Little Demon

Little Demon makes sure to root most of its humor in character and situation instead of gags. Sure, there are plenty of gags, but we just love the idea of a seemingly relatable story being layered over by ridiculous circumstances.

By the end of the episode, Little Demon has earned the half-sincere, half-ironic ’80s synth-pop needle drop that closes out their adventure. Little Demon has everything it needs to be a winner. It just has to find its own path to joining them all together.

“Little Demon’s” best moments — the ones that make it stand out in a sea of too much television — are the bits of funny dialogue that would typically be considered throwaway. ... Perhaps the biggest selling point of the series altogether: its potential.

With a premise that necessarily involves crazy demonic threats and a body count to match to metaphorize co-parenting a teenage daughter, Little Demon at times struggles to blend its tenor with its comedic ambitions.

From its first bloody explosion, Little Demon has such a gleeful disregard for the bodies being flung around and torn asunder that the moments of occasional earnestness don’t really cohere with the rest of the series. Little Demon is a more effectively provocative show when it’s being truly demonic. ... Still, the hit rate of Little Demon’s jokes is high enough to make each individual episode enjoyable whether they add up to anything greater or not.

At least in the early going, this raucous and raunchy affair exhibits a flair for the absurd and profane, even if its boundary-pushing elements get in the way of casting its characters as three-dimensional figures worth rooting for—or caring about—in a serious manner.

With a strong cast behind it and plenty of time ahead, “Little Demon” could forge an imaginative reputation through the fires of trial and error. But in order to stand out, it needs to get off the highway and carve its own path to hell — leaving good intentions, and conventions, in the dust.