 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Animation |
| Founded | 2018; 8 years ago (2018) |
| Founders | Vivienne Medrano |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Key people | |
| Products | Hazbin Hotel Helluva Boss |
| Owner | Vivienne Medrano |
| Divisions | SpindleRoo |
| Website | spindlehorse |
SpindleHorse,[2] doing business asSpindleHorse Toons,[3] is an Americanindependentanimation studio founded byVivienne "VivziePop" Medrano in 2018, based inBurbank, California. It is responsible for the Hellaverseshared universeanimated series,[4] whose main seriesHazbin Hotel is co-animated withBento Box Entertainment and co-produced withA24. It was the sole animation studio of its spin-off series,Helluva Boss until 2025, when Amazon Prime offered to co-produceHelluva Boss.
SpindleHorse has also produced several animated shorts, includingHolidaze andBad Luck Jack, all of which are available on Medrano's YouTube channel. Medrano has stated that the company's name comes from a childhood character of hers named Spindle.
Vivenne Medrano founded theanimation studio SpindleHorse, under which the pilot forHazbin Hotel, thepilot and first two seasons ofHelluva Boss, and severalanimated shorts would be released.[5] Medrano serves as the director, lead writer and lead character designer for SpindleHorse.[6] In an interview withCartoon Brew, she said that much of theHazbin Hotel pilot was funded by money from herPatreon, rather than income from YouTube's algorithm.[7] The companyHorseless Cowboy assisted Medrano with voice casting during the first season ofHelluva Boss, withRichard Steven Horvitz serving as the voice director.[8] Cartoon Brew described her as a "paragon of indie success in animation".[9]
In October 2019,the pilot episode ofHazbin Hotel was released on Medrano's YouTube channel.[10] In November 2019, thepilot episode ofHelluva Boss was released to her YouTube channel as well.[11] On December 25, 2019, a short entitled "Holidaze" was released. In July 2020, Medrano released an animated music video forHazbin Hotel called "Addict", featuring the Silva Hound song of the same name.[12][13] In August 2020,Hazbin Hotel was picked up for a full series byA24.[14][15]Animation Magazine said that A24 was taking a "bold step" by picking up the series.[16] In 2023, scholar Ben Mitchell described Medrano'sHazbin Hotel andHelluva Boss as series which were "sensationally popular" and an effective use of Patreon to subsidize the show's art "through monthly tiered payments".[17]Hazbin Hotel would go on to be released in January 2024 to critical acclaim.
On September 30, 2020, Medrano released an animated short film titled "Bad Luck Jack", based on her webcomicZooPhobia.[18] The short was nominated for and won for aUrsa Major Award in the "Best Dramatic Short Work" category.[19][20] The short was also listed as a "Recommended Anthropomorphic Dramatic Short Work" on the Ursa Major Award website.[21] From 2020 to 2021, Medrano released several "Voxtagram" animated clips of the characters ofHazbin Hotel andHelluva Boss in acrossoverslice-of-life setting to a series of in-characterInstagram accounts run by SpindleHorse employees, alongside normal posts of character art depicting characters'selfies.[22][23]
In August 2025, Medrano announced the creation of an Australian division of SpindleHorse, called SpindleRoo.[24] Its first production was a pilot for an animated adaptation of the webcomicHomestuck.[25][26] It was the first SpindleHorse project not built around Medrano's stories or characters. She expressed her excitement for this project toPolygon in a September 2025 interview, saying it will be "very experimental" and called it a "test pilot" for many aspects, including "the studio, the process, a new style, [and] a new technology," adding that audience reaction will determine whether studios are interested in developing it into a full animated series, or if it will be continued on her YouTube channel. She also told the publication that she hoped that the project would open the door for SpindleHorse working with other creators and "more original projects", to support other voices apart from her own ideas.[27]
| Title | Released | Original network(s) | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Pilot"/"That's Entertainment" | 2019 | YouTube | Hazbin Hotel pilot | [28] |
| Helluva Boss | 2019–present | YouTube Amazon Prime Video | [3] | |
| Hazbin Hotel | 2024–present | Amazon Prime Video | Co-production withBento Box andA24 | [30] |
| Title | Released | Original network(s) | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homestuck - The Animated Pilot | 2025 | YouTube | Pilot, under SpindleRoo | [27] |
| Title | Released | Original network(s) | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Oh Millie" | 2020 | YouTube | [31] |
| "Addict" | [32] | ||
| "Just Look My Way" | 2023 | [33] | |
| "Polkamania!" ("Vampire" segment) | 2024 | [34] | |
| "Everything Is Fine (Remix)" (Helluva Boss segment) | 2025 | [35] |
| Title | Released | Original network(s) | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Holidaze" | 2019 | YouTube | [36] |
| "Bad Luck Jack" | 2020 | [18] | |
| Helluva Shorts | 2024–present | [37] |
The show is produced by Medrano's Burbank-based animation studio SpindleHorse Toons
In the pilot, the "I.M.P. Jingle" neatly outlines the core concept of the show while the end credits "Oh Millie" is a sweet insight into Moxxie and Millie's marriage.
...It will likely be similar in style to the popular "ADDICT" music video from Hazbin Hotel..."ADDICT" has been played over 157 million times on Medrano's YouTube channel.
Helluva Boss fans rejoice! New shorts are on the way, offering more adventures and stories with your favorite characters.
| Hazbin Hotel | |
|---|---|
| Helluva Boss | |
| Characters | |
| Other | |
