Though Hazbin Hotel‘s a new addition to the streaming scene, the cult following it accumulated prior to landing an Amazon Prime Video series means there’s a lot of content already out there for audiences intrigued by Vivienne Medrano’s vision of the underworld, including Helluva Boss.
Helluva Boss is a Spin-Off of Hazbin Hotel
So, how does a show that seemingly just arrived in January 2024 already have a spin-off that’s run for two seasons? Well, Hazbin Hotel’s jump from YouTube pilot premise to Amazon animated series has been percolating for nearly four years. Since the 2019 debut of Hazbin Hotel’s concept pilot, the series and its characters have garnered a massive fanbase and even a spin-off series in Helluva Boss.
Helluva Boss expands on the worldbuilding of Hazbin Hotel by focusing on a corner of hell beyond Charlie Morningstar’s concierge desk. The YouTube animated series focuses on the quasi-competent imp-run I.M.P (Immediate Murder Now) private assassination agency. While highlighting another small business within hell’s depraved economy, I.M.P’s boss Blitzo harbors fewer qualms about morality than Charlie at the Hazbin Hotel. In Helluva Boss, Blitzo and the I.M.P imps traverse between hell and earth, exacting homicidal unfinished business on behalf of the wronged denizens of the underworld.
How Do Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss Connect?
Helluva Boss largely stays confined to its own corner of hell, and therefore demonstrates less concern about the larger political machinations between heaven and hell than Hazbin Hotel. However, both shows center a consistent sense of irreverent humor, a propensity for musical numbers, and, of course, VivziePop’s signature art style. Actors such as Alex Brightman, Brandon Rogers, and James Monroe Iglehart (not to be confused with Jason Statham) appear as different fiendish characters across both shows, lending a literal consistency to the overall voice of their shared hellscape.
Outside of fanfiction, no formal crossover has occurred between Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss, though both series’ central protagonists have dipped into each other’s worlds in the form of Easter egg cameos. The YouTube pilots for the two related VivziePop animated projects arrived in close proximity, which implied that Medrano was already developing Hazbin Hotel‘s spin-off before its premiere. This is further evidenced by Blitzo’s brief cameo in Hazbin Hotel‘s 2019 YouTube pilot. Helluva Boss returned the favor in its initial pilot when hellhound Loona had a video of the Princess of Hell playing at her I.M.P agency desk.
Helluva Boss currently has two seasons available to stream on YouTube, with further seasons of the Hazbin Hotel spin-off planned. Between the continued misadventures of Helluva Boss‘ imps and Hazbin Hotel‘s streaming success on Prime Video, fans holding out for an official crossover may still harbor hope. At the very least, further Easter eggs within the two show’s shared universe certainly remain on the table.
Hazbin Hotel is available to stream now on Prime Video.
