Hazbin Hotel

Hazbin Hotel is an American adult animated musical television series created by Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano.[1][3] The series revolves around Charlie Morningstar, princess of Hell, on her quest to find a way for demons to be "rehabilitated" and allowed into Heaven. She opens a rehabilitation hotel that offers demons a chance at redemption and to be better people. The pilot episode, which was released on YouTube on October 28, 2019, was made entirely by freelance animators and was largely financed by Medrano's Patreon followers.[4][5][6] The series' first season was produced by independent entertainment company A24, in collaboration with Amazon MGM Studios.[7]

Hazbin Hotel
Genre
Created byVivienne Medrano
Creative directorVivienne Medrano
Voices of
Composers
  • Evan Alderete (pilot)
  • Gooseworx (pilot)
  • Thomas Ryan (pilot)
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes1
Production
Executive producerVivienne Medrano
EditorVivienne Medrano
Running time31 minutes (pilot)
Production companiesSpindleHorse Toons
A24 (series)
Bento Box Entertainment (series)
Amazon MGM Studios (series)
Release
Original networkYouTube (pilot)
Amazon Prime Video (series)
Original releaseOctober 28, 2019 (2019-10-28) (pilot)
January 2024 (2024-01) (series)
Related

The popularity and success of the pilot allowed Medrano to create a spin-off series called Helluva Boss, which premiered on October 31, 2020. The series features a different cast of characters within the same in-universe setting.

The first season will premiere on Amazon Prime Video in January 2024, with a second season confirmed to be in production.

Premise

The series follows Charlie Morningstar (Erika Henningsen), the princess of Hell, as she sets about fulfilling her seemingly impossible dream of opening a hotel called the "Happy Hotel," which aims to rehabilitate sinners. Due to overpopulation, Hell goes through an annual purge once a year, where angels descend from Heaven and kill demons. Charlie finds this upsetting, and wants to find a more peaceful solution to the overpopulation problem. Her goal is to have her clients "check out" from Hell as redeemed souls and be accepted into Heaven.[8]

With the help of her devoted manager and girlfriend, Vaggie (Stephanie Beatriz), and their reluctant first patron, pornographic film actor Angel Dust (Blake Roman), she's determined to make her dream become a reality. But when her proposal on live television goes awry, her plan attracts the attention of the powerful "Radio Demon" Alastor (Amir Talai) who, despite finding her belief in redemption laughable, wants to help Charlie run the hotel for his own amusement.

Characters
Main article: List of Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss characters

Episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally airedCumulative views (millions)
First airedLast aired
Pilot1 (+2 dubs)October 28, 2019 (2019-10-28)96

Pilot (2019)
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
"That's Entertainment"Vivienne MedranoDave Capdevielle, Raymond Hernandez & Vivienne MedranoOctober 28, 2019 (2019-10-28)

Charlie Magne, the princess of Hell, pursues her seemingly impossible goal of rehabilitating demons to peacefully reduce overpopulation in Hell. She opens a hotel in hopes that patients will be "checking out" into Heaven. While most of Hell mocks her goal, her devoted girlfriend, Vaggie, and their first test subject, adult film star Angel Dust, stick by her side. When Alastor, a powerful entity known as "The Radio Demon" reaches out to Charlie to assist in her endeavors, her crazy dream is given a chance to become a reality.

Musical numbers: "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows", "Inside of Every Demon is a Rainbow", and "Alastor's Reprise"

Other media

Webcomics

In July 2020, a webcomic titled "Dirty Healings" which showed how Angel Dust learned of the hotel, was completed, containing twenty-two pages and hosted on the official website.[9][10] Another comic titled "A Day in the Afterlife", which focused on Alastor's daily life in Hell, was posted to the website on October 19, 2020, containing sixteen pages.[11]

"Addict" song and music video

"Addict" is an animated music video released on July 17, 2020, on Medrano's YouTube channel,[12][13][14] based on and featuring the Silva Hound song of the same name.[15] It centers around Angel Dust's relations with his best friend, Cherri Bomb, his abusive boss, Valentino, and their experiences with addiction.[11] The song was performed by Michael Kovach and Kelly "Chi-Chi" Boyer. Tito W. James of Comicon.com described the video as giving viewers a "deeper look" at the lives of Cherri Bomb and Angel Dust, and praised the "world of Hazbin", as he called it, for being "paradoxically provocative and empathetic".[16] The song ranked as the #3 dance song on iTunes on July 21, 2020.[17] Additionally, the song reached number 14 on the US Dance/Electronic Songs chart, number four on the Dance/Electronic Digital Songs chart, and number 77 on the Dance/Electronic Songs Year-End.[18][19][20]

Helluva Boss

A spin-off series, Helluva Boss, unveiled its first season on October 31, 2020, almost one year after the release of its own pilot.[21][22] Helluva Boss takes place in the same universe as Hazbin Hotel, but it has a different cast of characters and story. As Medrano described it, while both shows share the same setting, Hazbin Hotel is about redemption and consequences of past actions, while Helluva Boss follows "characters and societies that already exist in Hell", focusing on relationships between characters.[23]

