Hazbin Hotel

Hazbin Hotel
Title card
Genre	Adult animation Musical Black comedy
Created by	Vivienne Medrano
Written by	Vivienne Medrano Dave Capdevielle Raymond Hernandez
Screenplay by	Vivienne Medrano
Story by	Vivienne Medrano
Directed by	Vivienne Medrano
Creative director	Vivienne Medrano
Voices of	Jill Harris Monica Franco Michael Kovach Edward Bosco
Composers	Vivienne Medrano Evan Alderete Gooseworx Thomas Ryan
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	1 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer	Vivienne Medrano
Editor	Vivienne Medrano
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	SpindleHorse Toons (pilot) A24 (series)
Original release
Network	YouTube (pilot)
Release	October 28, 2019 (2019-10-28) – present
Related
Helluva Boss

Hazbin Hotel is an American adult animated musical black comedy web series created, directed, written and produced by Vivienne "Vivziepop" Medrano. The official pilot was released on YouTube on October 28, 2019. On November 6, 2019, Medrano stated on Patreon that there was no stated release date for a second episode yet. By August 2020, the show had developed a dedicated fanbase, with the thirty-minute pilot receiving over 40 million views as of that same date.

The series' protagonist, a charismatic demon named Charlie, is the princess of Hell, and has the mission to do the impossible: rehabilitate sinners in the titular "Hazbin Hotel" as a peaceful solution to the current overpopulation crisis. Charlie invites sinister sinners of all descriptions to check in to the Hazbin Hotel and, hopefully, "check out" en route to Heaven.

On August 7, 2020, it was announced that A24 had picked up Hazbin Hotel as a full television series, but any information related to its production or release date remains unknown.

Premise

The series follows the misadventures of Charlie (Jill Harris), the princess of Hell and heir to the throne as she sets about fulfilling her dream of opening up a hotel called the "Happy Hotel" which aims to rehabilitate sinners. Due to overpopulation, the citizens go through an annual "cleanse", arranged by angels. Her main goal is hoping that her clients will be "checking out" peacefully into Heaven. With the help of her devoted manager and girlfriend Vaggie (Monica Franco) and their first patron, pornographic film actor Angel Dust (Michael Kovach), she's determined to make her dream become a reality. But when her proposal on live television goes sour, her plan attracts the attention of the powerful "radio demon" Alastor (Edward Bosco) who, despite finding her belief in redemption laughable, wants to help Charlie run the hotel for his own amusement.

Characters

Main characters

• Charlotte "Charlie" Magne (voiced by Jill Harris; singing voice by Elsie Lovelock) is the main protagonist and founder of Hazbin Hotel (originally named Happy Hotel, as seen in the pilot). She is the daughter of Lucifer and Lilith, and is one of the few demons born in Hell. Upset by the yearly cleanse in which a number of demons are destroyed by the Exterminators, she and her girlfriend, Vaggie, seek to open a hotel that allows for the rehabilitation of sinners with the hope that they can receive forgiveness and enter heaven. Her bold plans are often laughed at by most of the demons in hell. She is shown to be very naive and hopelessly optimistic but cares deeply for her people. She has a love for musical theatre, preferring to express herself in song and dance.
• Vagatha "Vaggie" (voiced by Monica Franco) is the Manager of the Hazbin Hotel and Charlie's girlfriend. She is highly supportive of Charlie and has a quick temper. Often acting as the more level-headed and rational one, she struggles to keep the hotel's image up. She is quite annoyed by Angel Dust's trouble-making and doesn't trust Alastor at all due to his notorious reputation. She can also summon various knives, spears and daggers at will. There is little information about her past life, but it is known that she entered Hell in 2014.
• "Angel Dust" Anthony (voiced by Michael Kovach) is a gay spider demon adult entertainer, and the first volunteer for Charlie's rehabilitation program. He does not appear to take Charlie's cause seriously, stating to only be interested in the rent-free accommodation, much to Vaggie's anger, and tends to get into mischief behind their backs and is very selfish and insolent. In his mortal life, Angel was born into a crime family, most of which reside in Hell with him. Angel struggled with drug addiction which ultimately led to his death in 1947. His stage name is based on the street name for the drug phencyclidine, which he still regularly uses in Hell. His real name was Anthony.
• Alastor the "Radio Demon" (voiced by Edward Bosco; singing voice by Gabriel C. Brown), is an eccentric Overlord of Hell. He is known to be extremely powerful, and is capable of rivaling some of Hell's most ancient demons, despite having been a mortal human in life. Upon his arrival in hell he built up a terrifying reputation seemingly overnight. Often keeping to a calm and gentlemanly demeanor, he prefers to always keep a smile on his face and shares Charlie's love of music and dance. His voice sounds like a vintage 1920s radio complete with static, sound effects including a laugh track, and theme music. He offers his services to Charlie in order to help her maintain her goal of running the hotel, but only for the amusement of watching other demons fail in the process. Charlie reluctantly allows him to help for as long as he chooses, as long as he doesn't do anything to jeopardize the hotel, to avoid making one of his infamous pacts. He provides two staff members and protects Charlie's business from outside threats. It's stated that in his past life, Alastor was an asexual radio announcer who lived a double life as a serial killer in New Orleans, Louisiana. Having lived to see the stock market crash, he died in 1933.
• Niffty (voiced by Michelle Marie) is a small, hyperactive cyclops demon from the 1950s who's obsessed with cleanliness. She died at age 22. She is summoned by Alastor to serve as the hotel housekeeper.
• Husk "Husker" (voiced by Mick Lauer), an ill-tempered cat demon. He is summoned by Alastor to serve as the receptionist and bartender at the hotel. He died in the 1970s of alcohol poisoning.

