Pilot (Helluva Boss)

Mercedes Milligan of Animation Magazine lauded the episode's "devilishly twisted comic tone," calling it "wildly popular" and "an overnight sensation."[9] Reuben Baron of Comic Book Resources noted the episode's "warranted criticism" from its "edgy" humor, while also praising it as a "clear labor of love from an animation standpoint."[13] Hope Mullinax of The Geeky Waffle similarly complimented the episode's "rewatchable" nature as "a solid introduction" to its characters, concluding by describing it as "a great time and a fantastic start to this well-built world" and "an excellent introduction to how each [character] functions within the narrative."[14] Mark Radulich of W2Mnet and Katya Stec of All Ages of Geek independently praised the pilot as "worth watching."[15][16]

Fiction Talk described the pilot of Helluva Boss as having created the expectation of "a Phineas and Ferb-esque show [with] a very mild plot [and] held together by good comedy, and amusing characters [who] didn’t need motivation that could be taken seriously because no one else seemed to do that."[17] Similarly, Ephrom Josine of Medium criticized the pilot for not "do[ing] a very good job [with its] characters, describing them as feeling "like one person chopped up a bunch of times in order to make it so the show isn't just some guy talking to himself. Any real differences between each demon is shown way too fast for my brain to have time to get anything out of it," before positively concluding that "if you like slice-of-life style comedies I would recommend giving Helluva Boss a shot."[18] Joker on the Sofa also praised how "[a] lot of the humor [comes] from the fact that [the main characters] are basically a massively dysfunctional family," similarly praising the "likewise over-the-top [and] exaggerated qualities" of the pilot's supporting characters, and both the "ridiculous ultraviolence that regularly ensues and the dark jokes that come from it," concluding by calling it "consistently hilarious."[19]

Following the pilot's positive critical reception, Medrano wrote eight episodes for a first season with Brandon Rogers.[9] The series was released to YouTube as a web series with Erica Lindbeck and Brock Baker replaced in their respective roles as Millie and Stolas by Vivian Nixon and Bryce Pinkham respectively, although Lindbeck would continue to voice Loona.[14] The series was critically acclaimed, and after completing its first season, was renewed for a second and third season.