Hazbin Hotel - Wicked Fun

I came from from a trying week at work, with a crashing headache and mental fatigue, I wanted nothing more than to curl up on my couch with my new book and forget the world for a while. My daughter took one look at me and said "Wanna watch Hazbin Hotel with me?" She was on the last episode of season one. When I suggested she might not want to watch it again, she pfft me.

Given that she's found some gems that I've loved I figured why not. Got myself a drink and settled onto the couch for I had no real idea what.

And wow.

Okay so the premise sounds wack; the daughter of Lucifer and Lilith, Charlie - the Princess of Hell, has decided she doesn't like the status quo whereby forces from heaven come down every year and massacre the inhabitants of hell. She figures there has to be a way to rehabilitate demons.

Still sounds totally wack, but hey just go with it. Believe me it's worth it. Well worth it if you enjoy a little wack mixed with a little clever.

If Charlie was a human she would totally work in juvenille justice but that's a total side bar.

Let's take our core characters. Charlie is perky and adorable and you want to cringe and hate her but you kind of can't. I can't explain it I think you have to see it. Charlie opens a rehabilitation hotel in the hopes of reforming the sinners of hell and enabling them to transcend to heaven and avoid being exterminated.

Charlie is dating Vaggie, who has a secret that I'm not about to spoil. Vaggie is not really anything like Charlie, she is far more stab or slice it and ask questions later, but she loves Charlie so supports her dream, despite what she thinks of it.

Their first resident is Angel Dust, drug addict and porn star. Angel is an incredibly complex character and has possibly the most powerful song in this series.

Oh that's right, it's also something of a musical, there are a couple of songs in every episode, but more of that later.

Angel is conflicted and without question messed up.

Then we get the Hotel's patron Alastor, he is quite up front in his motivation for helping out, he absolutely doesn't believe in Charlie's dream, he does however like ruffling feathers, exerting power and watching people fail. He too has a secret.

Alastor brings the hotel their additional staff; Husk, a gambling addict bar tender and Nifty, a psycho housekeeper. They both bring unique and fun elements to this show.

Here's the thing though, remember how I said it was kind of a musical, well in many ways there is nothing kind of about that which is abundantly clear when you look at the voice cast. It is chock full of musical and Broadway performers, even award nominated ones.

Charlie is played by Erica Henningsen (Tony and Critics choice nominated). Vaggie is played by Stephanie Beatriz (Mirabel from Encanto and Brooklyn 99). Jeremy Jordan is Lucifer (Tony and Grammy nominated). Keith David plays Husk (Emmy winner and Dr Faciler in Princess and the Frog). Alex Brightmen is Adam (Tony nominee).

Not to mention a bunch of other fabulous voice performers who have amazing careers ahead of them.

It needs to be mentioned that yes this is set in hell, yes it is an adult animation and it deals with a few topics that could be considered triggering. That's what makes it clever. Underneath the surface there are themes of redemption, relationships, being non-judgemental, and overcoming insecurity. Angel Dust's story is likely to be the most triggering, his song Poison is somewhat heartbreaking and his arc makes some definite comments about DV, abusive relationships, and survival.

This is balanced out by the main story, the interaction of all the characters and the overall theme of underdog versus the overpowered bully.

The Cannibal Town scene is a lot of fun.

I don't know the authors motivation, whether the intent was to throw such insightful elements into the story, or if it just happened in the course of weaving all these characters stories together into a fun and entertaining show. The beats are there though, if you have the eyes/ears to notice them.

All in all, I went in thinking this might not be a bad way to unwind from what was essentially a tiring week for me and I got so much more. We binged the entire season, the songs are now on my play list and I can't wait for season 2.

Vivienne Medrano, the show's creator has done a wonderful job and given something a little fresh, a lot off colour, a little insightful, and a hell of a lot of fun.