Exploring Hazbin Hotel

Having an internet show on YouTube reach television is something that has only happened a handful of times. Some examples are “The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange,” “The Dude Perfect Show” and “Oddballs.” 

These were all massively popular web series before they got picked up by TV networks and streaming services. Now, the newest series just wrapped up its first season – which to me, offers both hits and misses. 

“Hazbin Hotel” was created by YouTuber and webcomic artist Vivienne Medrano. The show is an adult, animated, musical comedy that follows Charlie Morningstar, who is the daughter of Lucifer, and the princess of Hell. She runs a hotel in Hell that tries to rehabilitate sinners and redeem them so they may enter Heaven. 

Charlie’s motivation for running the hotel is to save sinners from yearly exterminations conducted by angels, an annual purge to stop Hell from becoming overpopulated. The first season of Hazbin focuses on Charlie trying to convince Heaven to end these purges, and to show them sinners actually can be redeemed.

Hazbin is definitely one of the more unique shows I have seen recently. With it being a musical, there are one or two different songs each episode. These songs tend to be the best part of the show, with some of them being very catchy.

The first season has only eight episodes, with each lasting around 23 minutes. This forces the show to progress very fast, and causes many characters to not get the spotlight they need.

Hazbin is, yes, an adult animated series, and it shows: It contains so many swear words, it would put Samuel L. Jackson to shame. The episodes also contain lots of sexual themes and jokes, the latter sometimes becoming overused and seeming out of place.

Overall, I believe the show is just “okay.” It stands out as one of the most unique shows on Amazon Prime Video at the moment. I would recommend it if you’re into adult animation – but as for me, I would only rewatch it for the musical parts. My rating: 3 ½ stars out of 5.