Originally aired on September 29, 2019 on Fox,[1] the episode was written by Erin Wagoner and directed by Pete Michels, who was a former supervising director for The Simpsons, Family Guy, and Rick and Morty.
Jonathan Wilson, writing for Ready, Set, Cut, gave the episode 3 out of 5 stars, stating, "'Hug N' Bugs' though tasked with a lot of setup, was likable and diverting enough to suggest good things for Fox's new animated sitcom.
"[5] Kathryn VanArendonk of Vulture stated that "The pilot episode is extraordinarily promising, but it's also suggestive of what the Animation Domination block has been, and what it could be in the future.
"[6] And as a prolific 'Saturday Night Live' veteran, Spivey's assembled an ace voice cast that can make the most of any joke, especially the ones that veer towards the surreal.
(One of the pilot's best and weirdest gags involves Jenny venting her frustrations to a hallucinated Jesus, voiced as a playful weirdo by Kumail Nanjiani.)
And frankly, even if the jokes were less sharp, there's rarely any going wrong with the pair of Wiig and Rudolph, who show exactly why they've become such ubiquitous comedy players.
In their hands, every joke gets told to its fullest potential, and their easy chemistry makes the relationship between their characters feels all the realer, even when they're at direct odds.
That's the best a family sitcom can hope for with its cast, so with a bit more time, 'Bless the Harts' could absolutely distinguish itself from its Fox animation peers.One of few negative reviews for the premiere episode came from Tim Goodman, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, who stated that the episode "just kind of sits there for 30 minutes, pleasant but not particularly funny as it sets up the Hart family," and recommended viewers to skip the series and watch King of the Hill.