Hazbin Hotel, the animated, musical, adult-targeted dark-comedy spawned by an indie pilot on YouTube (which racked up 90+ million views), is the biggest-ever global animated series debut on Prime Video, according to the streamer. While the platform does not reveal internal numbers, the show can also celebrate a Certified Fresh critical rating (85%) and audience score (89%) on Rotten Tomatoes.
Created by Vivienne Medrano (a.k.a. VivziePop; Helluva Boss) and produced by A24 with animation by Fox Ent.’s Bento Box Entertainment, the series premiered in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide on the Amazon-owned streamer with the first four episodes on January 19. Two new episodes roll out weekly through February 2.
Synopsis: Hazbin Hotel follows Charlie, the princess of Hell (Erika Henningsen), as she pursues her seemingly impossible goal of rehabilitating demons to peacefully reduce overpopulation in her kingdom. After a yearly extermination imposed by angels, she opens a hotel in the hopes that patrons will be “checking out” into Heaven. While most of Hell mocks her goal, her devoted partner Vaggie (Stephanie Beatriz), and their first test subject, adult film-star Angel Dust (Blake Roman), stick by her side. When a powerful entity known as the “Radio Demon” (Amir Talai) reaches out to assist Charlie in her endeavors, her crazy dream is given a chance to become reality.
While some early reviews were mixed, the series has clearly found its audience. Critics seemed divided on whether the show’s world- and character-building “suggests a nascent brilliance” (Hayden Mears, IGN) or is “chaotic [and] contradictory” (Alison Herman, Variety).
However, the striking visuals — bringing a certain generation of viewers right back to their Hot Topic-coveting, DeviantArt-posting youths, with a classically appealing animation core twisted by Medrano’s creative flair for demon-crafting — and “banger” musical numbers are major plusses. Hazbin Hotel drops viewers into the middle of a complex storyworld Medrano has been playing with since college, but viewers can enjoy the expletive-laden journey even if they get a bit lost.
