‘Helluva Boss’: How Vivienne Medrano’s Devilishly Fun Comedy Found a New Home on Prime Video

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One of indie animation’s most beloved shows of the past few years, Helluva Boss built a devoted fandom on YouTube with its surrealist style and macabre humor. The musical series, which premiered in October 2020, focuses on a company in hell that offers hit men for hire to the living. The employees of Immediate Murder Professionals (I.M.P.) complete their assignments with the help of an ancient text created by a demon in Hell.

Known for taking risks in theme and character, and for bringing a sense of sheer daring to the arena of adult animation, series creator and executive producer Vivienne Medrano had embraced a production pipeline with a smallish crew for her show.

Then, the proverbial phone rang with Prime Video on the other line. Thanks to a deal with the company, the first two seasons of Helluva Boss, which had already been released on YouTube, will be available on the streamer beginning September 10 along with a new special episode; Seasons 3 and 4 have also been ordered.

Nurturing Talent

The significance of the deal and what it means for her series, as well as for other indie animators/creators, is not lost on Medrano, whose other popular show, Hazbin Hotel, also found a nice home on Prime Video last year.

“I think the biggest genuine joy I have is that this success hopefully really opens the door for other really cool indie projects,” says Medrano. “And even though indie animation has existed for a very long time and we didn’t invent it, getting picked up like this and having so much ownership in this situation is important. I hope we’ll see studios supporting more indie projects that still get to maintain themselves in the way they were created.”

Medrano says she’s thrilled that she has been able to carve a path for indie animators and “kind of break some of these walls down that will help new creators succeed with their projects and put them out there.” She adds, “I hope this shows that you can do something like this if you are an independent animator and creator. I think seeing it succeed gives everyone else the push to do it themselves. I truly believe a rising tide lifts all ships. The tides are only going to continue to rise, because I know studios are looking to indie animation to find a lot more animated shows, which I think will lead to better deals and better setups for those creators.”

She says the series will preserve the production pipeline they’ve already set up as it moves to Prime Video because that pipeline lends itself to the intricate process of hand-drawn animation. The team will also continue to use tools like the Adobe suite, from Photoshop to Premiere, as well as 2D animation software like Toon Boom Harmony. Partnering with the company will also allow her to give more full-time and consistent work to the animators who have already been working on the YouTube show.

“Sometimes being an animator in this industry is very difficult at times … I’m a big advocate of putting more of the ownership in the hands of the animators and creators. If you put something out on your own and you own the show, then if a studio comes to you, you have a lot more ability to get a deal that you’re comfortable with.”

— Series creator Vivienne Medrano

Before Prime Video teamed up with Medrano, the series was funded by merchandise sales, which meant they had to sell quite a bit to make their budget work. The creator says working with the streamer means the show’s budget has approximately doubled, so they will now be able to raise salaries to a more industry-standard rate.

Medrano believes the streamer is an ideal collaborator because it came to her with a lot of respect for what she had already created.

“[Prime Video has] been really awesome,” says Medrano. “Sometimes being an animator in this industry is very difficult. You can run dry of original ideas. But I think the most exciting thing is that indie animation is becoming more of a feasible thing and that people can express their ideas in their work, and they can put out their original ideas. I’m a big advocate of putting more of the ownership in the hands of the animators and creators. If you put something out on your own and you own the show, then if a studio comes to you, you have a lot more ability to have a conversation and really get a deal that you’re comfortable with.”

Medrano has also worked steadily with longtime collaborator and animator Brandon Rogers on developing the look and feel of the show. Their shared sensibilities helped define the unique perspective that permeates Helluva Boss.

“I think we share a sense of humor, which I think is very important in something like this,” says Medrano. “Because when I first wanted to reach out to Brandon, I had been watching his work, and from that I really liked what he was doing. It was not only the humor, but also I felt it’s got a lot of heart, and there were layers of things in there that were interesting. And that’s what kind of made me push to try to meet with him, because I saw his work and it contained everything I like. I feel like our ideas about storytelling are aligned and we never really butt heads. It’s a very casual process when we work. We just jump in.”

Rogers agrees: “When we first started working together, it felt like two kids that just naturally gravitate to each other for an after-school assignment,” he says. “Or it’s like kids who work on a group project together in school. We also have the same kind of energy inside of us, kind of like Dr. Frankenstein or Walter White. We were very much tinkering on something that we were excited to get out and be seen by the world. We have that same sense of playing with ideas.”

For Medrano, who counts director Tim Burton and the classic Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoons among her biggest influences, having this creative connection with Rogers has been especially important as they produce new episodes of Helluva Boss. They’re looking forward to honoring the expectations of the show’s die-hard fans while also pushing beyond that into new, unexpected stories as well.

YouTube as Career Launcher

“I think that we also just have a lot in common in the sense that we [both] come from the world of YouTube,” says Rogers. “I feel like we’ve very much helped each other climb up this ladder together, and I feel very proud of what we’ve done because we’ve had to resurrect everything ourselves. I hope it inspires other people, whether they’re actors, writers, animators, directors. I feel like there’s a lot to be said about Helluva Boss.”

He adds, “I think it can rival the hottest animations on TV right now, and yet these episodes were made of passion and love and were sustained by the fan base itself. And we are the fan base, because we’re making the art we want to see. And it’s great to be a show made by fans, for fans. The corporate entities that we’ve worked with have been very gracious in letting us maintain that kind of energy [on] our project, which isn’t very common, but I think that’s what makes what we’re doing unique. I hope it shows that anyone can do it, if they focus on what they believe in and what they make. If you’re persistent and you push yourself, then you can get there and create the show you want to make.”

Helluva Boss Seasons 1 and 2 premiere September 10 on Prime Video, along with a new short titled Mission: Zero (watch the age-restricted date announcement video on YouTube). The second season of Hazbin Hotel will debut October 29 on Prime Video.