hale, Jason Mantzoukas, Sam Richardson, Bresha Webb and Greta Lee.
Kudrow is no stranger to comedy. The 56-year-old actress is mostly recognized for playing the kooky, “Smelly Cat” singing Phoebe in Friends and Michele Weinberger in Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion. While she less known for her voiceover work, her resume is quite impressive. Most recently, she has lent her voice to Human Discoveries as Judy Elk, BoJack Horseman as Wanda Pierce and Boss Baby as Mom. She has even transformed into an animal before in 2018 playing a bird named Lucille Van Starr in the box office flop El Americano as well as in her previous role in BoJack Horseman. Her impressive 30-year acting career makes her a casting win for this new animated series.
According to Variety, Kudrow will be playing a lead role in Housebroken alongside Duvall and Horgan. While it isn’t clear what their roles will be, Variety reports Duvall told Deadline the show was inspired by her relationship with her own cat. She told Veep executive producers Crittenden and Allan she wondered if she and her cat would get along better if they could communicate with each other. It is likely Kudrow or maybe even Duvall herself will play a character inspired by her own cat. Fox loved the story behind Duvall, Crittenden and Allan’s pilot and has went ahead and ordered Housebroken as a half-hour comedy.
The animated comedy produced by Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment, Fox Entertainment and Bento Box Entertainment (Bob’s Burgers) will join Fox’s Animation Domination lineup including The Simpsons, Family Guy and Bob’s Burgers. Housebroken is one of four new animated series to hit Fox in the past two seasons. Bless the Harts with Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph premiered in fall 2019 and has already been renewed for a Season 2, and Fox has also ordered Duncanville from Amy Poehler along with The Great North, which are set to air in the coming year.
Animation appears to be making a comeback, at least in Fox’s eyes. There hasn’t been many great adult animated series created since the glory days of The Simpsons, Family Guy and South Park, all of which are still running today. A comeback is certainly overdue and appropriate during this golden age of television. The popularity of Bob’s Burgers, Big Mouth and BoJack Horseman, another animated comedy with animal leads, may have inspired Housebroken and Fox’s impulse to run with this animation push. The beauty of animation is that it allows writers to go way zanier with their storylines and characters than normal sitcoms would, and often can break the confines of the “real world” logic. If Housebroken is able to do that successfully, it may be around for as long as its Animation Domination companion shows.
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Sources: Variety/Deadline
