Interview: ‘Hazbin Hotel’ Creator Vivienne Medrano Discusses the Success of Her Hellish Creation

When Vivienne Medrano released the pilot episode of Hazbin Hotel on YouTube days before Halloween 2019, it near-instantly became a viral success. The bold character designs, catchy songs, raunchy humor, and diverse queer representation captured millions of viewers the world over. So, when A24 announced that Hazbin would be their first venture into co-producing a fully animated project, the surrounding hype was understandably massive. 

Awards Radar recently spoke to Medrano about the massive success of Hazbin Hotel‘s first season on Prime Video. We discussed the transition from web series to TV success, creating a new take on Biblical mythos, her lifelong love of musical theater, and the reclamation of going to Hell.

Awards Radar: What was the biggest change from working on a web series to working on a more traditional medium like TV?

Vivienne Medrano: The real season and the real series have, you know, different limitations and different kinds of set procedures and things like that. It was really just a learning curve. I learned a lot though and there were a lot of things we were able to apply working at Spindle Horse to the production at Bento and really find a nice routine I feel like is comfortable. We’re much smoother going into season 2, so it’s very exciting, but it was big. It was a little bit of an adjustment for me.

AR: So this is A24’s first time backing a fully animated production, correct? What was it like working with Amazon and A24 which are both very big names in production now?

VM: It was awesome. I mean, what I love about A24 is that they had a lot of faith in the project when they first became a part of it. I was really was able to, I think, take a lot of those risks that paid off in the long run because it is a very different kind of show in its tone and its style and everything is is very kind of kind of different and I think that I really appreciate it that it didn’t really have to fit in a box to be supported. And Amazon had the exact same mentality coming in and I really, really appreciate that because I think that’s really important to the identity of the show. It’s also just important to me as somebody who who you know, eats, sleeps and breathes the show to maintain as much of that, that unique flavor that it has. So I’m very, very honored to be working with two companies that value it so much and see the potential in it being itself.

AR: Both Hazbin and your web series Helluva Boss deal with Hell and demons and the moral ambiguity of it all. What was your thought process in designing your concept of an afterlife?

VM: I’ve always really loved the adaptation of mythos. To me, biblical and demonology mythos and these things are just so full of unique and interesting theologies and mythologies. They span across multiple religions and texts and things like that.There’s things like Dante’s Inferno that are kind of accepted as another part of the mythos and things like that. So there’s so much, and I felt like that was always really interesting to me. I feel like we see a lot of other mythos being adapted and done. And I was like, I haven’t really seen people go into like the Goetic demons or like the seven deadly sins in a way that explores the Biblical texts or or even dissecting things like early Biblical stories like Adam and Eve and things like that. Those are all things that really kind of mattered to me in a way to like, explore, commentate on, and just play with and. That was always something that I just felt like was like a perfect canvas. 

On top of that, I really love villains, and I really love creatures and monsters: that’s just things I like to draw. So, it just felt very fitting and I really liked living in this world because I like playing. I like having a world that I’ve kind of created and crafted in a way that suits my interests and my sensibilities. It’s been a really fun world to kind of expand. Between the two shows, it’s like whatever is not explored in Hazbin is explored in Helluva Boss. They’re kind of separate in that way. But like, put together, the lore is consistent and works in a fun way.

AR: So apart from just like the mythos, is there something in particular about setting your projects in Hell, specifically, that compels you to continue exploring it–especially the concepts of redemption and becoming better people despite the circumstances?

VM: Yeah, I mean big time for sure. I think the theme of redemption is something that matters to me in the real world. It’s a thing that I wanted to explore in a show and in a story. I think Hell, specifically, is a place that’s used against women and used against queer people. It’s always been this kind of thing where people threaten “oh, if you don’t abide by, you know, these very specific sets of rules or these arbitrary things said in the Bible, then you know you’re going to Hell” and it’s been kind of weaponized in that way.

So there is an element of reclaiming it as well. I think it’s a really fun setting. I think there’s a lot of commentary that can be said with that. My stories are very clear and they’re very centered on the women’s gaze, obviously coming from me. I feel like there’s a lot of that DNA in wanting to play with something that’s always been kind of used against someone like me, and other people who work on the show kind of feel that same way. There’s a lot of jokes amongst the cast and crew that there’s a lot of, like religious trauma that goes into performing and being part of the show. But at the same time, it is meant to be a fun adventure that isn’t really, you know, trying to be against anything. It’s more just wanting to explore the hypocrisies of certain ideologies, you know?

