Hazbin Hotel‘s Erika Henningsen and Stephanie Beatriz, who play Charlie Morningstar and Vaggie respectively, discuss what drew them to the series and more, in this interview.
Fans of Hazbin Hotel have been waiting years for the series to grace the screen, and the time has finally come. After a very successful pilot episode hit YouTube, Hazbin Hotel creator Vivienne Medrano struck a deal with Prime Video, where the series will live. The first season of Hazbin Hotel consists of eight-episodes with four episodes premiering on Prime Video January 19, 2024 and two episodes rolling out weekly through February 2. A season 2 has already been confirmed.
In attempt to find a non-violent alternative for reducing Hell’s overpopulation, the daughter of Lucifer, Charlie Morningstar (Erika Henningsen) opens a rehabilitation hotel that offers a group of misfit demons a chance at redemption and a way to Heaven. Vaggie (Stephanie Beatriz) is a sinner demon. She serves as the manager of the Hazbin Hotel and is very protective of her girlfriend Charlie.
We spoke with Erika Henningsen and Stephanie Beatriz about the new series. The two confess what it was about Hazbin Hotel that drew them to the series, how they reacted when they first saw the design of their characters, and finding their chemistry. Stephanie Beatriz also reveals how her character from Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Rosa, would deal with being at the Hazbin Hotel.
Erika Henningsen and Stephanie Beatriz Talk Hazbin Hotel
Tessa Smith: I’ve got to tell you, I was obsessed with the show from the second I started the first episode. I’ve got to know what it was for you two that drew you to want to be a part of this series, because it is phenomenal.
Stephanie Beatriz: I love Viv’s vision of this show. I just think that she knows what it is. She knows the world. I’m so so glad that the order for season two came so early. Because it was really clear to everyone that this world is built, and we just have to continue to explore it. But for me, that’s really what it was, and the scripts are so funny. I’m a sucker for good jokes.
Erika Henningsen: Yeah, I think getting something that’s highly original and you can just tell her vision is so clear. And that makes all of us excited as actors to see something that is world building that we’ve never seen before. You know, you just immediately want to dive into that. And our songwriters actually write funny lyrics. It’s so exciting. They know how to really craft a song based on the character in the scene that’s coming out of so I was already excited to be part of it just because I thought the concept was so original and sort of raunchy and silly and fun. But then getting to hear the music, every time a new song would drop in my inbox. I thought, Oh, my goodness, people are going to eat this up because the songs are bops. So I continued to be excited about the project as it kept going. Because there was a new surprise every episode.
Tessa Smith: I absolutely love you two together in this. I’d love to know how you found that chemistry and camaraderie, because you two are just phenomenal together in this.
Stephanie Beatriz: We didn’t find it. You know, that’s the interesting thing about doing these performances and having them be in these vacuums almost, right? We didn’t find that chemistry, the people that cast us and the creative team, they found that chemistry and they trusted that we would be able to bring it in our own individual performances, and that they would be able to guide us toward the shape of what they wanted, which is like, that’s such a, to me, it’s like really a gift to be able to do that kind of stuff. Because that’s what I guess chemistry reads are for, right?
When you have on film, you want to see whether or not there’s going to be chemistry between them. But sometimes, if you have a very clear vision of what you want out of the performances, then you can cast people that you know, inherently, are going to have that chemistry together. And I think that’s what the team did here. I mean, it feels very real to me that they’re together. And it feels like you know, Erika and I just met yesterday and we were like fast friends. Long lost lovers, basically, and we’re like, hi, we’re really excited to meet each other. And I think it’s just because the casting was for this iteration of this. It was just what it needed to be, you know?
Tessa Smith: How did you feel when you first saw the look of your characters?
Erika Henningsen: It looks so good. I just love her. I just had this moment of oh, there she is, like, there you are. I just love her and I love watching the way, our animation team is unreal. They’re spread out all across the world. The thing that was most exciting was watching how they would interpret our line readings and animate those to make it even funnier, or more visually interesting. I’ve never met these people and I feel like they know me because they know how to animate the way I would even say it in real life. And we didn’t have video cameras on us while we were working. But I just loved getting see Charlie for the first time. I love getting to see what she looks like when she’s angry. That’s my favorite. And Viv gave me this little rendering of her as a gift and it’s truly one of my most prized possessions because you can see those sketches and you can see every single thing and you just forget like, that’s what this started as. Just drawing pictures and she’s created this whole world from that.
Stephanie Beatriz: As I text Viv, where’s my rendering…
Erika Henningsen: I just realized, Steph, you did a gorge bang last night was that an homage to Vag? It was brilliant. I mean, the fans will see that immediately. As soon as I saw Vaggie, I was like, Oh, she’s hot.
Stephanie Beatriz: As someone who grew up watching it, there’s an Sailor Moon-esque character that I really love and appreciate. I love that big bow. I just think it serves that character’s story so well, as the season unfolds. And you know what, what we’ll see happens in season two, but I just love the design of her. I think it’s really smart. The show is very smart.
Tessa Smith: Stephanie, I have to ask you, because all I could think about watching, was how Rosa would handle being at the Hazbin Hotel. What do you think?
Stephanie Beatriz: Not well. Not well.
Erika Henningsen: I love that. I love that.
Tessa Smith: I think she could put some people in their place.
Stephanie Beatriz: Ah, yeah. No, I mean, not well as in a lot of murder, probably. A lot of murder and mayhem, Yeah, I mean, obviously I joke, but yeah, not well.
NEXT: Hazbin Hotel Season One Review
About Hazbin Hotel
Created by Vivienne Medrano, Hazbin Hotel is based on her popular animated pilot released on YouTube in 2019 and quickly gained over 89 million views and a rabid worldwide fan base. The series blends adult humor, unforgettable characters, and catchy musical numbers creating a wholly original and unique world.
Vivienne Medrano serves as executive producer and directed all episodes. Joel Kuwahara and Dana Tafoya-Cameron, and Scott Greenberg (Season One) also serve as executive producers. Hazbin Hotel is produced by A24 and FOX Entertainment’s Emmy award-winning animation studio Bento Box Entertainment.
The first season of Hazbin Hotel consists of eight-episodes with four episodes premiering on Prime Video January 19, 2024 and two episodes rolling out weekly through February 2.
Fans who purchased special packages at HazbinHotel.com will receive exclusive Season One merchandise, including early access to the first two episodes available to stream on the A24 App on January 12, 2024, one week before they release on Prime Video.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.