Hazbin Hotel is a brand new adult animated musical on Prime Video that concluded its first season on Thursday, February 1st. Created by Vivienne Medrano, it features a colorful cast of characters to follow the lovable Princess of Hell, Charlie Morningstar (Erika Henningsen), as she tries to rehabilitate demons to save them from the yearly extermination from Heaven. However, it’s not going very well as Heaven bumps up their extermination to six months, and Charlie struggles to get the hotel to work. 

This review will contain spoilers about the show from here on out, but if you haven’t seen it yet, go check it out first!

I’ve personally been following this show since the release of its pilot on Medrano’s YouTube channel, Vivziepop, which boasts ninety-seven million views as of this writing. I’ve waited over four years since the pilot’s release and eagerly awaited the launch of the first season, and it did not disappoint. 

The cast features other characters such as Charlie’s supportive girlfriend, Vaggie (Stephanie Beatriz), one of Hell’s most popular pornstars, Angel Dust (Blake Ronan), and an intimidating overlord demon with ulterior motives, Alastor (Amir Talai). With many more characters to follow, there’s never a dull moment in this show. 

Getting into the musical aspect of the show, it’s generally well done, with lots of catchy songs like “Loser, Baby” sung by Angel Dust and Husk (Keith David), the hotel’s bartender. There are many touching songs, like “More Than Anything,” a duet by Charlie and her father, Lucifer (Jeremy Jordan), as he comes to terms with her dreams and chooses to support her rather than fear she’ll share the same fate he suffered. Each of the eight episodes hosts two songs, and none of them disappoint. They show a broad range of talent and emotions. 

I will say that some songs come seemingly out of nowhere, so the transition to songs can be jarring, but as it is a musical, that’s to be expected sometimes. Most songs are a hit, catchy, charming, and devastating all in one at times. 

The characters are also fun to follow, not just the hotel’s main story. There’s Angel Dust, the first guest at the hotel. While initially he stayed at the hotel for free lodging away from his abusive boss, Valentino, Angel does start to lean into the idea of redemption, and perhaps in future seasons, there’s a chance for him to be redeemed after all. Husk, while not too much is known about him, what we do know is that he was an overlord who sold his soul to Alastor to save himself from his gambling addiction, and he’s only at the hotel at the command of Alastor but grows to like it there. 

Sir Pentious (Alex Brightman) originally came to the hotel as a spy for one of Alastor’s enemies, Vox (Christian Borle). He is discovered but stays to redeem himself truly, and as seen in the final moments of the season one finale, he does and is sent to Heaven. I’m eager to see what this means for Sir Pentious in season two. 

Alastor has a lot of allure surrounding him. He’s a dangerous overlord who owns hundreds of souls and is incredibly powerful. However, his excuse for being at the hotel is to watch how things go as entertainment, but there’s more to his story. We find out in episode five that his soul is also owned by someone, but we don’t know who or why, but it’s a touchy subject to him. In the finale, he’s more eager than ever to break free of this and become even more powerful. We still don’t know what he wants to do, but maybe this leash he has on himself is the one thing holding him back from his true, devious potential. A popular fan theory is that Charlie’s absent mom, Lilith, is in control of Alastor, and he will use Charlie to free himself from her. 

With talk of the story, I thoroughly enjoyed what I’ve seen so far, but I know I’m not the only one who agrees that the pace is at breakneck speed the entire way through. I find myself rewatching episodes because I enjoy them and the pacing, which is so quick; I also need to return to episodes to absorb everything. Season two is already confirmed and in the works, but I hope this issue is addressed so that Medrano and the writers can adjust the story’s pacing. Six months occurs in just eight short episodes, and the show needs more runtime to get meaningful time with the characters to connect with them, or the story needs to slow down. 

It’s not all bad, though. There are fun details that veteran fans will notice, such as Angel Dust’s sister, Molly, making a cameo in episode six of Heaven. I wonder if part of Angel’s motivation for redemption is so that he can see his sister again. Also, when Charlie first finds Vaggie after she is injured and banished from Heaven, they are wearing the outfits they wrote in the pilot on YouTube. 

If you enjoy fun animation with a variety of characters and great musical numbers, this show might be for you. I will watch with great interest as this story progresses, and I can’t wait for news of season two’s arrival.