By Stacey Harrison
The Hellmans might be demons, but the real villains are you and I.
That’s the joke behind Neighbors From Hell, which adds twisted, satiric animation to TBS‘s “Very Funny” lineup starting tonight. Writer/executive producer Pam Brady brings the biting humor she honed during her years on South Park to the adventures of a family of demons sent by the devil to pose as typical suburbanites (no mean feat, given their green skin, red eyes and pointy ears) in order to prevent a giant energy company from using a high-powered drill to reach the Earth’s core, thereby exposing Hell.
Humble torturer of souls Balthazor (MADtv‘s Will Sasso) uses the vast knowledge of humanity he’s gained from watching tons of sitcoms — which are used quite frequently in his line of work (think Two and a Half Men) — to blend in with his neighbors. Only the flesh-and-blood humans don’t quite mesh with the wacky, agreeably saccharine characters he’s grown to love. They lie, cheat and steal with seemingly no regard for their fellow man.
This is a far cry from Balthazor’s family, which also includes his wife Tina (Molly Shannon), children Mandy and Josh, and a goblin that everyone assumes is a dog, Pazuzu (Patton Oswalt). Bonus points to those who pick up the Exorcist reference in Oswalt’s character’s name.
“The demon family loves each other, they end every episode saying ‘I love you,’ and they hug,” Brady says. “Of course, they love high jinks, they love things blowing up, but they’re not evil in the way humans are evil. Only humans would start wars or just do really sadistic things just because of this human frailty. We’re saying demons have a code.”
Much of the evil is perpetrated by the energy company’s “Dick Cheney-like” CEO, Don Kilbride (Kurtwood Smith). Even the devil (Steve Coogan) has to shake his head in awe at the fat cat’s malevolence.
With its outrageous approach to touchy subjects like big business, bestiality and New Age parenting, Neighbors From Hell isn’t worried about appealing to everyone. But Brady says those easily offended should keep in mind the show’s real target.
“The judgment we take is on bad behavior,” Brady says. “We’re not really saying that demons are better than humans; we’re just saying that when you have a code and you stick to a code, maybe that is a better thing. It’s a fun way to show the terrible things we’re doing to each other, especially in the suburbs, that we just sort of take for granted.”