Hazbin Hotel’s Jessica Vosk and Daphne Rubin-Vega discuss what drew them to the series, the incredible songs, and more, in this interview.
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. It follows Charlie Morningstar (Erika Henningsen), princess of Hell, on her quest to find a way for demons to be rehabilitated and allowed into Heaven.
Lute (Jessica Vosk) is an Exorcist and an antagonist in Hazbin Hotel. Carmilla Carmine (Daphne Rubin-Vega) is a fallen angel and “head of the table” among the Overlords. She is the ruler of Sin City and Hell’s highest ranking Overlord.
We spoke with Jessica Vosk and Daphne Rubin-Vega about Hazbin Hotel. They revealed what it was that drew them to want to be a part of the series, how they felt when they first saw their characters, and the incredible musical numbers. 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 of Hazbin Hotel has already been confirmed.
Jessica Vosk and Daphne Rubin-Vega Talk Hazbin Hotel
Tessa Smith: Thank you guys so much for taking the time to talk with me today. This show is so good. I’d love to know, for you guys, what was it that made you want to be a part of this incredibly unique musical, phenomenal show?
Daphne Rubin-Vega: You don’t say no, during a pandemic, to an animated show that you sing in, too. And you play an overlord. I just can’t say no to that. I had never played, I’d never done been an animated character before, that actually got to the stage of public viewing. So I’m thrilled, and the fact that we sing and I’m with my posse of Broadway homies. I’m so good. What an honor.
Jessica Vosk: Yeah, I mean, that’s it. You set us up with the why. It’s an embarrassment of riches to be getting to create a character for a series that has such a built in fan base already.
Daphne Rubin-Vega: And you don’t have to wear pants.
Jessica Vosk: It’s a pant-less adventure. That’s also thrilling, but to get to lend our voices in such a huge way to something, both with such specific voice acting alongside of getting to actually sing. I mean, you’ve watched the first couple of episodes, you’ve already heard Daphne’s song, it’s outstanding. They’re setting up such a cool arc for all of these different characters, some of which you haven’t even seen what’s about to happen. I think that’s incredible, too, because you leave everybody with such cliffhangers of what’s about to happen alongside of a community who is so theatrical, that the series kind of pops in a way because you don’t normally get that kind of grouping. And Vivienne is such a Broadway fan that I’m so grateful and honored that she decided to reach out to the Broadway community because we all really love each other. It gets smaller and smaller the more that you do, and to be in a room with everybody last night for the first time since creating our recordings of this in 2021 was incredible. That was really cool.
Tessa Smith: I saw a lot of pictures from last night, it seemed like you guys were all just having so much fun. Daphne, you talk about never being an animated character before, what was it like when you got to see the design of your character for the first time?
Daphne Rubin-Vega: Amazing. I mean, it’s one thing to see a picture of the character, and then it’s a whole other thing to see the animation on a big screen. The first time I got to see it was on an iPad, which is fun, and thrilling. But the sound sucks and it’s very, like, you feel like a kid watching the thing, right? Last night, it was really a great event, it was a great launch, because it really feels like a fulfillment after a process that took years, during a time when we couldn’t see each other or be in the room together. To be in the room together celebrating, it’s all the things.
Jessica Vosk: To watch the characters be fleshed out in such a way with the animation. I mean, when I first saw the inbox of Lute, I loved the vibe of the character, but it was just like line strokes, pencil strokes, all of that amazing stuff, but then to see it come to life in that real post production animated kind of way. I mean, doing animation has been a dream of mine so getting to see that happen and then going oh, that’s me is doubly cool because I don’t normally get to play play characters like that in real life.
Tessa Smith: I need a soundtrack now. The music is so good. What are you most excited for fans to see with the series. Is it the music? Is it the story? Is it everything?
Daphne Rubin-Vega: For me, it’s everything. I’m new to this. I’m newer to it than so many fans. I’m a new fan, and to come into this project as a new fan, knowing that there’s older fans that are very discriminating. It’s like, I just hope they love it as much as I do.
Jessica Vosk: I’ve been thinking to myself and saying in a couple of other interviews that even I’m surprised at my remembering of what I did in the studio that I haven’t seen yet and going, I can’t wait for these crazy moments to happen. They haven’t even happened yet. And to have that knowledge coming in, though, is as surprising, I think, for all of us as it is for the fans watching it, for us to go, wow, we did this thing, what feels like years ago, because it was, and now we’re getting to see all of the payoff of what’s happening. And because it’s such an incredibly dense, packed, not what you think it is type of show, we’re keeping everything under wraps. Things that happen with our characters are so insane that you can’t know until it happens.
Tessa Smith: You’ve got me so excited. Please keep going. Tell me everything.
Jessica Vosk: It’s lock and key, but we’re all finding it out too. Which is which is part of the magic of this thing.
Tessa Smith: Congratulations. I can’t wait to finish season one. I can’t wait for season two. Maybe three, four, five, six, seven.. Just keep going.
Jessica Vosk: It’ll keep going. That’s just my opinion.
Tessa Smith: You tell me who to write a letter to and I’ll do it.
Jessica Vosk: You write a letter to Lucifer.
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.
