Why Hazbin Hotel's Voice Cast Sounds So Familiar
The following article includes comical depictions of NSFW topics
Five years and one global crisis later, VivziePop finally released her animated hell musical. "Hazbin Hotel" is a 2024 adult comedy series that follows the princess of lost souls as she fights to offer her wayward subjects a chance at redemption, something most of them explicitly do not want. The damned would much rather drown their sorrows in alcohol and sex — in other words, it's a TV-MA version of "The Good Place." The project, which is already scheduled to receive a second season, is a joint venture between A24 and Amazon Studios that began as a single, 32-minute YouTube pilot published on creator Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano's account in 2019.
That video boasts around 1 billion views, so it's little wonder that VivziePop landed a mainstream contract — but with success comes change. Almost every voice actor attached to the inaugural episode was replaced by someone with greater name recognition — and that's just one of the biggest differences between the pilot and the official show. While fans are justifiably mourning what they lost, there's a lot to be grateful for because A24 and Amazon Studios cast professional singers to star in a professional musical. It's actually kind of unprecedented. Underneath the glamor of animation and the grit of unyielding f-bombs, here's why "Hazbin Hotel's" voice cast sounds so familiar.
Kimiko Glenn
Just because Kimiko Glenn doesn't sing much as Niffty, the Hazbin Hotel's boy-crazy maid, that doesn't mean that she can't. The actress first made a name for herself in Hollywood as Brook Soso in Netflix's 2014 drama, "Orange is the New Black." She made her professional debut as a performer in the 2008 North American National Tour of the rock musical, "Spring Awakening," as Thea. In 2016, Glenn joined the Broadway company of Sara Bareilles' "Waitress" as Dawn Pickett. Also, because the mic has to drop sooner or later, she's Peni Parker in Sony's "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse."
Speaking of the Spider-Verse, from "BoJack Horseman" and "Duck Tales" to "Voltron: Legendary Defender" and "Star Wars: Visions," Glenn's voice work permeates pop culture. During a 2023 interview with Mixed Asian Media, she explained why. "I mean, listen, I'm still pursuing TV and film, but I definitely have been leaning into the voiceover stuff. It's something I really love doing and it's also cool because I have my own recording studio at my home," said Glenn. "It's just a very easy natural fit and it allows me to express certain parts of myself that, like sometimes with TV and film, you don't always... I don't wanna give up my singing; my passion is for singing."
Helluva Boss: Alex Brightman, James Monroe Iglehart, and Brandon Rogers
"Hazbin Hotel" isn't VivziePop's only animated hell musical. While she worked and waited for her first creation to be released through traditional methods, the artist pulled double duty on YouTube. "Helluva Boss," which began airing online in late 2020, is also an adult comedy series, except its narrative conceit is slightly less hopeful. Set in the same canon as "HH," the story follows a group of demons who make their after-livings as contract killers. If a denizen of hell needs a mortal to die, they're the scum for the job. And apparently, they're the scum for all sorts of jobs because several members of the voice cast crossover.
Broadway alum Alex Brightman is the traumatized circus clown Fizzaroli in "HB." In "HH," he's Adam, the first man, and the gun-crazed sinner demon, Sir Pentious. Outside of VivziePop's work, he's best known for starring as the titular character in the Broadway musical, "Beetlejuice."
Another star of the Great White Way, James Monroe Iglehart is the wolfguard Vortex and Asmodeus, the king of lust, in "HB." In "HH," he's the spider demon Zestial Morde. Outside of being Broadway's first Genie in Disney's stage adaptation of "Aladdin," he's Lance Strongbow in "Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure."
And then there's Brandon Rogers, a YouTuber who stars in "HB" as Blitzo. His role in "HH" as Katie Killjoy, the bombastic reporter, is far smaller. Don't worry, though — "HB" is still going strong.
