Check out the Neighbors from Hell clip at AWNtv!

Last night TBS debuted its first original animated series, Neighbors from Hell (Mondays, 10/9c) from 20th Century Fox TV and DreamWorks Animation, which some are calling a cross between South Park and Family Guy. It's about a family from hell sent to earth (the Hellmans, of course) to pose as normal suburbanites and complete their mission to prevent a giant drill from making its way to hell. The family is headed by Balthazor (Will Sasso), whose growing affection for humans and their odd but endearing qualities threatens their mission; his wife, Tina (Molly Shannon), who wishes she was anywhere but suburban America; their two children, Mandy (Tracey Fairaway) and Josh (David Soren), who quickly adapt to their new surroundings; their dog, Pazuzu (Patton Oswalt), the real brains of the family; and Uncle Vlartaark (South Park writer Kyle McCulloch) who has an appetite for felines. Pam Brady (South Park), exec producer, who wrote the pilot, tells us all about the new series.

Bill Desowitz: How did Neighbors from Hell happen?

Pam Brady: It was originally developed at DreamWorks Animation as a feature and they thought the concept would lend itself better to an ongoing series.

BD: When did you come on?

PB: I've been working on this for three years… The good news is that whenever you work on something, you always have another shot at it. And the bad news is that whenever you work on something, you always have another shot at it.

BD: It was always 2D?

PB: Yes, I just think that what's appealing for television right now and what seems to work is 2D. Even though South Park is technically 3D but flattened with expensive software to make it look like a kid did it. When it looks too real, I just think it can be off-putting. Keeping it in 2D was definitely a stylistic choice.

BD: Where is it animated?

PB: The majority of animation is done at Bardel up in Vancouver. However, we have a team of animators in Los Angeles [Bento Box] that does retakes and some animation as well. Both sites are under the artistic supervision of our Supervising Animator Sylvain DeBoissey. We do all the writing, storyboarding, characters and layout here with John Rice as supervising director.

BD: And what are the challenges you face with this show?

PB: Well, I think one of the biggest challenges is how you make a family of demons likable? How do you get on their side? It really was one of those things that we went round and round about. You don't want to remove that it's fun to watch demons because they like to see things blow up. In a way, it's like Bart Simpson: you like fun mischief but you don't like evil.