Demons usually mean bad news, for obvious reasons: their mere presence tends to bring death and chaos, damnation sounds awfully boring, and being possessed is just messy. However, not every demon is a total villain. In fact, there are a few we wouldn’t mind hanging out with, despite the consequences.
Michael, The Good Place
At the end of The Good Place’s first season, we learned that that Michael (Ted Danson) was secretly torturing the sitcom’s other characters by manipulating their afterlives in a subversive version of the Bad Place he personally designed. But as the show progressed, Michael evolved into one of the good guys, revealing layers of vulnerability, hilarity, and probably more poignant curiosity about humanity than any ostensibly evil creature ever has before.
Mazikeen, Lucifer
Lucifer’s loyal enforcer “Maze” (Lesley-Ann Brandt) accompanied him from the underworld to Los Angeles, but soon grew tired of being a bartender at his club and put her badass skills to better use as a bounty hunter. In spite of herself, she also got in touch with her softer side — falling in love with Eve (yes, that Eve) as she forged her own identity apart from being the knife-wielding sidekick of hell’s wayward prince. She also had, hands-down, Lucifer’s most wickedly stylish wardrobe.
Gaap, Black Mirror
After he’s accidentally summoned by Nida (Anjana Vasan) in Black Mirror episode “Demon 79,” Gaap (Paapa Essiedu) gets right down to business, informing the shocked sales clerk that if she doesn’t commit three murders in three days, the world will end. Gaap’s chosen form as a member of disco-funk group Boney M. doesn’t make this task go down any easier — nor does his revelation that he’s actually more of a demon-in-training whose future career hinges on Nida’s success. Despite the many obstacles between them, the unlikely duo manage to come to a place of mutual respect. Hey, it’s not every day that you meet someone you’d be OK spending post-apocalyptic eternal banishment with.
Crowley, Good Omens
Apologies to Supernatural fans, who also have a cool Crowley, but Good Omens’ Crowley (David Tennant) absolutely comes out on top as the earthbound representative of hell we’d most want to invite into our lives. He oozes style, he drives the raddest car, and his partner is an angel — with whom he helps prevent the apocalypse. What comes next for this dapper demon? We’ll find out on July 28, when season two of Good Omens arrives.
Anya, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
After popping up in seasons three and four of Buffy, the rabbit-fearing Anya (Emma Caulfield) became a series regular in season five; her character shifted from demon to human to demon to human again, giving her lots of opportunities for fish-out-of-water humour — though she also fell in love, did plenty of self-exploration, and learned what it meant to be a true Scooby Gang member.
Pazuzu, Futurama
Pazuzu achieved great notoriety in The Exorcist as an unpleasant sort we’d rather avoid at all costs. On the other hand, Futurama’s Pazuzu — Professor Farnsworth’s wayward pet gargoyle, his “faithful fiend” who he put through college, and who speaks with a French accent — saves the day on multiple occasions, springing the ancient scientist from prison and swooping in to save him from drowning in the surprisingly perilous Fountain of Again. (Can a demon, or technically a demon-like creature, be a deux ex machina?)
Chrissy, Little Demon
Junior high can be hell… even for the Antichrist, who’s a sweetly nerdy 13-year-old girl in this adult animated series. Lucy DeVito voices Chrissy; her dad, Danny DeVito, voices Chrissy’s dad, Satan; and Aubrey Plaza plays Chrissy’s harried single mum, who’s really just trying to keep her daughter safe from all the ne’er-do-wells and soul-stealers lurking around. Teenagers are tough, but Chrissy manages to handle her unusual coming-of-age journey admirably, even when she loses control and starts ripping off heads.
Claude, Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell
Adult Swim’s comedy, which appeared in both live-action and (briefly) animated form, styles hell as Office Space in flames, with demons toiling in corporate drudgery while trying to please the boss, aka the literal devil. While the show’s main character is Gary (Henry Zebrowski), the more quality companion is probably Claude (Craig Rowin), Gary’s affable and far more capable intern. If you had to hang with one or the other, that is.
Cole Turner, Charmed
A conflicted half-demon, Cole (Julian McMahon) didn’t always have his soul in the right place, but he had enough sweet moments that he ended up marrying Phoebe (Alyssa Milano). Unfortunately she and her sisters had to kill him when he turned back to evil — just one of the perils of supernatural romance.
The Nightbreed, Nightbreed
Leave it to Clive Barker, whose Pinhead — terrifying, yes, but so wry and witty — almost made this list, to dream up grotesque demons who lurk beneath a graveyard but also happen to be folks you’d want to party with, or at the very least help them protect their particular way of life from the encroaching stain of humanity.