Little Demon, the brand new animated series on Hulu, is the talk of cartoon lovers and congressmen alike. That’s because the show has everything for fans of adult animation. Rick and Morty’s Dan Harmon helped produce the series, and it features the voices of Aubrey Plaza from Parks and Rec, Phil LaMarr from Futurama, and Danny DeVito from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. And if that list of names isn’t enough to get you to watch Little Demon, check out the reviews on Facebook. An elected official called it “clearly evil,” so you know it must be good!
Little Demon follows the story of Chrissy, a teenage girl who is the spawn of Satan. But you're wrong if you think this is your average story about the Antichrist. Chrissy’s high school is filled with kids who hardly bat an eye toward exploding bullies or fire summoned from nowhere. Her mom is an ex-Wiccan turned demon-hunter who takes single parenting to a whole new level. Her relationship with Chrissy’s father, AKA Satan, is a dialogue that could be heard between any divorced parents with sacral powers. The pantheon who put this together must have performed some very serious rites to get a show this great.
Here’s what you should know about Little Demon.
Little Demon Is About Family
Danny DeVito and Dan Harmon didn’t create the series and had no real history of working together. But you can sense the flavor both of them brought to the show. Little Demon has Danny DeVito’s spark of unrelenting chaos, measured with Dan Harmon’s familiar story structure and character-driven plots. And the writers certainly knew their stuff. Created by Darcy Fowler (Deadbeat), Seth Kirschner (30 Rock), and Kieran Valla (Disturbia) – all of whom worked on a TV movie called Nightmare Time together – Little Demon references a wide range of religious apocrypha and witchcraft. It continually alludes to old books omitted from the Bible and far more ancient Abrahamic traditions. In the first episode, Laura uses oil blessed by a Kabbalistic priest to punch the devil in the face.
But Little Demon’s knowledge of old religions isn’t the only thing that makes the show great. It takes its demonic aesthetic and tells the story of a family that truly cares about each other. The best thing about the show is that Danny DeVito, who voices Satan, is playing the father of his real daughter, Lucy DeVito, who voices Chrissy. When Satan, the long-absent father, meets his daughter for the first time, he plans to use her to take over the world, but his demonic ambitions slowly falter as he realizes he cares about the girl. So, if you hear a moment of genuine connection between the characters, it’s probably happening because it’s real.
Disney Is Catching Hell
Little Demon has come under attack from some religious groups for obvious reasons. It’s not uncommon to see a popular TV series with vague religious motifs be skewered by this demographic. It happened with Supernatural on numerous occasions. And it still happens to just about anything Neil Gaiman touches. But the conversation surrounding Little Demon is a bit louder than usual.
News surrounding the show exploded when Louisiana Congressman Mike Johnson was disturbed to find a commercial for the show playing during his LSU football game. After he rushed to shield his children’s eyes from the debauchery, he went to his state's official Facebook page the following day to write a 400-word essay on the 90-second advertisement he had seen. He repeatedly mentioned Disney in the post, blaming them for making the show that offended him.
The congressman’s complaints included the show’s satanic imagery, description of the main character as the antichrist, the cartoon’s graphic violence, and profanity. Despite the show being rated for adult audiences, Johnson said, “the producers surely know that making the main character (the Antichrist!) a 13-year-old girl is going to intrigue and attract teens, and likely younger children." And wondered, "how many millions more will tune in to the new series, owned and marketed by DISNEY," who was the main target of his rant.
Even though Disney wasn’t directly involved in Little Demon’s production, they do own the company (Fox) that owns the company (FX) that produced it, as well as the company (Hulu) that distributed the show on their website. Still, Johnson stated:
“Disney and FX have made a decision to embrace and market what is plainly and obviously evil.”
And though he said he was not calling for a boycott of Disney, he said he felt “encouraged that many millions of families are taking a stand over this, that countless many have committed to part ways with the companies responsible for the new series,” adding encouraging statements to the groups who had even begun petitions to stop the cartoon.