Amazon Is Turning The Best YouTube Cartoon Into A Streaming Series
Now that the WGA strike has officially come to an end, streamers are beginning to announce a slew of new television series and films, secured in their certainty that work stoppages will soon conclude. One such series, which is set to premiere in January 2024 on Amazon Prime Video, is based on the YouTube animation Hazbin Hotel, which first aired its pilot three years ago on the video-sharing platform. According to a write-up in Deadline, the series has received a two-season order at the streamer.
Hazbin Hotel has been a YouTube sensation for years, and now it’s coming to Amazon as a full-fledged animated series.
The full series is being produced by A24 in collaboration with Fox’s Bento Box Entertainment. The original 2019 pilot of Hazbin Hotel, by comparison, was produced almost entirely by creator Vivienne Medrano’s own Patreon backers and was completed using work from a number of freelancers over the course of two calendar years.
Despite the DIY nature of the YouTube pilot, the project has been met with critical acclaim and a dedicated online fanbase, eventually resulting in a spinoff YouTube series, a companion web-comic, and of course, the newly announced Amazon Prime Video series of the same name.
This success story is very inspiring for YouTube animators, as the streamer’s two-season order seems to place great faith in the Hazbin Hotel franchise.
Through her YouTube career, Vivienne Medrano has amassed a loyal following of nearly 8.5 million subscribers, with the Hazbin Hotel pilot currently holding just under 90 million views. The pilot has been praised for its incredible animation and voice work, as well as its representation of a number of LGBTQIA+ identities. Medrano serves as an executive producer on the full series at Amazon, as well as directing each of the first season’s eight episodes.
Hazbin Hotel is set to follow the animated misadventures of the princess of Hell, Charlie. Despite her royal lineage in the fiery depths, Charlie has dedicated herself to rehabilitating demons in an effort to send them into the kingdom of heaven… and also reduce overpopulation in hell. She faces mockery from a number of demonic residents in the underworld, though some creatures do desire her help, checking themselves into her rehabilitation hotel with the hopes that they can eventually “check out” into heaven.
This success story is very inspiring for YouTube animators, as the streamer’s two-season order seems to place great faith in the Hazbin Hotel franchise. With backing from big-name studios such as A24 and Bento Box Entertainment, the series is likely to maintain the high standard of quality fans have been desiring from the franchise for over three years since the pilot was first produced.
Hazbin Hotel follows the efforts of Charlie, the Princess of Hell, as she tries to turn demons into good people….with mixed results.
While many other series creators have gotten their start with animated projects on YouTube, it seems as though Vivienne Medrano’s project has garnered more good faith and baited anticipation than nearly any previous project to originate from the video-sharing site.
Medrano’s many fans have already begun to respond to the long-awaited announcement in the comment section of the Amazon teaser trailer, drawing great excitement for the upcoming series. While there’s no word yet on the status of Hazbin Hotel‘s second season, the teaser seems to imply that it’s currently being worked on. Hazbin Hotel premiers on Amazon Prime Video sometime in January 2024.
