The I.M.P. Crew Does Its Job So Well In Seasons 1 And 2 Of ‘Helluva Boss’
- Jessica Haight-Angelo
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Helluva Boss has finally joined its sister series Hazbin Hotel on Prime Video, and the results are positively hellish, in the very best possible way. While the first two seasons of Helluva Boss have been available via YouTube since 2019, it wasn’t until the success of creator Vivienne Medrano’s Hazbin Hotel’s first season via Prime Video that the other series taking place in the expansive ‘Hellaverse’ was given its proper due. With said transition from YouTube to Prime Video, the talented production team at SpindleHorse was able to do something many creators never get the opportunity to do: Tweak, smooth, and streamline a finished and already-aired product.
“We’re just killing a mother - we’re ruining a family!”
The first difference between the two versions of the series is the revitalization of its pilot episode. Initially, an unnamed pilot posted to YouTube circa 2019 that currently boasts 80 million views served as the introduction to the series, in which the main characters, a trio of Hell-borne imps run their own assassination business. While similar, the updated “Mission: Zero” pilot is tighter than its predecessor. Instead of following I.M.P. (Immediate Murder Professionals - “kids die for free!”) on one of their hired hit jobs, “Mission: Zero” re-introduces Blitzo (the ‘o’ is silent, a holdover from an abusive and traumatic childhood spent working for his family’s circus), Millie, Moxxie, et al prior to their first gig on Earth. This is largely due to Blitzo’s possession of a magical grimoire which allows them to travel between the realms that belongs to Stolas, a member of the Ars Goetia demons with whom Blitzo has a sexual relationship.
As Blitzo (voiced by YouTube personality Brandon Rogers) and Stolas (voiced by Brock Baker in the original pilot before Bryce Pinkham took over)’s romantic relationship gradually becomes a cornerstone of the show - something frowned upon by Hell’s caste system, given that imps were notably created by Satan (so he claims) to serve as the realm’s working class - it makes sense that the reformulated pilot episode features a longer (and far filthier - the frequent ‘bleep’ noises signaling explicit language enhance the absurdity of Stolas’ horny propositions to Blitzo) version of a phone conversation focused around Blitzo’s stealing of said grimoire from Stolas’ bedroom. There is also somewhat less back-and-forth between Blitzo and Moxxie (Richard Steven Horvitz), Millie (Erica Lindbeck voices both Millie and Loona, Blitzo’s adopted, 22-year-old Hellhound daughter)’s husband and the son of a mob boss whose effeminate nature makes him a frequent target for Blitzo’s criticisms - “can’t say that anymore!” Blitzo cheerfully declares in “Mission: Zero,” referring to a moment in the original pilot in which he calls Moxxie “retarded.” Overall, the updated pilot’s strength lies largely in its reworking into a capsule episode, allowing for additional focus on interpersonal relationships between Blitzo, et al, which remains a strong emotional core throughout the show.
“We’ll even let you keep the knife!”
In ComicBook.com’s July 2025 interview with Brandon Rogers, fans received confirmation that Helluva Boss was initially plotted to run for four seasons, the “grand finale” of which Rogers notes no one has correctly guessed (yet): “I haven’t heard anyone even come close to guessing how the show is going to end. I can say that it is an ending that I’ve lived with for five years in my stomach. I’m very comfortable with it and I have yet to think of a better way for the show to end … I think it’s perfect. I can’t wait for Helluva Boss to end so people can admire it as one standing monolith and … see how everything comes together.” In the meantime, Rogers emphasizes the “dark,” “tragic,” and “sad” nature of the show’s existing canon, even in the face of several meaningful relationships between the characters. Blitzo, for instance, escaped from his family’s circus only after accidentally causing a fire that killed his mother, left him and several other imps with burn scars, and estranged him from his sister, Barbie Wire. Likewise, Moxxie left his family’s mob business once he was old enough to get away, but not before his father murdered Moxxie’s mom, seemingly for coddling her young son. While Millie fares perhaps the best of the trio, growing up as just another imp in the Wrath ring of Hell forced her to branch out to obtain her relative freedom.
