Hazbin Hotel

Hazbin Hotel is an American adult animated musical comedy web series created, directed, written and produced by Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano. It is made entirely by freelance animators and is largely financed by Medrano's Patreon followers. The official pilot was released on YouTube on October 28, 2019. On November 6, 2019, Medrano stated on Patreon that there was no release date for a second episode yet. By August 2020, the show had developed a dedicated fanbase, with the 31-minute pilot receiving over 55 million views as of March 2021, a rise from 32 million views in May 2020. On August 7, 2020, it was announced that A24 had picked up "Hazbin Hotel" for a full television series.
A spin-off series, "Helluva Boss", unveiled its first season on October 31, 2020, almost one year after the release of its own pilot. "Helluva Boss" takes place in the same universe as "Hazbin Hotel", but it has a different cast of characters and story. As Vivienne 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" with the main focus being on the interpersonal relationships between characters.
Premise.
The series follows Charlie Magne (voiced by Jill Harris), the princess of Hell, charismatic demon, and heir to the throne, as she sets about fulfilling her seemingly impossible dream of opening up a hotel called the "Happy Hotel" which aims to rehabilitate sinners. Due to overpopulation, Hell goes through an annual "cleanse" (purge) once a year, where a type of angel known as Exterminators descend from Heaven to kill demons. Charlie finds this disheartening, and wants to find a more peaceful solution to the overpopulation problem. Her main goal is to have her clients "check out" from Hell as redeemed souls and be accepted into Heaven.
With the help of her devoted manager and girlfriend, Vaggie (Monica Franco), and their reluctant 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 awry, 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.
Other media.
Webcomics.
In July 2020, a webcomic titled “Dirty Healings” that showed how Angel Dust came to know the hotel was completed containing twenty-two pages and hosted on the official website. Another comic titled "A Day in the Afterlife" which focused on Alastor's daily life in Hell was uploaded to the website on October 19, 2020, containing sixteen pages.
"Addict" song and music video.
"Addict" is an animated music video released on July 17, 2020 on Medrano's YouTube channel, based on and featuring the Silva Hound song of the same name. It centers around Angel Dust's relations with his best friend, Cherri Bomb, and his abusive boss, Valentino. The song was performed by Michael Kovach and Kelly "Chi-Chi" Boyer, and Sara "Serval" Fisher helped compose the music video. 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, number four on the Dance/Electronic Digital Songs chart, and number 77 on the Dance/Electronic Songs Year-End.
Production and release.
The characters of the pilot had been around for a while when Medrano began working with people at SVA in musical theater to work on what would later become "Hazbin Hotel". 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. The series contains various LGBTQ characters. This includes a gay pornstar named Angel Dust, a bisexual character named Charlie, a lesbian character named Vaggie, and an asexual character named Alastor.
On October 28, 2019, the pilot was released, and it gained 54 million views by early February 2021.
On August 7, 2020, A24 picked up Hazbin Hotel for the production of a TV series. In January 2021, in a white paper about the increase in adult animation, 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." He argued that the show generated enough attention and views to interest A24 in producing the show as a TV series.
In February 2021, Medrano told "Insider" that she was surprised the show had gotten so big, saying that the fandom of "Hazbin Hotel" rivals shows with multiple seasons, even with only a pilot released and said that it "hit a chord with people" due to its art style, angst, and drama. She also stated that the series is only on YouTube because it's the best way to "get the most eyes" on the show, but that the company had not reached out to her once. Furthermore, she expressed excitement in the direction of the show, noting the demand for her content and said that in the future she would like to do something "in the family friendly space" but gave no timeline for that. In a tweet thread the same month, Medrano clarified that she is not "abandoning" "Hazbin Hotel", but is working on comics for the series in the mean time.
Reception.
The series' pilot episode has been critically acclaimed for its animation quality, music, and characters, even by those who are more critical of the show itself. 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." Another reviewer, Matt Smith, argued that the pilot was part of the "animation renaissance" on YouTube.
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 praising the voice acting, singing, and animation. At the same time, he pointed out the show is clearly "not for kids", noting the drug use and sexual references as well as strong language and violence. Smith notes that the animation is crisp and lively, but not perfect. He states that the show has great pacing as well. In addition, Lidia Vassar of the "MSU Reporter" praised the show, noting its "raunchy sense of humor and quirky art style." She also stated that she was looking forward to future episodes, enjoyed the "diversity of character designers," 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." Another critic on CBR, Nerissa Rupnarine, pointed out that Alastor is on the small list of "canon asexual characters" within animation.
Charlie Ceates of "Cultured Vultures" stated that "Hazbin Hotel" is an example of how "traditional methods of television production are changing," and posited the possibility of YouTube being used to change the "balance of power between the creator and networks" in favor of creators. Ceates also stated that the show represents a "clear change in traditional media" and called the pilot a "well-designed bit of animation which deserves a watch," which is echoed by others which say it will have a positive influence on independent animation going forward. Some even said that the success of "Hazbin Hotel" led to the pilot of "Helluva Boss". On November 24, 2020, in an article about the ten funniest lines in the pilot, reviewer Sean Cubillas praised the show for "quirky, ambitious, and dark humor" and some of the "fastest, wittiest, and raunchiest dialogue ever seen in independent animation."