‘Hazbin Hotel’ Musician Sam Haft Opens Up About Season 2

To musician Sam Haft, working on two seasons of “Hazbin Hotel” was been both a professional highlight and a personal full-circle moment.

Haft has written more than 70 songs for the adult animated series with Andrew Underberg, a three-time Emmy nominee. The pair’s friendship, however, dates back to their teenage years, when they both attended the Collegiate School in New York City. Collaborating with a longtime pal on a project with such “a heart-on-your-sleeve, deeply emotional message” at its core came naturally, Haft said.

The second season of “Hazbin Hotel” premiered on Amazon Prime Video to critical acclaim in October. The series, written and created by Vivienne “VivziePop” Medrano, follows Lucifer’s daughter Charlie Morningstar (voiced by Erika Henningsen), who dreams of opening a hotel aimed at rehabilitating demons in hell so that they can be accepted into heaven.

To execute her vision, Charlie teams up with her girlfriend Vaggi (Stephanie Beatriz), and lands a first patron in an X-rated movie actor, Angel Dust (Blake Roman).

However, not everything goes exactly to plan in the Hellaverse, and Charlie’s hope of redemption is opposed by Adam (Alex Brightman), who descends from heaven every six months to exterminate souls, and his second-in-command, Lute (Jessica Vosk).

“It’s a classic fish out-of-water story,” Haft told HuffPost. “You have the character of Charlie Morningstar, whose earnestness and sincerity and relentless heart allow this dark, twisted world where everyone is cruel to change and conform around her. It’s a power fantasy for a theater kid.”

He went on to note: “Right now we’re living in some of the best times for adult animation that have ever existed, and it’s exciting to see the work take on a new dimension once it’s filtered through an audience. It stops belonging to those of us who make the show and gets mapped onto whatever’s going on in their lives.”

“Hazbin Hotel,” has drawn comparisons to Netflix’s “KPop Demon Hunters,” while its playful take on macabre themes is reminiscent of Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Medrano, for her part, has cited “BoJack Horseman” as an inspiration. What sets the show apart, however, is its sterling soundtrack — a collection of surprisingly energizing songs that speak to both musical theater fans and those who embrace counterculture of the Hot Topic variety.

Weeks after Season 2 of “Hazbin Hotel” premiered, its soundtrack album hit No. 8 on the Billboard chart in December, boosted by “Gravity,” a pop-rock anthem performed by Vosk which went viral on TikTok and has received more than 81 million streams on Spotify alone. Other hits include “Love in a Bottle” and “Losin’ Streak,” performed by Keith David and Roman, respectively.

“We have all the marvels of modern digital technology and none of the constraints of an orchestra pit, we’re able to give each character their own orchestra,” Haft said. “Stylistically, every character has their own musical style. Their styles are not in perfect harmony, so we end up with interesting combinations. It feels like we’re in a laboratory, combining little beakers of chemicals.”

Watch the trailer for “Hazbin Hotel” Season 2 below.

“Hazbin Hotel” has been renewed for a third and fourth season, and its success has prompted its creatives to showcase their work through new mediums. In October, Season 2 cast members including Christian Borle, Jeremy Jordan and Vosk took the stage at New York’s Majestic Theatre, the former home of “Phantom of the Opera,” for a one-night-only Broadway concert.

And “Hazbin Hotel” has also endeared Haft to new listeners who may not be familiar with his music outside of the show. He’s also the vocalist for the Los Angeles-based electronic rock duo The Living Tombstone, and he and musician-producer Yoav Landau have created a number of songs based on video games, including the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” series.

“I’d say my Living Tombstone fans are a little more gamer and my ‘Hazbin’s’ fans are a little more theater,” Haft said, “but I think they get along with each other quite well.”