With Amazon Prime and A24 getting ready to premiere the second season of the animated musical comedy Hazbin Hotel, voice stars Erika Henningsen, Blake Roman and Amir Talai attended Fan Expo Canada and teased what fans can expect for their characters in the anticipated season.
Hazbin Hotel follows Charlie (Henningsen), Lucifer’s daughter and the Princess of Hell, as she seeks to find a way to redeem sinners and get them into Heaven. With the help of Alastor (Talai), a demon whose motives and history remain mysterious, and her first guest Angel Dust (Roman), they open the Hazbin Hotel as a place to reform demons.
Hazbin Hotel has a long history behind it as creator Vivienne Medrano created the series and independently produced a pilot for her YouTube channel in 2019. After also creating Helluva Boss, she partnered with Amazon and A24 to turn it into a proper series which premiered last year. The series became very successful, turning its already dedicated fanbase much larger and was later renewed for a third and fourth season after having already gotten an early order for season two.
The trio spoke of their approach to season two with some feeling the pressure after the success of the first. Talai felt nervous because his experience was “not so much that I had to do stuff that I was like ‘I’ve never like this before’, but I will say I felt a different responsibility, a different weight, than I’ve ever felt before. Having done season one and seeing the reaction to the show and the character and what they meant to people, I felt a heaviness in the booth that I was like ‘get this right, do it for Viv, do it for the fans. Kick the most ass you possibly can.’ I think season one I was like ‘this will be fun, let’s just have a lot of fun.’ I had a lot of fun on season two, but there was also a level of ‘Really don’t fuck this up.'”
“It’s funny because I felt diametrically opposite,” Roman said. “I felt more pressure in season one because I didn’t know what I was getting into, it was my first voiceover gig. There was a sense then of ‘Don’t fuck it up, Blake.’ Season two, after season one and seeing how beautifully you guys responded to it and how wonderful it was, I know people like this character and like my take. We know people like the show and it’s jiving well, it’s only up from here. Now I get to go in and just have fun! I know Richard [Horvitz, voice director], I know Viv now, we’re all chummy. Walking in there I’m just laughing and laughing and laughing, and then being traumatized and then laughing and laughing and laughing again.”
On that note of traumatizing the characters, the cast and the fans, Henningsen teased Charlie could be going through some hard times as her belief in a sinner’s redemption will continue to be tested, especially as Medrano has previously confirmed the demon trio known as the Vees, Vox in particular, will be the main antagonists. She warned fans might have some strong feelings regarding Charlie’s choices as she keeps up the fight.
“Sometimes I feel really protective of Charlie and I know what you all love about her and also what kind of drives you crazy about her,” Henningsen explained. “Sometimes when she makes the choices where you’re like ‘Fucking Charlie, don’t do that again!’, I get mad and get protective of the character and I’m like ‘don’t make her do that’, but I’m aware Viv has this master plan in place. Everyone has to go through this personal growth and I think that’s what season two is for Charlie. I think our fans might get a little… I wouldn’t say annoyed at her, they’re going to be upset with her. They’re going to be like ‘Bitch, you know better!'”
It won’t be all gloom and doom and darkness though as the show will keep its humour with Roman praising a particular scene and song Henningsen performed. “There’s one part where she is so fucking funny! I wish I could talk about it. I wish I could.”
Talai also praised both Medrano and Henningsen as leaders for the cast and crew, saying “The vibe of a show and its cast is set very, very, very much by its creator/showrunner and the lead on the show. Everything trickles down from there. If you look at Viv, Viv has a very clear idea of what she wants, but she also is incredibly flexible and respectful of other people’s talents and welcomes people’s input. Erika is incredibly professional and dedicated, but she’s also a fun, little chaos gremlin. Their two personalities set the tone for everything.”
Are you excited for season two? What do you think the challenges Charlie will face might be? Let us know on our social channels at @FlickeringMyth…
Hazbin Hotel Season 2 will premiere on October 29th.
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