Review: “Lucifer” is Smart, Sexy and Full of Sass

Apparently, it’s not better to reign in Hell than to serve in Heaven–at least, that’s the lesson that we learn over the course of Fox’s pilot episode of Lucifer, which features the notorious Prince of Darkness abandoning Hell for a vacation on Earth because he’s tired of playing a part in God’s play. Naturally, he ends up in Los Angeles, the City of Angels, as the owner of an upscale nightclub. However, it’s not long before other angels, such as Amenadiel, played by Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum D.B. Woodside, begin sniffing around Lucifer’s stomping grounds, demanding that Lucifer return to his life of delivering torment and pain in Hell. Of course, Lucifer refuses–because what else did anyone expect Lucifer to do?

In all honesty, this show should have been a hard sell for viewers, but somehow, the writers and cast manage to pull it off perfectly. Lucifer, played by the handsome Tom Ellis, is captivatingly impish while still possessing an intriguing air of vulnerability. Despite his infamous reputation, Lucifer does have a certain amount of sympathy for other human beings, which we first see materialize after the murder of pop superstar Delilah (AnnaLynn McCord), who was sort of a protégée of Lucifer’s. In the course of investigating her murder, he runs into Detective Chloe Decker (Lauren German), who, to Lucifer’s surprise, turns out to be immune to his charms and powers.

This is where the episode really starts to soar. The chemistry between the two leads, Tom Ellis and Lauren German, is easy and palpable, made that much more memorable by the witty banter and mutual fascination. I’m excited to see how their relationship evolves over the course of this season and hopefully over the course of all the subsequent seasons. I’m also intrigued to see more interaction between Lucifer and Trixie (Scarlett Estevez), Chloe’s daughter, who made Lucifer squirm so delightfully in the show pilot. Why exactly does Lucifer hate children? This is another mystery that I hope gets solved!

However, I do have one worry in regard to the series: that it could, if the writers aren’t careful, fall into a formulaic rut. I can already see that the show is going to follow a basic rhythm: Detective Decker investigates a crime that inevitably is connected to Lucifer, and the two of them team up to solve it. With any luck, the writers will add enough twists and turns to avoid this potential creative pitfall. In the meantime, I’m going to continue watching because Lucifer‘s charms are just too tempting to resist.

The next episode of Lucifer, titled “Lucifer, Stay. Good Devil,” airs on February 1 at 9:00 pm on Fox.