Hazbin Hotel (Season 1)

[School of Everything Else 2024]

This was a show that was recommended to us a few times, but then wound up an unexpected commissioned episode. Compounding this, Willow has been a lover of this crazy, twisted, queer-friendly HELL for years, since the pilot surfaced on YouTube. They had already seen all eight episodes of Amazon's 2024 first season, and considering a now maturing and emotionally complex Gen Z is the target audience for this, we got Willow on as our special guest.

For the majority of you that haven't delved into Hazbin Hotel (or its brother-series Helluva Boss), it is an animated musical about the ongoing conflict between Heaven and Hell, with the titular hotel being set up by the wildly optimistic Disney-Princess daughter of Lucifer; Charlie Morningstar. Charlie believes the denizens of damnation have it in them to be redeemed and ascend to Paradise, and the hotel is the site of their rehab. Unfortunately the officials of both afterlives are various degrees of incredulous about this plan.

We talk about the whole thing, but I don't consider this as spoiling the experience for newcomers. It can only help you enjoy the show all the more if you listen to this first, and the toe-tapping, frequently genuinely excellent songs will live in your head from now on. If you like The Good Place Good Omens, The Owl House or even Hades, you will find plenty of similar philosophical musing and humour in here.