Even Stolas’ cushy life of nobility is complicated by his pre-arranged marriage to his wife, Stella (Georgina Leahy) for the purpose of producing an heir. Fortunately, said heir, Octavia (Barrett Wilbert Weed), seems to take after her father in her own magical abilities, though she finds herself frequently stuck in the middle of her parents’ squabbling amidst her own bouts of teen angst, and is wary that Stolas’ ongoing affair with Blitzo will destroy her family, however chaotic. After all, the haughty Stella frequently attempts to have her husband assassinated, and even plots with her flamboyant brother, Andrealphus (Jason LaShea) to have Blitzo tried in Hell’s courthouse for stealing Stolas’ grimoire. Stolas is able to make his own flamboyant case for being the “Mastermind” behind Blitzo’s alleged schemes, which results in him being exiled from his post and even home for a century, leading to a bittersweet reunion with Blitzo, who invites Stolas to move in with him.
Of Stolas and Blitzo’s relationship, Brandon Rogers, also “one of the show’s lead writers,” says he is particularly passionate about Blitzo’s characterization, allowing him to evolve “from comic relief to one of Helluva Boss’ most nuanced and emotionally resonant characters.” Likewise, the Broadway-trained Bryce Pinkham has praised the show for letting him “accomplish his childhood dream”: “When people … come up to any of us and say that character’s story did this for me and my life and I feel better for having watched it, that fulfills the younger version of me.” Looking ahead, Brandon Rogers acknowledges that both Blitzo and himself are “working on [their] mental health” circa Season 3; more specifically, across the next 15 episodes of the series, “Blitzo will face a journey of growth that touches on real-world issues like mental health, trauma, and personal evolution,” taking him even further from the “reckless, impulsive character from the earlier seasons.” In addition, “Blitzo is getting buffer. Every time his shirt comes off, he has more and more definition.” With two more seasons on the horizon, even characters like Stella have room to grow. Case in point, in the Helluva Boss Wiki, Medrano notes that Stella’s backstory and subsequent horrid personality are similar to that of BoJack Horseman (Netflix)’s mother, Beatrice, whose affluent upbringing by her controlling father and lobotomized mother is nothing short of tragic.
“When you want somebody gone and you don’t wanna wait too long!”
Like Hazbin Hotel, one of Helluva Boss’ quiet strengths is its seemingly effortless queerness. Stolas and Blitzo’s relationship’s controversy is due to Stolas’ infidelity rather than their gay Hell-borne romance. This point is driven home in the Season 2 finale, “Sinsmas” when I.M.P. is hired by a jilted wife to take out her cheating husband; only to realize that said husband’s new relationship, initially presented narratively as a parallel to Stolas’ cheating on Stella, is celebrating the holiday with his children and male lover. Said narrative slyly turns assumptions on their head, accompanied by visions of a potential happy future between Stolas, Blitzo, and their own daughters. Suffice to say, I.M.P. ultimately turns down the assignment. Earlier in Season 2, viewers are also introduced to Asmodeus aka Lust, one of Hell’s Seven Deadly Sins of Biblical lore - Lucifer and his exploits are name-dropped in Hazbin, though the King of Hell has yet to appear in Helluva Boss - who is in love with Fizzarolli, another imp, whose childhood friendship with Blitzo was also affected by the aforementioned circus fire. Once more, it is the class disparity between the Sins and Hell’s working class which makes the relationship controversial; beyond that, the apparent love between Asmodeus and Fizzarolli is on par with Moxxie and Millie’s marriage.
This world-building, coupled with eye-catching character designs and catchy music - Medrano’s own love for musicals recently culminated in the pre-Season 2 premiere event, Hazbin Hotel: Live on Broadway at the Majestic Theater (to be released later via Prime Video!) - make Helluva Boss an emotional and creative journey that promises to be even more chaotic and weird and wonderful in ensuing seasons. That said, with Season 2 of Hazbin premiering October 29th via Amazon, it is understandable that Season 3 and beyond of Helluva Boss will yet take some time to produce. Medrano noted back in late 2024 that Season 3 is “massive”; ergo, “even though it will be a while, … it will be bigger and better and I am so excited for everything we have in store and I really think the wait will serve the flow of the story and everyone’s excitement episode to episode.” As a consolation prize, Medrano also confirmed that additional animated “shorts will still be released during the wait.” Case in point, a recent short posted via YouTube declaring that “Stolas is unlocked as a playable character” in the upcoming Kickstarter-funded “Helluva Boss Official Game.” In the interim, with over 20 episodes under its belt and a strong social media presence, the Hellaverse isn’t going away any time soon - thank Heaven (and Hell)!