Recurring characters

Overlords of Hell

• Lucifer and Lilith Magne: In the pilot, Charlie's parents are only shown in shadow and in a portrait. Visual nods to their character designs are present, such as Lucifer's staff and the apple emblem on his hat being a clear reference to his tempting of Eve.
• Vox, also known as the "TV Demon", one of the major Overlords of Hell and Alastor's rival. He forms a triumvirate with Val and Velvet, known as the "Three V's". He is shown with a television monitor for a head that broadcasts his face on the screen. His only appearances in the pilot are in the opening act, hiding in Valentino's porn studios with Velvet and Valentino during the aftermath of the latest extermination, and in the audience during Charlie's interview.
• Valentino "Val", one of the major Overlords of Hell. Valentino runs the porn studios. He is the boss of Angel Dust, whom he abuses sexually and psychologically. His first appearance in the show is during the opening act of the pilot, where he is hiding a porn studio with Velvet and Vox during the aftermath of the extermination. He also appears in the 'Addict' MV, and is shown abusing Angel Dust in graphic ways.
• Velvet, one of the major Overlords of Hell. Her only appearance in the pilot is in the opening act, taking a selfie with Vox while they hide in the porn studios during the aftermath of the extermination.
• Rosie, one of the major Overlords of Hell, who runs an emporium that she used to share with a demon named Franklin until he was killed in the most recent extermination. Her only appearance in the pilot is in the opening act, where she is seen crossing out Franklin's name from her shop after he had been killed.
• Frederick von Eldrich, one of the major Overlords of Hell and the father of Helsa and Seviathan von Eldrich, and Husband of Bethesa Von Eldrich.
• Bethesa von Eldrich, one of the major Overlords of Hell and the mother of Helsa and Seviathan von Eldrich as well as the wife of Fredrick.
• Helsa von Eldrich, Charlie's rival and the spoiled heiress of the von Eldrich family, a powerful Overlord family. Her only appearances in the pilot are in Charlie's musical number "Inside of Every Demon is a Rainbow", and on a portrait inside the Hazbin Hotel.

Other inhabitants

• Sir Pentious (voiced by Will Stamper), an English anthropomorphic cobra from the Victorian era. His goal is to take over Hell using his own inventions and the assistance of his egg sidekicks, though he frequently does not achieve his goals. He died in 1888.
• Cherri Bomb (voiced by Krystal LaPorte, singing voice by Kelly "Chi-Chi" Boyer), a one-eyed demon punk girl from the 1980s and Angel Dust's best friend and partner in committing crimes. She was featured prominently in the "Addict" music video, often being there to help Angel Dust when he has a mental breakdown.
• Katie Killjoy (voiced by Faye Mata), 666 News' main anchor. She died in 1992.
• Tom Trench (voiced by Joshua Tomar), 666 News' co-anchor, along with Katie Killjoy.
• The Egg Bois (voiced by Joe Gran), Sir Pentious' loyal minions.
• Travis (voiced by Don Darryl Rivera), a demon who had sex with Angel Dust in the pilot.
• Exterminators, the Exterminators are a type of angel from Heaven who are sent to purge Hell for its overpopulation problem every year. They are shown to wear LED masks and wield the only weapons that can destroy the demons of Hell. They are tall, slim, and gray.
• Razzle and Dazzle, two small goat demons who serve as Charlie's personal servants and bodyguards. They appear backstage with Charlie and Vaggie in the television studio, and take part during Charlie's song "Inside of Every Demon Is a Rainbow" as pianists and backup vocalists.
• Seviathan von Eldrich, the brother of Helsa and Charlie's ex-boyfriend. His only appearance in the pilot is on a portrait inside the Hazbin Hotel.
• Mimzy, a short, chubby, and cheerful demon.
• Baxter, a short, aquatic anthropomorphic fish demon, who will be a frequent associate at the hotel.
• Crymini, an anthropomorphic Hellhound, who will be a frequent associate at the hotel. Her only appearance in the pilot is in the crowd of spectators, who are joined by Alastor in watching Charlie's hotel promotion on the news.
• Villa, an anthropomorphic dog demon with two large pigtails.
• Molly, Angel Dust's fraternal twin sister. Her name is based on the street name for the drug ecstasy.
• Arackniss, Molly and Angel Dust's older brother. His name is not based on any drugs, unlike the rest of his family.
• Henroin, the father to Arackniss, Angel Dust, and Molly. His name is a combination of the word "heroin" and the name "Henry".
• Fat Nuggets, Angel Dust's pet pig.
• Roo, a demon that nothing is known about and who will be explored later in the series

