🚨EARLY RELEASE: Hazbin Hotel PILOT FULL REACTION

Since you said you don't know a lot about animation, a pilot is a proof of concept like you pointed out. Its for showing a producer what your plan is and/or shopping the show around. They are not usually canon (this one is semi canon) and are often just a story board (basically a comic) with voice over by the artist. They also almost never see the light of day but are sometimes remade as episode 1s. Kind of like a demo track by a song writer that writes for singers. Because Viv was completely amateur and unknown, she didn't just have to pitch a story concept but also prove she could animate, cast and structure an entire episode. That is also why it is not paced like an episode, because the point is to cram as many concepts of the show into the pilot as possible. Producers are very stingy with greenlighting animations because it takes a long time and is VERY expensive. They get ordered in batches of 2 seasons because by the time the first season airs, the second needs to be almost done. Idk if it comes across joining the party now, but Viv is kind of a rags to riches story in the animation industry. Probably why she has such a loyal community.

Hey Tim, first time really commenting but I wanted to start by saying I love your breakdowns and reactions of both Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss. In regards to the pilot cast vs the full show cast. If you have not seen or reacted to any content by Gabriel Brown (the singing voice for Alastor in the pilot) then you should check him out! He is an excellent singer and does amazing impressions. https://www.youtube.com/@BlackGryph0n He also did a bunch of fan songs as Alastor including a farewell song with some of the pilot cast on his channel titled "Thank you and Goodnight" Thanks for the awesome content!

I'm pretty sure everyone has mentioned what I wanted to say. But James Monroe Ingleheart, the voice of Ozzie (Asmodeus, Fizz's boyfriend in Helluva Boss and Sin of Lust, looks like a rooster with three heads) and Zestial in Hazbin (tea sipping, spider looking friend of ballet coded Carmilla Carmine, the weapons dealer), actually did the voice for the dinosaur character in the bar over the phone. That dinosaur also shows up briefly in season two! James was reeeeally interested in being in animation, and Viv had contact with him. She basically asked him to deliver the line when she called him, and that was what made the cut. He now voices about three characters in the Hellaverse. I second listening to Alastor's recap song of season one as well as the behind the scenes vids. Amir Talai, the VA of Alastor in the series proper, was actually discovered by Viv in a Youtube video of his performance of ‘You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile’ from ‘Annie’ the musical. She asked him to audition and he recorded it in his closet. It landed him the role! For a song in season two, they have Liz Callaway, the voice of Anastasia and Odette in the animated Swan Lake, singing along with another big Broadway star. Great analysis as always! Love listening to your breakdowns and reactions.

Kiiinda related to hazbin lol, but are you going to react to more of the helluva songs from season two?

The pilot came out in 2019, if I'm not much mistaken, while season 1 was released in 2024, so it was five years between them. The opening song of the pilot is not an original song. I'm Always Chasing Rainbows is a vaudeville song written by Henry Carroll and was originally published in 1917. It's been recorded by a bunch of different people over the years, including Judy Garland and, surprisingly, Alice Cooper (his version is one of the few that has the opening verse with the "At the end of the rainbow there's happiness" part). Katie Killjoy and Tom Trench (the journalists) are both in the main series, though you don't see them that much in the first season so it's not that surprising they didn't register. They appear more in the second season. In the Amazon series, Katie Killjoy is voiced by Brandon Rogers who is co-creator of Helluva Boss and plays Blitzø. As you no doubt observed, pretty much the entire cast was replaced for the series itself, likely because Viv wanted professional musical actors in all the main roles. Some fans were upset by this choice, but I genuinely believe it was the right thing to do, since the show is supposed to feel like a Broadway musical. That makes it so important to make sure the main cast are able to both act well and sing in the style required.

This dropped today! Tim, here is a video that features side by side recording studio footage alongside the show. I’ll post more as I find them. https://youtu.be/ACNGAqtY74Y?si=yRQlGIXD6pOoj2sD

I am *so* glad you watched it, and while this is now no longer canon, it was absolutely a proof of concept. There are only two actors in the pilot that returned for the final show. Husk's actor here played the "And touch my parts" slug guy from the first episode, and the dinosaur in the bar is James Monroe Iglehart, who plays the same background dino, but also is Zestial and Ozzie in Helluva. Another big thing to note is Alastor in the pilot is voiced and sung by Black Gryphon, who did multiple vids that Viv blessed as canon back in the day. There are multiple references to the pilot, and while it's not technically canon, as lots has changed, having the context of things that are still similar is important. The biggest reference i mentioned in Ep 7 when Charlie is getting heckled by Susan she starts singing "I have a dream..." Lastly I would strongly recommend watching the recap song just before starting Season 2. It's not long, and it IS official. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgjfF--1-iw

Tim, Danny Motta just interviewed Sam Haft, the show’s composer and posted it on YouTube. It’s 2 hours but dives into a lot of behind the scenes tea and process, and he ranks the songs in his own tier list. He also discusses the casting of specific actors like Jeremy Jordan and Blake. I can leave you with the link or I can chop it up? Let me know.

You hit my bingo card with the term press kit. That’s my line of work - I will look into seeing what’s out there. I believe there are some behind the scenes video diary entries about character casting and development. Blake Roman does for sure. I can put together a playlist or montage if you’re interested. Let me know.

Like you said, the pilot was a proof of concept. You can really see the fine tuning and improvements the show underwent being produced by Amazon and co. when you compare the pilot to the finished product.

The Pilot cast were no slouches thats for sure. They all performed fantastically.

The voice actors are different for the pilot. Most of these guys are youtube voice actors/creators. There was a reason for the change, I think it had something to do with Amazon needing the voice actors to be unionized and Vivziepop wanting more Broadway actors. Yes, the news anchor Katie Killjoy is in the actual show. She's voiced by Brandon Rogers (Blitzo) in the series. That was the biggest voice change because all the others were at least somewhat similar. Some people were complaining about the voice changes, though.