Production and release
See also: Independent animation § Representations

Some characters of the pilot had been around for years when Medrano began working with people at SVA on what would later become Hazbin Hotel.[24] Originally, the pilot was meant to be an adult comedy "with a raunchy, demonic aesthetic". It took over six months to write the episode, and over two years (from 2017 to 2019) to animate it, with teasers released in that ensuing period to garner an audience of fans.[24] The series contains various LGBTQ characters. This includes a gay character named Angel Dust, a bisexual character named Charlie, a lesbian character named Vaggie, and an asexual character named Alastor.[25][26][27]

The show's pilot episode was released on Medrano's YouTube channel in October 2019, and it gained 54 million views by early February 2021.[24] Almost a year later, A24 picked up Hazbin Hotel for the production of a TV series in late 2020.[28][29]

On December 21, 2021, the official Hazbin Hotel Twitter account teased the release of the first season.[30] It was later reported that cast members from the pilot, including Elsie Lovelock, Monica Franco, Michael Kovach, Krystal LaPorte, Michelle Marie, Gabriel C. Brown, Will Stamper, and Josh Tomar, were not asked to reprise their roles for the A24 production, though these voice actors showed support for the show despite their removal.[31][8][32] Medrano said that she loves her characters "more than anything" and that they are "in good hands".[33]

Several main characters had been redesigned from the pilot, including Charlie,[34] Vaggie,[35] Alastor,[36] Angel Dust,[37] and several others.[11][32] Along with SpindleHorse Toons and Princess Bento Studios, a Melbourne-based studio jointly owned by Bento Box Entertainment, Princess Pictures and Toon City[38] will be co-producing the series for A24.[39] According to Medrano, many of the artists who worked on the pilot would be returning for the first season, and argued that the "indie spirit of the pilot lives on."[40]

On October 28, 2022, the third anniversary of the pilot's release, a teaser trailer was released on Medrano's YouTube channel promising a summer 2023 release date for the first season,[41] but this was later stalled due to the 2023 strike of actors and writers.[42] On September 28, 2023, a trailer was posted on the series' official Instagram account and Medrano's YouTube Channel announcing its first season's premiere on Amazon Prime Video in January 2024, while also announcing that "Season 2 is coming".[43]

Reception

The pilot episode has been critically acclaimed for its animation quality, music, and characters.[2][44] Matthew Field of Go! & Express, argued that the pilot was part of the "animation renaissance" on YouTube, and said there may be "a lot more projects like Hazbin in the future."[1][45] Lidia Vassar of the MSU Reporter praised the show, noting its "raunchy sense of humor and quirky art style."[10] She also stated that she was looking forward to future episodes, enjoyed the "diversity of character designs," and stated that it is clear that the show's creators "put a lot of time and heart into this project." In December 2019, in an article about the current state of adult animation, CBR animation critic Reuben Baron stated that while the pilot episodes of Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss had garnered "some warranted criticism" because of their inappropriate and edgy humor, they are still "clear labors of love from an animation standpoint."[46] Another critic on CBR, Nerissa Rupnarine, pointed out that Alastor is on the small list of "canon asexual characters" within animation.[27]

Some reviewers argued the series will have a positive influence on independent animation going forward,[14] and argued that the success of Hazbin Hotel led to the success of Helluva Boss.[7] Reviewer Sean Cubillas for CBR praised the show for "quirky, ambitious, and dark humor" and some of the "fastest, wittiest, and raunchiest dialogue ever seen in independent animation."[47]

Fandom

By August 2020, the show had developed a dedicated fanbase,[48][49] with the 31-minute pilot receiving over 86 million views as of June 2023,[11] a rise from 32 million views in May 2020.[4] In a white paper about the increase in adult animation,[50] John Evershed, founder of Mondo Media, described the series as a rare exception to shows on YouTube that are picked up by companies as a "long form TV series."[51] He argued that the show generated enough attention and views to interest A24 in producing the show as a TV series.[52] Medrano told Insider in February 2021 that she was surprised the show had gotten so big, saying that the fandom of Hazbin Hotel rivals those of shows with multiple seasons, even with only a pilot released, and that it "hit a chord with people" due to its art style, angst, and drama. Furthermore, she expressed excitement in the direction of the show, noting the demand for her content.[24] Others called the series a "YouTube hit."[53]

Some media outlets noted intense fan interest in the character Lucifer Morningstar, the king of Hell,[54] who hadn't "physically appeared in any Hazbin Hotel work" prior to a planned premiere in the show's first season.[55] Sarah Laudenbach of Screen Rant noted that the series had developed a strong fanbase despite having "minimal content" available,[56] with "longtime fans" praising the series for dealing with "dark topics like abuse and addiction."[57] She also said that Medrano created an "entire Hellish universe" which gained a "fandom of its own."[58] Kimberly Terasaki of The Mary Sue described the show as having inspired the "imaginations of thousands of fans" and noted that there are over 7,000 fan fictions for the series on Archive of Our Own, along with "thousands of fan comics and fandubs."[59] Scholar Ben Mitchell described the series as "sensationally popular" and an effective use of Patreon to subsidize the show's art "through monthly tiered payments."[60]

References
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Sources
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