Recommended: Little Demon on FXX
What's Little Demon About?
After killing some bullies with hellacious powers she didn't know she had, 13 year-old Chrissy Feinberg is shocked to learn she's Satan's daughter. That sets off her mom, who's been training as a demon hunter for just this moment, and it brings her dad into her life for the first time. But as much as she wants to bond with the old man, she's not sure she agrees that they should destroy the universe together.
Who's involved?
Why (and to whom) do we recommend it?
Consider this: In the third episode of Little Demon, The Unshaven Man is at a coffee shop with a good buddy, explaining how his quest to kill the spawn of Satan has gotten intensely personal. Between bites of croissant, he declares that from now on, he's gonna hunt this half-human teenage girl to satisfy his own need for vengeance, and not just to please the global cabal that gives him orders. With a supportive raise of his coffee mug, his friend says, "I like this for you. It's refreshingly simple."
That casual use of empathetic lingo — "I like this for you" — encaspulates Little Demon's excellence. Because really, this isn't just an animated, adults-only comedy about the devil, his daughter, and her mother. It's also an animated, adults-only comedy about the lunacy of being middle class in America.
Underneath its supernatural trappings and a barrage of violent jokes, the show relentlessly yet lovingly skewers our bourgeois rituals of self empowerment, our earnest attempts to use "feeling language," and our sentimental attachment to stories about parents and their kids. For instance, after Chrissy steps through a portal to visit her dad in hell without her mother's permission, Laura destroys the bathroom with all the fury of the trained mercenary she's become. She also talks to herself in the mirror about owning her anger and acknowledging her accountability. Later, while Laura and Darlene are running from a monster, they invoke Brene Brown, the current patron saint of self help. Even Satan himself tells one of his demon underlings that he's learned to appreciate the value of family, and he's sorry he destroyed the guy's wife and kid for sport.
This is all so shrewd and so cleverly worded — not to mention beautifully perfomed by a voice cast that plays everything straight — that comedy fans should feel blessed. This is precisely what makes satire work: The ability to clearly see our current moment and send it back to us in such a disarming package that we can't help but laugh with recognition and relief. Maybe somewhere in the back of our minds, we know things have gotten out of control in our various ideological bubbles, and we can be grateful when a show this funny confirms it.
Plus, since most of the characters are fundamentally good, and since most of them (even Satan sometimes) are trying to do right by each other, the gags land like gentle rebukes, not disdainful scorn. Those of us on the left-leaning side of the spectrum can laugh at ourselves because we know we're being teased by friends. (Case in point: Brene Brown's books have made this writer cry more than once, which is why that joke was especially hilarious.)
Throw in the spectacular animation style that brings Satan's ghouls to life with dazzling detail, and you've got a hell of a good show.
Pairs well with
TOPICS: Little Demon, FXX, Aubrey Plaza, Danny DeVito, Darcy Fowler, Eugene Cordero, Kieran Valla, Lucy DeVito, Michael Shannon, Seth Kirschner