Funny as “Hell”: TBS introduces us to the demons next door

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. [Read more →]


ill feature an impressive cast of celebrity guest voices, including Mel Brooks, Fergie, Kristen Bell, Sean Hayes, the ubiquitous Betty White, Jimmy Kimmel, John Corbett, Fran Drescher, Bradley Whitford, Cheri Oteri, MC Hammer, Jason Alexander, George Takei, Howie Mandel, Don Johnson, Ty Burrell, Ashley Tisdale, Jim Parsons, Bryan Cranston, Gabourey Sibide and Ellen Page, among others.


ristmas.” The song, as well as a companion music video that features animated versions of the band’s members, is currently available for purchase on iTunes and will be available as a free download exclusively on iTunes for one week beginning December 8. 
horts in a two-hour programming special on Dec. 2 at 7pm ET, with replays Dec. 18 at 10pm ET and Dec. 19 at 6pm ET. This is the first time that the legendary animation company’s short films have been shown on television all at once. It’s wonderful to look back at how brilliantly even the older films create such vivid and expressive characters — even out of normally inanimate objects — that we quickly relate to.
