The Hazbin Hotel Playbill Controversy, Explained

Hazbin Hotel fans who demonstrated their financial loyalty to the fictional establishment ahead of its Amazon Prime Video premiere remain in the lurch regarding one infinitely delayed item from the show’s highest-tier fan package. Here’s how a missing playbill has become a cryptid artifact in the Hazbin Hotel fandom.

What is the Hazbin Hotel Playbill?

Well before its January debut on Amazon Prime, the A24-produced animated series Hazbin Hotel began to roll out the red carpet to franchise fans. Though Amazon’s first season certainly made a mark on the 2024 television landscape, Hazbin Hotel had long garnered a fervent community of devotees through its webcomic origins, 2019 YouTube pilot, and spin-off series Helluva Boss. The tiered merchandise packages that opened up for preorder in October 2023 offered long-time fans an opportunity to support the show during its leap from YouTube to Amazon.

According to Collider, Hazbin Hotel’s early-access merch packages ranged from a $6.66 digital tier to a $76.66 ultimate package. The playbill was a part of the ultimate package, and though it wasn’t the only appealing offer included, it was heavily touted by series creator Vivienne Medrano on social media: “The Playbill will be FULL of goodies! Cast bios for characters, interviews, song lyrics and titles, and lots of fun in universe surprises,” the showrunner colloquially known as VivziePop reported on X back in October. As a musical comedy chock-full of Broadway talent, a playbill seemed an apt inclusion for Hazbin Hotel guests — one they’re still waiting on today.

The Hazbin Hotel Playbill’s Been Repeatedly Delayed

When goodies from the Hazbin Hotel merch drop were shipped out, one of the ultimate package’s most heavily promoted items was noticeably missing. Upon notification that playbills would be shipped separately, many assumed that the detail teased within its pages might contain spoilers for the show’s first season. Though fans seemed relatively content with this explanation, an email was sent out before Hazbin Hotel’s season finale to address the missing merchandise. Though this email was delivered at the beginning of the year, it’s seen recent virality on social media, in part because the playbill issue has remained unresolved.

Fans continued to voice their frustrations with the playbill delays earlier this month: “I emailed A24 this morning and they said ‘the playbill has been delayed’ and it’s ‘nearing completion’,” wrote X user Crowmere on June 5. Providing photos of the playbills supposedly spotted at a convention, Crowmere hypothesized that the product has long been completed and that A24’s claim is therefore disingenuous. However, other fans dispute that playbills like those shared by Crowmere are mere show copies and the real McCoy may remain ever evasive. The vague and ineffective communication regarding the playbills’ status has proven a hotbed for conflicting fan speculation.

Related: Why People Thought Jason Statham Voiced Zestial in Hazbin Hotel

Hazbin Hotel Fans Have Grown Frustrated by the Handling of the Playbill Situation  

Due to months of delays, a faction of Hazbin Hotel‘s ultimate tier package holders has seemingly thrown in the towel on the playbill. Others have even alleged that VivziePop is actively refusing to address the situation by blocking those who inquire about the missing playbills on social media. Whether or not the Hazbin Hotel creator is directly shutting down this criticism, the fanbase has reached the consensus that the playbill debacle has been sorely mishandled from a customer service perspective.

The aforementioned email regarding the playbills’ initial delay arrived in fans’ inboxes from the bar of Husk, a Hazbin Hotel employee voiced by the venerable Keith David. Though a gruff and profanity-laced email that put a disproportionate onus on those inquiring after a product they had paid for, it didn’t necessarily put off fans familiar with Hazbin Hotel’s irreverent comedy. However, these more generous interpretations of the unconventional customer service correspondence began to sour with age, leading to the email’s current virality months after the fact.

Redemption is a core tenet of Charlie Morningstar’s mission at the Hazbin Hotel and, with that in mind, not all those still awaiting playbills have given up hope altogether, even in the face of prolonged delays and mishandled communications.