The Big Picture

Collider’s Perri Nemiroff sits with
Hazbin Hotel
‘s Vivienne Medrano and Erika Henningsen at SDCC 2024.
The pair reminisce about their “delightful” meeting, their excitement about the show’s Season 3 and 4 renewal, and a potential crossover with
Helluva Boss
.
The duo also explain how Season 2 will dig into Charlie, Alastor, and Sir Pentious’ stories further.

Hazbin Hotel checked into this year’s San Diego Comic-Con with the exciting announcement that the show has been renewed all the way through to Season 4. To celebrate, Collider’s Perri Nemiroff chats with creator Vivienne Medrano and the voice of Charlie Morningstar, Erika Henningsen, about what fans can expect from Season 2 following that show-stopping battle between Heaven and the titular hotel in the Season 1 finale.

During their conversation, Medrano and Henningsen tease that the second season will have more songs, more action, and more drama between characters, possibly including Charlie and her elusive mother, Lilith. The dynamic duo shares the story of when they first met and how they immediately knew they’d make ideal collaborators, and also took a moment to theorize about how characters from Hazbin Hotel could cross paths with characters from Helluva Boss. For all of this and tons more, check out the full interview in the video above, or you can read the transcript below.

Image via Comic-Con

Read Our ‘Hazbin Hotel’ Review

‘Hazbin Hotel’ Is Open for Business Through Season 4
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PERRI NEMIROFF: The first thing I have to say is congratulations. A Season 3 and 4 renewal — that’s a big deal!

VIVIENNE MEDRANO: It’s huge. I’m properly animated today for it. It’s unreal. Now I’m seeing people react because I’ve known for a bit. I was like, “Oh, yeah, it’s happening.” Then now, to see everyone actually understand, the gravity of it’s hitting, and I’m like, “Oh my gosh! Yes. We are going to be telling more of the story.” I can’t wait.

What was your reaction when you first found out?

MEDRANO: Over the moon.

Did you expect a double renewal?

MEDRANO: No, that’s why I was over-the-moon excited. As a creator in animation, it’s so precious to even get one season. So, it’s unreal and an honor to get this many and to have Amazon have the faith in the show to go ahead. Because Season 2 hasn’t even come out yet, so a lot of it’s based on the response to Season 1 and how Season 2 is shaping up. So, I’m so proud, and I’m determined to keep making the show as good as it can be.

Vivienne Medrano and Erika Henningsen Had a “Delightful” First Encounter
Image via Comic-Con

One of my favorite things about the two of you, and the rest of the team working on this, is how in sync everyone seems. It seems like you found the perfect creative partners. Looking back, can you each tell me the first thing you saw in the other that signaled to you, “This is an ideal collaborator?”

MEDRANO: I think this is so cute. So, obviously, we recorded the season and everything, and the second Erika got into the booth, I was like, “Oh, this is just perfect.” You were just perfectly fit, and you were so easy to work with and so fun. But we weren’t in person for those, and that was the job and everything. So, when I met you for the first time in person, it was at Sam Haft’s house, one of the songwriters for the show. He has a very young one, and the young one had a big box that he was playing in, and he invited you to come in, and one of the first things you did was—and you were dressed really nice, you had this lovely dress on because I think you were coming back from a fancy event—and you just immediately crawled into the box.

ERIKA HENNINGSEN: With this 2-year-old child I just met. [Laughs]

MEDRANO: And I was like, “This is such an amazing person to be collaborating with right now.” It was just such a great energy and such a great first impression. I loved that.

Image via Comic-Con

HENNINGSEN: It was like our first time meeting in person. It was really special.

MEDRANO: It said so much about you. I was like, “You are such a delightful human being.”

HENNINGSEN: I will crawl into a box with your children! [Laughs] No questions asked. I was just so inspired by the first time I was in the voice booth with Viv. It’s really rare on day one of a project where somebody knows exactly what they’re going for, and they know how to effectively ask for what they want and how to be communicative and clear. I was so inspired because we’re kind of the same age, but Viv is a badass female in this very male-dominated field. Really, I have never seen a young woman being at the top where everybody was responding with, “Yes, absolutely. I hear you. Let’s make that happen.” And she did it with such kindness and clarity. I just thought, “Oh, wow.” This is a person that I not only want to work for, but I learned just from watching how you walk through this world as a female creator. I think it’s totally inspiring, and I think young female animators are probably feeling the same way. It’s incredible.