AR: The character designs of Hazbin’s pilot sparked a lot of interest when it was initially released. I’m curious about what your design ethos was when coming up with a look for each character?

VM: I started in character design and I love it. I love creating characters and I love just finding fun looks and trying to make every design I make as iconic as I can. But, when it comes to Hazbin and Helluva Boss, they’re a little bit more self indulgent mostly because they’re my projects. So I thought, you know what? I’m gonna have a lot of bow ties and suits and sharp teeth and very specific things that I like. And it really resonated with people, I think, because it is so indulgent. Again, going back to the female gaze, I think there’s a lot of desire to see those kinds of characters and kind of explore them. Angel’s a fun one because I wanted specifically to make a character that’s meant to be a very sexy character. I wanted to take a design that is not very sexy and try to make it a very sexy character. I wanted to challenge myself to kind of do things like that. And with Charlie, it was like designing what feels like a Disney Princess. But in a like, kind of edgier realm.

AR: I remember I was very on Tumblr when the pilot dropped. I remember everyone going nuts over Alastor like it was inescapable on my dash. Out of pure curiosity, was that more of a self indulgent thing or were there other inspirations?

VM: Yeah. Oh, my God. Alastor. Yes. Alastor has existed the longest. So he is the most authentic character in the sense that I’ve had him since I was in middle school. Obviously he’s gone through a lot of change. He didn’t look like that in middle school. But he’s always been like the serial killer, pseudo deer demon, cannibal thing that’s existed. And I think that DNA of just being the most self-indulgent child OC resonated with people in a way I did not expect him to be. I guess he got deemed a Tumblr sexy man very fast. And I was like, sure, I mean I see it, I get it. But that wasn’t the intention, you know, I mean, I didn’t make him to be that, but like, he kind of was authentically that just being such a classic, you know, character that I’ve had since I was so young.

AR: I know some of the characters had some changes from the pilot, and got updated for the show. Is there a particular design or redesign that’s a particular favorite of yours? Or is that a “trying to pick a favorite child” situation. 

VM: It’s definitely hard to. It’s hard to pick because it is like picking a favorite child. I’m very proud of Charlie’s design. I just think she’s a really fun, appealing character. But I think my favorite character design– just because he didn’t really change very much at all– was Sir Pentious. I just feel really good about his initial design. The most he got redesigned was simplifying him a little bit more because he’s got a lot on him. But I really like his design. I’m very proud of it. I think it’s a fun one.

AR: For sure, the Egg Boiz got me every time. My final question is: what inspired Hazbin to be a very musical show? Was there a particular impetus for the approach or with picking a voice cast that’s very centered in Broadway and musical theater? 

VM: Honestly, it’s mostly because everything I make is very musically based. A lot of the characters were kind of inspired by songs or soundtracks, so I’ve always imagined them singing. That’s kind of like how I would daydream about them. It always felt right to make it a musical. I am a massive musical theater fan. I do really, really believe that animation and music, especially musical theater, go very hand-in-hand; I think they’re very kindred. I feel like animation is an amazing place to explore that expressiveness and those and those big, grand musical moments that musicals have. I also like that musicals transcend age sometimes, you know? You can go on Broadway and there can be things that are dark and and more dull, but they’re not really advertised like that. They respect the audience coming in and I really like that about it and that’s something that I want to see more in animation.  

It does feel very musical in that way where it’s not like explicitly for any kind of person, it’s kind of for anyone who you know is mature enough for it.I think that that’s something that’s really resonated with me about musical theater. I love the variety that it can have because, you know, a lot of musicals will kind of share a sound, and I love that. I think that obviously is very iconic and makes a soundtrack really fun to listen to. But what’s fun about Hazbin is the characters are from so many different eras and so many different perspectives that the genres can kind of bounce around a lot more. I think that’s made the soundtrack like a little bit more like for everyone because like there’s kind of a song that can resonate for everyone, even though they all have the identity of being written by Sam and Andrew. So I think it’s a fun way to explore, like many different musical sounds in one kind of way.

AR: It’s nice how I feel like everything is both very eclectic, but somehow also very focused. It can appeal to a wide range of people, but there’s something very specific like a specific niche.

VM: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.