Little Demon premieres with two episodes Aug. 25 on FXX and will be available the next day on Hulu.
The success of Rick and Morty has given rise to plenty of imitators trying to strike gold with their own twists on the adult animated sitcom. Little Demon, which is produced by Rick and Morty co-creator Dan Harmon, comes closest by rooting itself in occult horror which seems to provide just as fertile ground for parody as science fiction has for Rick and Morty. Little Demon’s two-episode premiere also demonstrates that its writers have learned from how Rick and Morty developed over time by emphasizing the emotional growth of its characters, delivering bits of heartfelt drama with giant heapings of gore and absurdity.
Little Demon follows Chrissy Feinberg (Lucy DeVito), a 13-year-old frustrated that her mom’s job means they’ve had to move yet again. Getting her period for the first time on the first day at a new school would be awkward enough, but apparently for Chrissy becoming a woman also means unlocking her powers as the daughter of Satan (Lucy’s father, Danny DeVito) which she discovers by grotesquely killing a pair of bullies picking on her nerdy new friend Bennigan (Eugene Cordero).
The revelation sets off a hilariously chaotic coming-of-age story filled with surprises and recriminations. Chrissy’s mom, Laura (Aubrey Plaza), turns out to resemble Sarah Connor in Terminator 2: Judgment Day — she knew this day would come and has spent the past 13 years preparing by working out, studying witchcraft, and collecting all manner of occult artifacts to fight her ex. The showdown between the two combines aspects of a Marvel boss fight and a meeting of divorced parents that’s deeply awkward for Chrissy, who just wants to go to a party and try to improve her social standing at school.
Much of the humor in Little Demon comes from that intense tonal whiplash. Chrissy’s power unleashes a black hole above the suburb of Middletown and grotesque footage of it stripping a man’s flesh from his body is accompanied by the chipper delivery of local newscasters. Laura’s wine-swigging neighbor Darlene (Lennon Parham) seems so happy to have a new friend she doesn’t bat an eye at being asked to supervise Laura’s body while her soul goes off to confront Satan. Chrissy’s party gets crashed by an extremely overzealous demon hunter (Michael Shannon) but the only thing the other kids comment on is how lame it is that Chrissy’s mom showed up to take her home.
Yet the weirdness Chrissy brings about isn’t entirely without consequences. The second episode, “Possession Obsession,” focuses on her questionable attempts to use her devilish powers for good only to trigger a The Wicker Man-style witch hunt. In Little Demon’s first two episodes, the show’s creators and writers Darcy Fowler, Seth Kirschner, and Kieran Valla mostly seem to use the level of awareness other people have of the occult to suit the purposes of the plot du jour. They’re largely ignorant in “First Blood” because it’s funnier to have Chrissy worried about normal teenage things; they’re very aware in “Possession Obsession” because Chrissy has to confront the limits of her own power, a lesson that has a particularly tragic payoff in the episode’s final moments.
The concept also provides some great visual material. Satan’s demon minions are particularly grotesque, which makes her dad’s mundane visage and matter-of-fact demeanor a fun contrast. Due to cosmic laws, Satan and Chrissy don’t meet in hell but come together in the metaphysical realm, a fantastical world filled with bizarre creatures like enormous bugs and flying eyeballs.
The best episodes of Rick and Morty fuse gonzo premises and hilariously over-the-top action sequences with the characters grappling with their emotional growth or lack thereof. The first two episodes of Little Demon both have that balance. Satan is realizing he might actually want to be a father to Chrissy rather than just using her as a pawn in his schemes to gain cosmic power. His growing affection puts some of his other actions into fresh perspective, though he remains fundamentally an enormous jerk. Meanwhile Laura is struggling to figure out how to be a good mom beyond just physically protecting Chrissy and how to handle the jealousy she feels about the time Chrissy and her dad are spending together.
The whole voice cast is doing a great job alternating between sweet sincerity and rapid fire quips. They often transition between both seamlessly, like Laura yelling at Chrissy to stop possessing the mailman and get back into her vacant corpse to have dinner. That meal then turns into a serious chat about how Chrissy needs to handle both her father and the evil inside her.
The core conflict is a solid one, with Satan offering Chrissy everything she thinks she wants while her mom represents honest love that comes with all the restrictions teenagers bristle against. While Little Demon is not quite as sharply written as the best of Rick and Morty, a strong concept with rich characters gives it the potential to be a very worthy successor.
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