The Queerest Thing About This LGBTQ+ Show Is How Catholic It Is

Charlie Morningstar of “Hazbin Hotel”

Hazbin Hotel is the best Catholic show on television, and it is also queer as hell.

That’s the opinion of Catholic screenwriter Jim McDermott who reviewed the show recently for the National Catholic Reporter–and calling it “queer as hell” was not a vulgar term but descriptive of the show’s focus and setting. [Ed.: McDermott is also a regular contributor to Bondings 2.o.]

‘Hazbin Hotel’ is an animated dark comedy musical series on Amazon Prime, which revolves around Charlie Morningstar, the gay daughter of Lucifer. She wants to protect the people of hell from the self-righteous angels of heaven, who, following “an eye for an eye” sense of justice, come down to hell once a year to kill as many inhabitants as they can.  She and her girlfriend bring them tot a hotel they own, which also serves as a sort of “spiritual rehabilitation center” for the characters. The colorful lineup includes an alcoholic bartender Husk, a mad scientist named Sir Pentious, and an Australian who throws bombs. 

Created by Vivienne “VivziePop” Medrano, a popular LGBTQ+ YouTube producer,  the show dives into the complexities of each character, providing the viewerer with a nuanced view on the inhabitants of hell. For example, the character Angel Dust was involved in pornography, but we also learn he is a survivor of abuse, and is an addict. t Sir Pentious  the mad scientist has a backstory that McDermott writes “truly does beg the question of whether or not he should be able to ever be saved.” 

Charlie’s great hope is that the residents of hell can be saved, and that hope is one of the things that makes the show so congruent with Catholic values, McDermott says:

“The incongruity between Charlie’s optimism and the moral darkness of her world is hilarious in a way that might make some Christians (and some Disney fans) uncomfortable. Characters on the show also regularly say and do things that you would never see in a Disney movie or hear about in the Gospels.

“But in fact, Medrano seems interested in inviting the audience to consider perhaps the most challenging question of the Christian faith: Do we really believe in the possibility of redemption for everyone?”

The characters in hell are often a part of the LGBTQ+ community, while the inhabitants of heaven on the show are all straight, which Jim McDermott points out reflects the belief that some religious people have that LGBTQ+ people are all damned to hell. Many queer people who grew up in religious homes, sadly, also held that belief. But the show, McDermott says, is a “love letter from a queer woman to other queer people,” reflecting the sufferings they’ve experienced and the beauty of their relationships.

McDermott sees the theme of salvation recurring throughout the series, especially among the characters who wonder if they truly deserve help. For example, Angel Dust doesn’t believe he is deserving of redemption, saying “Redemption’s not really for people like me.” Nevertheless, Charlie Morningstar still continues with her mission, truly believing that no one is far from salvation, a theme rooted in Catholic ideas of forgiveness and redemption. 

McDermott concludes that the show can aid those beyond the LGBTQ+ community: 

“The series also serves as a hand lifted not in anger but compassion to the broader Christian community, an attempt to try and help religious people out of the impossible prison in which their beliefs around salvation and redemption have left them. It’s true, we’ve all screwed up in terrible, hurtful ways.”

Tulio Huggins, August 19, 2026