In this exclusive interview with Hazbin Hotel Creator Vivienne Medrano, she discusses the show finally coming to the screen, the incredible cast, the epic musical numbers, the stunning aesthetic, and more.
Hazbin Hotel follows the daughter of Lucifer and Lilith, Charlie Morningstar, as she works hard to prove that redemption is possible. Living in Hell, she starts a hotel — the Hazbin Hotel — where she recruits demons and those banished to Hell that want to earn their way to Heaven.
We caught up with the creator and executive producer on the series, Vivienne Medrano, also known as VivziePop. 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.
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. Hazbin Hotel season 2 has already been confirmed.
In this interview, Vivienne Medrano reveals how they settled on the aesthetic of Hell, as well as landing such an incredible voice cast. Vivienne also talks about the incredible songs and how it feels for this series to finally be released into the world.
Vivienne Medrano Talks Hazbin Hotel
Tessa Smith: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me today. Did it feel like this day was ever gonna come?
Vivienne Medrano: Literally that is how it is because we were in production for so long. In production, it’s just production. You’re working really hard, long hours, long nights, stress, and work. Then we were finished on the show for a little bit, and we were figuring out when was the best time to put it out. And we ended up putting it out a good bit in the future.
So it’s existed for a long time, and we’re already moving. We’re starting on season two, so I kind of forgot it was not out yet, like in a way. I’ve seen it so many times and I know it so well that I’m like oh, yeah, the oh my gosh, nobody’s seen it. So this is really feels unreal, that we’re at the point that we’re like ten days… I think the countdown has started for the episodes. It feels unreal that we’ve gotten here now.
Tessa Smith: Well, I’m gonna tell you so we got five episodes. And the end of the fifth episode. I was like, How dare they not give me more. I need more. So first of all, congratulations, it’s phenomenal. But I’d love to talk about finding that aesthetic, because that’s one of my favorite things. It’s just so beautiful. How did you settle on that?
Vivienne Medrano: When it came to the aesthetic of Hell, I really wanted to do something a little different. I feel like we have so many there’s so many different ways you can do Hell. Obviously it’s this fantastical thing that can exist in so many forms. And for me, I really wanted to go with a city. I was like, I want it to be the sleazy city, like a mix of like New York and Vegas, just the sleaziest parts. Very bright, very expressive, but tons of strip clubs and bars and clubs, and just all these places where sin can happen. When it came to the colors, obviously, we associate, I feel, Hell with fire and with reds and blacks and things like that.
I really wanted to lean into that, because I do think it’s a very iconic look for a setting. We studied a lot of different creative backgrounds that look really amazing. One big influence on me when I was growing up was Batman The Animated Series, and they would do red skies a lot. So we would study, how do they pull that off? It’s really tough to have. And for our show, it’s extra tough, because we have red skies on red things and red everything. So there was a lot of challenge on my art director, Sam Miller, she really did a good job of how many different reds can like work together? It took some figuring out.
Tessa Smith: One thing I want to talk about too, is this cast because they are all absolutely phenomenal. Was this like your dream cast? And how did it feel to kind of land them all?
Vivienne Medrano: Ultimately it ended up being such a dream cast. We auditioned the characters and it was so incredible to see some of the names that would pop up in the little files they would send me. Casting it was was so so fun. It was challenging in a lot of ways, and it was difficult in a lot of ways, because there were so many elements at play.
But it was ultimately just fun hearing so many people read for these characters and find out that they would end up being in the final show. I just love the cast so much. They really, really put their all into it. And you could tell that they knew there was an element of history with the characters and there was a lot of respect put and love put into the characters.
Tessa Smith: Was there room for them to improvise at all? Or were they sticking to the script?
Vivienne Medrano: Oh, me and my voice director, Richard Horvitz. He reads with the actors, which I think adds an element of them sounding much more natural, because they are playing off of another actor who’s acting with them. I think it makes all the difference for a voice director to do that. But on top of that, that led to a lot of very natural improvising.
We do a lot of things called efforts which are basically the sounds, like, someone’s getting punched, you have to make a you’re getting punched sound. And you’d be surprised how many funny things come from things like that. We also do things called wala, which is basically like, okay, we’re in a room full of people, you’re at a party, just start talking and we’ll have it in the background and so many things, like so many actual jokes in the show that I left in because they just came up with an instance like that. And I was like, that’s hilarious. I’m gonna leave it in.
Tessa Smith: I have got to ask about the music because these songs are amazing. I want to soundtrack now. There’s gonna be a soundtrack available, right?
Vivienne Medrano: Yes, eventually we’re putting them out. It’s a little tricky, because I know they’re staggered. So I think they’re still working out how but there will be as a full soundtrack. Absolutely.
Tessa Smith: Can you talk about the songs and the inspiration behind them all because they’re all so good. I find myself singing them all the time.
Vivienne Medrano: Thank you. The songs are incredible. They’re done by our amazing songwriting team, Sam and Andrew. And they seriously, like the amount of songs they turned out in such a short amount of time, and the fact that they’re all so good, and just earworm bangers is an incredible testament to their talent.
The songs vary depending on the character singing and the context of the episode. So really, we determine the songs based on what feels right when we’re in the writing room, like figuring it out. So once we knew those moments, like okay, this is going to be a song, this is gonna be a song, it was fun to go alright, what genre of song is this going to be?
Because there’s so many characters and all their genres are different. So you can go from a very slow acoustic ballad, to like a pop song, to like an 80s song, to like a classic Broadway sounding song, to like electro swaying. It goes all over the place. And it’s very fun.
Tessa Smith: Awesome. Well, thank you so much for your time. I know fans have been waiting for this forever so I know everyone’s excited to see it. And I think they’re gonna be very, very happy. So congratulations.
Vivienne Medrano: Thank you so much. I appreciate that so much. And I’m so glad you say that.
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.