We Have to Wait a Little Longer for ‘Hazbin Hotel’ Season 2’s Release Date
Image via Prime Video

Viv, last time we spoke, you told me that there’s no proposed target release date. That was two months ago. Has much changed on that front?

MEDRANO: No. [Laughs]

There we go!

MEDRANO: Animation takes time.

I respect that. I want you to take the time you need to make it the best it can possibly be, so take all the time you need. I mean, not too much time, but you know what I mean!

MEDRANO: My attitude is always like the first season. I know it’s worth the wait. It’s a great season.

I was more comfortable telling you, “Take all the time you need,” last time we spoke because I hadn’t binged Helluva Boss yet. Now that I did, I’m like, “What do I binge next?”

‘Hazbin Hotel’ Season 2 Has More Songs and More Action

The other thing you told me was the production process this time around was more of a challenge because you were “upping things.” What exactly does “upping things” mean?

MEDRANO: Honestly, it’s just the magnitude of the season. We wanted it to go bigger, and so this season has a lot more action, some really cool, unique challenges, and some songs that are just such fun, diverse genres that are a little bit more visual. We were like, “Let’s take this on!” It feels so big and grand. Also, we knew everybody better. Me and Sam and Andrew [Standler] have a well-oiled machine in terms of how we work together. So, I can’t hype it up more than just that it’s gonna be bigger and grander. And there is a lot more action, which, personally, I like action.

Erika, I’ll throw the same question your way. Can you give me an example of something you do in Season 2 that had you upping your game as a voice actor?

HENNINGESEN: There were some stylistic things. There was a song that Sam and Andrew wrote for me that is very different because it’s a really fun, sexy song between Charlie and Vaggie. We haven’t really seen Charlie live in the total pop world yet. I think I’m allowed to say Season 2 has more songs, and there is a song, and a scene into a song, that just lives in a different stylistic place than I, Erika, do or that Charlie has in Season 1. So, that was fun to tap into. I had to channel my best. I feel like I listened to some Shakira leading up to it. The musical influence of that was different, so that was super fun. I feel like that was maybe the most stylistically different I’ve done.

Image via Comic-Con

MEDRANO: The fun of doing so much music and so much music with all the characters is the challenge of, “How can we make this more fun and different?” And I definitely think Season 2 steps up to that, for sure.

Will Charlie See Lilith in ‘Hazbin Hotel’ Season 2?
Iamge Credit: A24, Prime Video, and Bento Box

Erika, I wanted to ask about Lilith because I’m assuming Lilith is gonna be a bigger part of the story. At the end of Season 1, what do you think Charlie wants to see most in her mother, whether she winds up getting it or not?

HENNINGESEN: I think she just wants to see her.

MEDRANO: I was going to say that.

HENNINGSEN: I really just think she needs to see her. She wants to see her. I think Viv probably knows the answer beyond that.

MEDRANO: Oh yeah. [Laughs]

HENNINGSEN: I ask Viv not to tell me things because I don’t want to play the end before we get there. Right now, what I live in is the idea that she just wants to see her mom.

I want her to see her mom! I don’t know what’s gonna happen, obviously, but I say that and then I feel like I’m gonna regret it, like she’s gonna hurt her or disappoint her.

MEDRANO: That’s the challenge. You never know. I like hurting people. [Laughs]

HENNINGSEN: But it’s life! Sometimes the people who love you hurt you the most.

MEDRANO: It’s real.

It’s too real.

Season 2 Will Explore Alastor’s and Sir Pentious’ Storylines
Image via Prime Video

I don’t know if you can answer this, but we were talking a little bit about character backstory and who we’ll learn more about in terms of how they died. Can you tell me any specifics in terms of who you’re prioritizing with that kind of material?

MEDRANO: That’s safe. I actually really like the way you phrased that with the prioritization because, for me, some of the characters I’ve had for a very long time, and some of the information about them is kind of out there. One of those characters is Alastor. I’ve had him for so long, and I’ve developed him as a character for so long that people kind of know his backstory. So, it was a very high priority for me to canonize that backstory because that’s very full circle for me, not only as a storyteller but also just having this character for so long. So, I’m very excited for people to see the legitimately on-screen, canon version of his backstory. I’ve just had it for so long, so I’m very excited for that.

I’ll take that. I passed with that question. Let’s see what happens with this one. At the end of Season 1, Sir Pentious goes to heaven. He’s in heaven right now. I have to imagine that means we’re going to spend more time in heaven. How would you break down how much time we’re going to spend in heaven versus hell?