Episodes

Pilot (2019)

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Storyboarded by	Original air date
1	"That's Entertainment"	Vivienne Medrano	Vivienne Medrano, Dave Capdevielle & Raymond Hernandez	Vivienne Medrano	October 28, 2019 (2019-10-28)
Charlie, the princess of Hell, and her girlfriend Vaggie, open a hotel in an effort to "rehabilitate" demons ("I'm Always Chasing Rainbows"). Her plans to promote the Happy Hotel on the news backfires after Angel Dust, the hotel's only resident, gets into a fight with Sir Pentious on live television ("Inside of Every Demon Is A Rainbow"). After a brief argument on their way to the hotel, they're visited by Alastor, a notorious overlord of Hell who seeks to help Charlie with the hotel. Despite his shady claims that he only wishes to provide this "charity" for his own entertainment to alleviate his boredom, Charlie allows his help for as long as he wishes, and to not do anything that would ruin her goals ("Alastor's Reprise"). Alastor accepts and provides her with a staff to help run the hotel, he defeats Sir Pentious when he attacks the hotel seeking revenge at Angel, and changes the name from Happy to Hazbin Hotel after inviting everyone back inside to have jambalaya.

Other media

Webcomic

Vivziepop announced a prequel comic focusing on the characters prior to the events of the series. As of July 2020, the first chapter of the webcomic titled “Dirty Healings” has been completed containing twenty-two pages and hosted on the official website.

Helluva Boss

Helluva Boss is a standalone animated web series set in the same universe as Hazbin Hotel but with a different voice cast and story, co-written and starring YouTuber Brandon Rogers. It focuses around the enthusiastic imp Blitzo (the 'o' is silent) (voiced by Rogers) and his subordinate employees—Moxxie, Millie (Moxxie's wife), and Loona (Blitzo's adopted daughter and receptionist)—running an assassination agency called the Immediate Murder Professionals (I.M.P.). Moxxie is voiced by Richard Steven Horvitz, while both Millie and Loona are voiced by Erica Lindbeck. In the pilot, it is shown that Blitzo stole a book used to make a portal to the living world from Stolas (voiced by Brock Baker), one of the Goetial demons of Hell, and the group later kills Eddie (voiced by Horvitz), a little boy after discovering he was a target their client wanted them to kill. Additional characters include Octavia (Stolas' daughter), Stolas' wife, as well as Barbie Wire and Tilla, Blitzo's sisters. Writing production for more episodes began in December 2019 with 8 episodes ordered. In October 2020, it was announced that the first season will be released in late 2020.

"Addict" song and music video

"Addict" is an animated music video released on July 17, 2020 by Medrano, based on the Silva Hound song of the same name. 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." The song ranked as the #3 dance song on iTunes on July 21, 2020. Additionally, the song reached number 14 on the US Dance/Electronic Songs chart and number four on the Dance/Electronic Digital Songs chart.

Reception

Hazbin Hotel has been generally well-received by critics for its animation quality, music and characters. Stephen Novak from The Oswegonian student newspaper praised the animation, writing, and characters in Hazbin Hotel. However, he criticized the songs, saying "while Hazbin Hotel will certainly not appeal to everyone, those who can appreciate good animation and fun characters will certainly find themselves tortured by what is likely to be a long wait until the next episode." Matt Smith of another student newspaper, The Harbinger, had similar thoughts. Smith praised the show as a "hilariously dark look" into life in Hell while lauding the voice acting, singing, and animation. At the same time, he pointed out the show is clearly "not for kids", noting the drug and sexual references as well as strong language. Smith notes that the animation is crisp and lively, but not perfect. He states that the show has great pacing, and worries that there is "no timeline" on when the rest of the season can be expected. However, others have taken offense from the show, due to the fact that there are many problematic characters, who say and do some questionable things. On August 7, 2020, Matt Braly, the creator of Amphibia, offered his support for the show, calling the action by A24 in picking up the show for a full television series a "fantastic fucking step forward" and "great."

External links

• Official website
• Hazbin Hotel at IMDb