A24 Is Bringing Controversial Demon Cartoon Hazbin Hotel to TV
A24 is taking the pilot of the adult animated musical comedy, which was an overnight sensation on Youtube, and making it into a full series.
A24, the distributor/production company behind Euphoria and The Lighthouse, is jumping into the animation game with Hazbin Hotel. The adult animated musical series follows Charlie, the princess of Hell, in her quest to open a rehabilitation hotel for sinners so that they might go to heaven instead of being executed when overpopulation arises.
A 30-minute pilot was written, produced, and directed by Vivienne Medrano and posted on her YouTube page, Vivziepop, in October of 2019. It has since amassed over 40 million views. The immediate success allowed Medrano to commission an 11-minute spinoff pilot titled Helluva Boss, which follows an imp named Blitzo who runs an assassination agency, and an animated music video for Silva Hound’s “Addict.” While more episodes of Helluva Boss will likely come to YouTube as a web series, Hazbin Hotel has been picked up for a proper series order.
In a tweet on August 7th, A24, probably still celebrating the news that Hulu wants a third season of the Emmy-nominated Ramy, announced that Hazbin Hotel would soon be coming to TV with their efforts. No word yet on where the series will air, how many episodes have been ordered, or how heavily involved Medrano and the original voice cast will be. Surely, more information will come soon, either from A24 or Medrano herself.
In addition to the spinoffs, Medrano has been busy fleshing out the world of Hazbin Hotel in a prequel webcomic, of which the first chapter “Dirty Healings” is available on the official website. It follows the characters of the series before the creation of the hotel in an effort to better develop them, and should give A24 somewhere to start with series arcs. Unfortunately, not everyone will agree they should start at all.
The pilot of Hazbin Hotel was uniquely polarizing. Although adult animation has come into its own in recent years, most are still considered redundant in tone and style. Hazbin Hotel's universal praise has been for its animation and design, particularly considering its small-scale creation. However, it stars a cast of literal demons, who often say unsavory things that may provoke backlash. The pilot was accused of being both homophobic and transphobic, as the numerous LGBTQ+ characters (whose existence alone earned praise from others) are stereotyped and insulted continuously.
As a result, internet sleuths have dug into Medrano’s older work to support serious allegations of pedophilia and child pornography, which have since been effectively debunked. Other arguably trivial issues have been brought to light by critics of Medrano, but like many creators of late she has long since apologized for any offense her early work may have caused. People either love or hate Hazbin Hotel, but A24 has never really been afraid of controversy, and there's probably no better place for the series to go.
Next: What Midsommar's Ominous Final Shot Really Means For Dani
Source: A24
