Denis Leary has brought the “Dogs Playing Poker” paintings to life, sort of, through a new series of animated shorts that began running this month as part of FOX’s NFL playoff pregame coverage.
Co-written by Denis Leary and Jim Margolis, the shorts feature the voices of Leary (Brownie), Elaine Hendrix (Daphne), Roy Wood, Jr. (Ditka), Bobby Kelly (Froyo) and Adam Ferrara (Stan). Leary: “At long last FOX lets America find out what we dogs think about football. Spoiler alert: we’re very upset there isn’t a single NFL team named after a canine. Cats, horses, birds – even dolphins – all have their own teams. Not one dog! Throw us a bone, guys. Literally and figuratively.”
The first short debuted Saturday. The second will debut on Sunday, Jan. 17, when FOX NFL playoff coverage continues.
DOGS PLAYING POKER is part of Leary’s recent broadcast-direct deal with FOX to create, develop and produce comedy, drama and animated content for the network. It’s produced by FOX Entertainment and Bento Box Entertainment. Denis Leary and Jack Leary, via their production company, Amoeba, executive-produce, along with Jim Margolis, Rob Greenberg and Howard Gordon.