The Best Comedy Series About The Devil Is So Fun It’s A Sin, Stream Right Now Without Netflix
Reaper is an example of a fun comedy series with a great premise that was canceled far before its time. The well-received series never made it past two seasons, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth checking out (even if you may not get satisfying endings to all of the plot threads). If you want to check out the show for yourself, you can stream it on ABC’s website.
Never Make A Deal With The Devil
Reaper follows Sam Oliver (Bret Harrison), a slacker who lives at home with his parents in Seattle. Sam lives a pretty normal life working at the Work Bench, a home-repair superstore, until his 21st birthday when he learns his parents promised his soul to the Devil (Ray Wise). Once Sam learns of his predicament, the Devil informs him he must serve as his bounty hunter, or Reaper, to track down escaped souls from Hell and send them back.
Supernatural Comedy
Along with its great premise, Reaper also has some subtly good lore for a network supernatural comedy series. Once Sam becomes the Devil’s bounty hunter, he gains powers like telekinesis and the ability to use vessels, which are various objects that have been “hand-made in the bowels of perdition.” Sam uses these vessels to complete various jobs assigned to him as a Reaper.
Victim Of The 2007 Writer’s Strike
Reaper was met with near-universal acclaim when it was released, but the timing may have led to the show’s early demise. The series came out in 2007 with a full 18-episode order but had to stop airing episodes mid-way through due to the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike. It then finished its first season and got a second season renewal for 12 episodes, but would be officially canceled in 2009.
Ray Wise Is A Stand-Out
Along with Bret Harrison and Ray Wise, Reaper starred Tyler Labine, Missy Perrygrym, Rick Gonzalez, Jenny Wade, Valerie Rae Miller, Donavon Stinson, and Andrew Airlie. The whole cast is great, but Ray Wise’s performance as the Devil is particularly fun. Wise plays a smooth-talking version of the Devil who has a sort of father-son relationship with his new conscripted bounty hunter.
A (Sort Of) Reunion
While Reaper never did get a third season, plenty of fans wanted it to happen. The show’s creators, Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters, even detailed their plans for a third season. But the third season never came to be, so that’s all fans are really going to get.
There were apparently talks to syndicate the series or sell it to Sci-Fi Channel, but those fell through as well. But, if you’re a big fan of the series, you can see Bret Harrison and Tyler Labine reprise their Reaper roles in an episode of Kevin (Probably) Saves the World, which was also created by Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters. Hopefully, the show will come back in another form in the future, but that seems a little unlikely at this point.
But we at least have two seasons of Reaper to enjoy. Make sure to check it out if you haven’t already. You can stream it over on ABC.
