Hazbin HotelThe hectic first season ended Friday, with a dozen revelations and dangling storylines, all set for a second season. The devilish comedy comes from creator Vivienne Medrano, who first posted the pilot episode to her YouTube channel, and follows Charlie, the princess of Hell, who opens a hotel in the hope that demons will be rehabilitated and sent to heaven shall go. Oh, and it’s a musical too!
The first season ended with a bang, but it may be a while before we see the second season Hazbin Hotel. So if you need something to satisfy your devilish desires for now, Medrano has picked out some of the show’s biggest influences.
Intruder Zim
Image: Netflix
Where to watch: Paramount Plus
Merdano calls this one a “big one” and it’s not hard to see why: both shows share a similar kind of feverish sensibility, along with a strong, vibrant color palette. The spindly style of Intruder Zim feels clear in the game Hazbinwith characters like Alastor and Angel Dust feeling like they can roll between shows quite comfortably.
The grim adventures of Billy and Mandy
Image: Cartoon Network Studios
Where to watch: Max
The other children’s show Merdano cites is about two kids (one an ignorant, cheerful goofball, the other a cynical and clever tomboy) who summon the Grim Reaper and defeat him in a game of limbo, earning him their eternal servant best friend. They become involved in the paranormal world of demons, gods and other supernatural beings, but it all happens with a crazy twist. The hellish through line of Grim adventures Unpleasant Hazbin Hotel is quite clear.
BoJack Rider
Image: Netflix
Where to watch: Netflix
Although there were other shows she watched when she was younger, Medrano says the ones from Netflix BoJack Rider – about an anthropomorphic, depressed, washed-up sitcom actor (who is also a horse) – is the one that came at the “perfect time” to show her she could tell a complex emotional story in adult animation.
“(It’s) actually one of my all-time favorites; phenomenal show,” says Medrano. “It kind of showed me that adult animation can be not just a raunchy comedy, but it can also be a story with intense character development. It can have incredibly flawed characters. It can make you cry. It can get really deep and dark.
“It had just started around the time I thought I was really making the pilot, and they let me go, Oh, wow, adult animation is starting to change. And it’s starting to develop.”
South Park
Where to watch: Paramount Plus
Medrano calls South Park a “huge turning point” for her with adult animation – an experience many people had around the Comedy Central classic. The show tackled current ideas and events, all with a cheerful, jaded humor that has kept the show going since 1997. “From then on,” Medrano says, “I just kept watching (adult animation).”
Rick and Morty
Image: Swimming for adults
Where to watch: Max
Equivalent to BoJackMedrano cites this ever-popular Adult Swim comedy as a proponent of the depth and humor she tries to balance in her work. Like everyone who watched Rick and Morty can testify: there is more to the show and to Pickle Rick than just the reputation it gives. “Something like Rick and Morty that’s still very raunchy and vulgar and shocking in many ways – it went this way, like: Yeah, but let’s go a little deeper, let’s get a little darker. I think that also helped shift the space more forward Oh, that works! That has an audience that did very well.”