I sat down to chat with the creators of “Housebroken” Gabrielle Allan, Jennifer Crittenden, and Clea DuVall to discuss their work on the first season. From how the series came to be, to the casting and how to make a series that is both funny and relatable.
Housebroken is part of Fox’s Animation Domination.
Housebroken is an adult animated series that follows a group of house pets and stray animals as they work through their issues inside and outside their therapy group. While the humans are away, Honey (Voiced by Lisa Kudrow) a standard poodle opens her living room up for the group to come and support each other through the challenges of being a pet. The cast includes comedy legends like Lisa Kudrow, Will Forte, Clea DuVall, Nat Faxon, Sharon Horgan, Tony Hale, Sam Richardson, and Jason Mantzoukas.
The first season of HouseBroken premiered on Fox’s Monday night slot on May 31, 2021, and ended on August 30, 2021. The show joins the likes of American Dad, The Simpsons, Family Guy, and King of the Hill as part of Fox’s Animation Domination.
Interview with Gabrielle Allan, Jennifer Crittenden, and Clea DuVall
From the moment I began chatting with Gabrielle Allan, Jennifer Crittenden, and Clea DuVall I could see how funny they all are. And you can see that translated into the series itself. The show is a witty and lighthearted look at the neurosis of our own lives through the eyes of animals. It is smart and charming and filled with silly laugh-out-loud moments. And it’s clear that a lot of that charm comes from its team of creators.
The three creators were fresh off the award-winning show Veep when they started to come up with the ideas for this show. Clea DuVall had approached Crittenden and Allan about collaborating on her new idea based on her relationship with her chat. And how she wished she could find a way to better understand her cat and how to please her cat. This collaboration with Crittenden and Allan ultimately led them to the idea of a show where you have animals in group therapy who have an amazing range of personalities, neurosis, and complex stories.
The series does a great job of talking about struggles that we all face in our regular lives, but it’s hilarious when you see those situations played out through animated house pets. The creators teased that they have begun work on the second season and there was a slight mention of a potential third season. There are also two holiday episodes coming in November and the second season is slated for the summer of 2023.
