The NFL and FOX are bringing Denis Leary some pregame entertainment with “Dogs Playing Poker” animated shorts. Before the playoff action begins, fans can look forward to the cartoons based on Cassius Marcellus Coolidge’s iconic 1900 artworks. Leary will be voicing all of the dogs and the entire scene will be surreal for viewers. Bento Box Entertainment will be producing the shorts and The Daily Show’s Jim Margolis is aboard to co-write. So, you can see five dog friends Brownie, Ditka, Froyo, Stan, and Kelly discuss the upcoming action. So, set your alarms for 4 PM ET on Fox. Los Angeles Rams take on the Seattle Seahawks in the first action of the day. Check out what FOX Entertainment president Michael Thorn had to say about the shorts.
“If only FOX thought of spawning a new animated series from vignettes like this 30+ years ago…imagine the possibilities!,” Thorn joked. “By pairing DOGS PLAYING POKER and FOX NFL, we have a unique opportunity to incubate content from top-tier talent in Denis, Jim, Jack, Rob and Howard, and introduce new characters of what might become the next building block of our iconic animation brand in a smart and strategic way.”
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Leary chimed-in, “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.”
If you miss the initial shorts, you can check them out on FOX’s digital platforms and some social platforms. Chances are good that various platforms like Facebook and Twitter will be wondering what exactly is going on when these shorts go live.
Who do you think will win in this weekend’s games? Let us know down in the comments!