Stephanie Beatriz
Stephanie Beatriz is by far the most globally recognized talent attached to "Hazbin Hotel." Before 2021, she was best known for starring as Detective Rosa Diaz in NBC's police procedural "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," where she would kill everyone and then herself if anything happened to that dog. But after 2021? Well, nothing can compete with the all-powerful earworm that is Disney's "Encanto." Not even appearing in Lin-Manuel Miranda's other musical movie — "In The Heights" — slowed the "Encanto" train. Beatriz will be in her 90s before people stop asking her to sing about her missing uncle.
Like Kimiko Glenn, Beatriz frequently performs voice work. Along with "BoJack Horseman" and "Duck Tales," her credits include "Ice Age: Collision Course," "The Bob's Burgers Movie," and "The Legend of Vox Machina."
Regarding her role in "Hazbin Hotel" as the sinner demon Vaggie, Beatriz told MovieWeb, "I love this character. She's certainly in my wheelhouse. I have a history of playing kind of bad*ss b*tches, and she is one of those, but she's also got a heart of gold. One of the core relationships in 'Hazbin Hotel' is the relationship between Charlie (Erika Henningsen) and Vaggie, and their love story, and this deep love that Vaggie has for Charlie. She'll do anything for her. She'll move mountains to make her dreams come true."
Broadway seriously loves Hazbin Hotel
There's a running joke In New York City that guest starring on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" is a rite of passage for all Broadway performers. At the rate "Hazbin Hotel" is hiring them, though, "SVU" will lose its sacred place in the annals of musical theatre history before the animated series even considers making Season 3. There's Kimiko Glenn, Alex Brightman, and James Monroe Iglehart, sure, but that's just the tip of the Broadway iceberg.
Erika Henningsen, the talent behind Charlie Morningstar, originated Cadey Heron in "Mean Girls." Henningsen's voice can be heard all over TikTok as disgruntled fans compare the new "Mean Girls" movie musical to its stage variant. Mr. My-Face-Is-A-TV-Screen Vox is none other than Christian Borle, whose singing can be found on over 15 cast albums, including "Legally Blonde: The Musical" and "Some Like it Hot." Jessica Vosk, one of the most famous Elphaba actresses to ever screlt "Defying Gravity," and Daphne Rubin-Vega, the original Mimi in "Rent," also appear in small, impactful roles.
Oh yeah, and Jeremy Jordan is the Lucifer Morningstar, a.k.a. the actual devil. With a resume that includes roles in "Bonnie & Clyde," "Newsies," "Death Note: The Musical," and now "The Great Gatsby," this man is literally everywhere. Broader audiences might recognize him from NBC's "Smash" and CW's "The Flash," where he still sang because you can take the tenor out of musical theatre but you can't take musical theatre out of the tenor. It's a great time to be a theatre kid, folks.
Keith David
If Stephanie Beatriz is the most popular voice actor attached to "Hazbin Hotel," then Keith David is by far the most legendary. If there's an animated project and it's got a deep-voiced character with authority and dry sarcasm in his voice, there's like a 70% chance that character is voiced by David. It may sound hyperbolic but his IMDb resume is nearing 400 credits, so it's less dramatic than it may seem. He traumatized a generation of Disney kids with his performance of Dr. Facilier in "The Princess and the Frog" just as easily as he entranced millennials as Goliath in "Gargoyles."
David's resume includes "Rick and Morty," "Amphibia," Dissidia: Final Fantasy," "Duck Tales," and "Halo 2." Honestly, that just barely covers a fraction of his voice-acting work, let alone any of his live-action projects. It's David's world and we're all just living in it. And now he's Husk, a grumpy demon with a gambling addiction.
Hilariously, the living legend admitted to Consequence that his "Hazbin Hotel" song was so catchy that he still sings it, sometimes. "I found myself listening to it a lot. And it's very catchy," David said. "You really want a song like this in the repertoire because when you go to see any kind of music, you want to know what's going to be that tune that catches on, what's going to be what folks remember ... I think this is one of those songs that people are going to remember."