When Vivienne Medrano was a child, she stayed away from horror, anything considered adult, and any images that could be considered inappropriate, especially on the Internet, for fear that scary stories and scenes could have malevolent power. But in high school, a twist changed.
“I saw 'South Park' for the first time and I saw Steven Spielberg's 'War of the Worlds,'” Medrano, 31, said recently. “It's not really a horror movie, but it was very dark and it's a very scary movie, especially for a young person. I thought, 'Wow, that's a different kind of feeling.'”
Fast forward to 2024 and Medrano, a bisexual woman and self described Proud and fiery Latina, she is not only a horror fan but also a horror creator, as the creator, executive producer and director of Prime Video's new animated horror comedy show. “Hazbin Hotel.” The eight-episode, adults-only series, premiering Friday, centers on Charlie (voiced by Erika Henningsen), the reigning princess of Hell and daughter of Lucifer, who opens a rehabilitation center to help sinners and demons to become angels before heaven begins its annual extermination. of the evildoers residing in Hades.
Vivienne Medrano, creator of the “Hazbin Hotel”.
(Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Prime Video)
The show comes five years after Medrano, who works under the name VivziePopuploaded a 30 minute pilot to his YouTube channel, which to date has garnered 93 million views. In 2020, the A24 art studio signed they then produced a full season, making it the first animated series they produced (Bento Box Entertainment is a co-producer), and then greenlit a second. Four episodes drop the first week, then two more weekly until February 2.
The universe of “Hazbin Hotel” is an unashamedly colorful, queer-inclusive, fast-paced hodgepodge of extravagant grotesques and copious verbiage buoyed by (and here's the double take) a Broadway pop score.
Sam Haft and Andrew Underberg's music and lyrics traffic in old-school songs and dynamic dance numbers, such as “A happy day in hell” the absurdly gory but brilliant opening issue introducing Charlie and his fellow demons.
The voice cast features true Broadway stars, including Tony nominees Daphne-Rubin Vega (“Rent”) and Jeremy Jordan (“Newsies the Musical”) and Patina Miller (“Pippin”) in supporting roles. Alex Brightman, a two-time Tony nominee, including for playing the title role in the musical “Beetlejuice,” voices two roles: Sir Pentious, an elegant evil genius snake who makes weapons of destruction but has a vulnerable side, and Adam. he Adam, like Eve's man: an energetic brother who rules heaven like a dictator.
Medrano and Brightman recently talked about how horror and musical theater are cut from the same cloth, whether or not hell exists, and other topics on the existentialist-entertainment spectrum. Here, their interviews have been edited and condensed.
“Hazbin Hotel” is a television show that combines musical theater and horror, a mix that is not seen very often. Are you a fan of both genres?
medrano: I have acted somewhat in my life but at a very amateur level. The theater is a place that I love and that inspires me. But I'm also a big fan of horror. I like things that get very dark.
brilliant man: I love horror movies since I was too young. I blame my parents. I've been a musical theater person since I was 8 years old. Musical theater for me is a bit of a religion. My roles in “Hazbin” are so crazy and contrary to who I am in real life. It's fun to play weirdos and misfits, but I'm actually pretty warm.
Vivienne, most of the horror fans I know are the sweetest people imaginable. Where do you think they get their love for scary things?
medrano: As you grow older, your boy wonder stage fades as you begin to see and learn more about the darkness of the world. Horror is an escape from that. I think that's why so many horror fans are so kind, because they've been through some of the worst things and have learned how to escape into fiction.
Horror requires that you not take things too seriously, otherwise you would be traumatized for the rest of your life. You have to allow yourself to be put in an uncomfortable position, something some people are not willing to do. But horror fans are willing to adapt. When it comes to empathy and connection with other people, that's an important thing.
As for music, what did you imagine the inhabitants of heaven and hell would sound like?
medrano: I'm a music snob. I was thinking a lot: “The music should sound coherent and relatively Broadway.” One challenge was that all the characters have a different type of sound. Like Alex, one of his characters has a very rock theme and the other is very old and Victorian, a little steam-punky. None of those characters feel like they lend themselves to a normal Broadway sound. On the soundtrack, one second it's pop and the next something Latin. It's great how well they were able to pull it off.
Broadway would kill to have a cast like yours.
medrano: As a theater fan, it's absolutely mind-blowing. Patina, I remember seeing her in “Pippin”. She was such an outstanding performer that I could never get the performance out of my head. When it came time to cast, she was one of the people we contacted directly to play a role. The fact that she said yes is incredible. I'm on cloud nine when it comes to the cast.
Alex Brightman voices Sir Pentious and Adam in “Hazbin Hotel.”
(Greg Allen / Invision / Associated Press)
Alex, what are some of the differences between stage and voice acting that you notice the most?
brilliant man: There are huge differences but also more similarities than you imagine. In both, you use all of yourself. In animation, you can step away from the choreography a little, hit the target and be seen from the balcony. The only big difference is that you can be wrong 500 times. On stage, you have a chance but you can't cut it and hold on and go back and do it again.
I'm an improvisational guy, so having the opportunity to do alternate takes is great. But the one filmed in musical theater is exciting. I love that things can go wrong.
And, man, are there any bad words on this show?
brilliant man: [Laughs] I don't think everything is for everyone. If saying bad words offends you, that's okay. People are allowed to be offended. But I think art can't advance unless we try things. I'm glad they created a show that will be unpleasant for some, but for others it will be their favorite thing.
Vivienne, to what extent do you consider yourself, like Charlie, a princess from hell?
medrano: I'm a queer woman on the internet who made something popular. You can only imagine it. We are both in this position of fighting uphill battles to make our dreams exist. Charlie is a character that I not only directly identify with, but I also think, “She is very brave, determined and energetic.” She is a very aspirational character for me.
Sir Pentious, the character voiced by Alex Brightman.
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Put on your theology hat: What does the show say about the tug-of-war between good and evil?
medrano: That's a very complicated answer and that's what I like. The show aims to represent and deal with the gray between two pillars. It's about redemption and second chances, but really, it's also about what does that really mean? People who go through difficult things and trauma and become bad or unpleasant people, it's really sometimes just love, support and faith in them that can change them. We have seen it throughout history.
Each one has their relationship with forgiveness and redemption and with the people who have hurt them. I don't even know if I should ever have a definitive answer, because I don't know if there is a universal answer.
Going back to musical theater, that's basically the premise of “Wicked,” trying to understand why the wicked witch became who she became.
medrano: “Wicked” is a beautiful story. For me, seeing stories about what leads someone down a dark path is very enlightening because it is often something very big. Sometimes it is justifiable, sometimes never. But at least it's understandable. A big influence of mine is “Bojack Horseman,” another series that is very intricate because of the complexity of how horrible the main character is. But you understand every aspect of what got him there.
Do you believe in hell?
brilliant man: I would say that I consider myself a spiritually inclined agnostic. I think maybe something is going on but I don't know if I would figure it out. At this point, and I'm willing to change, I would say no.
medrano: It's complicated. I have no idea what's going on in the universe. But sometimes I wish it existed. Who knows what the criteria are.
