Review: “Little Demon”

  For a show starring the Antichrist, I was expecting FX’s adult animated sitcom, “Little Demon,” to pack more of a punch, but the results of its wacky premise leave much to be desired. 

  Directed by Jeanette Moreno King, “Little Demon” follows the life of Laura (Aubrey Plaza) and her daughter, Chrissy (Lucy DeVito) trying to live a normal life in Delaware—except Chrissy is literal hellspawn, and Satan (Danny DeVito) now wants custody over her immortal soul.

  To give the show credit where it’s due, it has a lot going for it. The voice talent is by far the best part. Danny DeVito is a natural fit for the role of deadbeat dad Satan, and Aubrey Plaza shows she can do more than her signature deadpan jokes in the role of tough-as-nails Laura. Additionally, Lucy DeVito pulls off the voice and demeanor of the teenaged main character surprisingly well for a woman in her late 30s. 

  With such a talented cast, it’s unfortunate that the characters are so hollow. There is some effort in rounding out the characters to make them three-dimensional, but it’s not nearly enough to make the viewer care about them. 

  Chrissy’s love interest is such a vacant black hole of a character that I’m not even going to bother figuring out what his name is. The other secondary characters are okay, but not especially memorable. 

  It’s a relief that the main character is salvageable. Chrissy acts and feels like a real 13 year old, and the antics she causes as a result of her satanic powers are exactly what one would expect from a teenager. 

  For example, the episode “Possession Obsession” had Chrissy demonically possess other people in an attempt to make people act nicer to each other. That was the only time I laughed while watching—the idea is just so absurd and silly, but it works because it’s the kind of dumb thing only a kid would do. 

  Unfortunately, I cannot give the same praise to Satan. Never has a rendition of the Devil been so underwhelming. Instead of coming across as the cunning, charismatic and cruel lord of evil, Satan in “Little Demon” reminds me more of a sleazy but harmless step-dad. I don’t care if that was the point. It just doesn’t make for good TV. 

  This leads to another one of the show’s flaws—it’s not pretty to look at. For some reason, adult animated shows often think they can get away with middle-school-tier art. “Little Demon” isn’t nearly as hideous as other adult animated shows such as “Big Mouth”, but its art style is so uninspired and cookie-cutter, it’s almost worse. 

  What’s by far the show’s worst sin is its complete inability to make me laugh. Instead, the jokes mostly irritate me. It has a huge problem with its overuse of shock humor. I can appreciate a crude joke or gory comedy, but when it’s constantly being thrown in my face it gets old fast. 

  For all of its glaring flaws, the show still has promise. Right now the show’s writing and characters are shaky, but this is only the first season. 

  Only time will tell if  “Little Demon” ends up as audiences’ new binge-worthy favorite or the show at the bottom of their watch list. 
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