MEDRANO: Again, the safest answer will probably be that we just spend more time in heaven than we did in Season 1 because he’s an important character. Obviously, those are characters that we met in Season 1, and so now he’s up there with them. I’m really excited for people to see that because it’s a whole different dynamic, a whole different setting to spend time in.

Image Credit: A24, Prime Video, Bento Box

HENNINGSEN: What a great design! I love the design element. It’s just such a cool, visually pleasing thing to go from heaven to hell the way Viv designed it and her artists have designed it. It’s one of my favorite things, that contrast, in Season 1.

MEDRANO: It’s very fun. When we’re looking at the assets for one setting versus the other, it feels like two different…

HENNINGSEN: Two different shows!

Could ‘Hazbin Hotel’ and ‘Helluva Boss’ Intersect?

I also think it could be really exciting to transition to all the different layers of hell, which I now firmly understand. Technically, Charlie can go to the other layers.

MEDRANO: Technically, yes. The rules are that Hellborns can go wherever they want in hell, and she is that. So, she can go and Lucifer can go, but the Sinners cannot. That’s a very, very, very important rule, is that the Sinners can only stay in Pride, which is where the whole of Hazbin takes place.

In the near future, maybe Season 2, will we see any layer from Helluva Boss or any of those characters come into play in Hazbin?

MEDRANO: I’m really excited to explore what that could look like someday, but not in Season 2.

Fair enough!

Erika, if you could snap your fingers and create a scene between Charlie and one Helluva Boss character, which character would you pick and why?

HENNINGSEN: Just because I think she’s my favorite, Loona. [Laughs] I don’t actually know what we would talk about, but I just want to be in a scene with Loona.

MEDRANO: That would be a fun interaction because their personalities are polar opposites.

HENNINGSEN: Exactly! It’s not who I think she would get along with the best. I just think it would be fascinating to see.

I feel like the two of them would just have a good time.

MEDRANO: As soon as they connect on that one thing, then it would work. That would be chaotic.

HENNINGSEN: It would just be loud. [Laughs]

Medrano and Henningsen Tease Their Favorite Season 2 Episodes

To broadly tease Season 2, Erika, you have done all of your voice work and, Viv, you obviously know all the scripts. Is there a single episode of Season 2 that you are most looking forward to having fans see?

MEDRANO: That’s a fun one because I could probably say it and you won’t know until it comes out. So, personally, I’m a little biased. I really like Episode 5. It’s very grand, it’s very cool, and just involves a lot of characters I really personally like.

HENNINGSEN: I remember which one she’s talking about. This is not a spoiler, but I’ve gotten to see a little bit, and I am excited for the penultimate episode, Episode 7. It’s the same reason I liked Episode 7 in Season 1; we’re building, and I just like the tension.

MEDRANO: It has a lot of fun tension. It’s also like, “Oh my gosh, what’s gonna happen?”

HENNINGSEN: Hazbin does a really good job of building that tension. I was worried, and I was like, “Well, how are we going to create that again to get us to the end with as big a finish as we did in Season 1?” And, of course, they do, and they achieve it off-the-charts in Episode 8. But I’m always impressed by the step before, the one that gets us there, and that’s Episode 7.

Image via Comic-Con

I could keep you two here forever. I’ll end with one more question about the Season 3 and 4 renewal. You finished Season 1, you are well on your way with Season 2. Is there anything about knowing you are getting Seasons 3 and 4 that you think will serve the animation process well?

MEDRANO: Oh, yeah! Anyone who works in animation—getting technical for a second—knows that it’s such a long process, and so the sooner you can get started on a new season, if you know, the better. So knowing that we have [Seasons 3 and 4], and they can just kind of roll into each other, I feel like just in a general and a production sense, for the artists that we have on staff, it’s gonna be easier for them to stay on the show. Anyone who also works in animation knows when your role ends, and there’s not something immediately to jump onto, you go off and you look for other work. So, it’ll be easier to maintain the voice between those two seasons because the artists will probably stick around. So, on every level, it’s really helpful. So, I’m excited for that too. It’s great.

You can watch Hazbin Hotel Season 1 exclusively on Prime Video.

Hazbin Hotel In an attempt to find a non-violent alternative for reducing Hell’s overpopulation, the daughter of Lucifer opens a rehabilitation hotel that offers a group of misfit demons a chance at redemption.Release Date October 28, 2019 Creator Vivienne Medrano Cast Erika Henningsen , Christian Borle , Alex Brightman , Amir Talai Seasons 2

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