Prior to joiningYouTube, Medrano did assistant work on athesishorror comedy film by Zach Bellissimo titledBlenderstein, in 2011.[6]
Before launching her current channel "VivziePop", Medrano launched her first channel, "xZoOPhobiAx", which features animatics forZooPhobia.
Medrano launched her YouTube channel under the screen name "VivziePop" in 2012, building a dedicated online audience, who enjoyed herfanwork and original creations.[7][8][9] Also in 2012, she started a webcomic titledZooPhobia, which ran until 2016, ending so that she could find more time to developHazbin Hotel.[10][11][12] Medrano directed her first shortanimated film, titledThe Son of 666 in 2013.[11] Medrano released her fourth year thesis film entitled "Timber" in 2014, for which she won a Dusty Award in Outstanding Achievement in Character Animation.[13][14] Medrano named the film after thesong of the same name byPitbull andKesha, and its score contained homages to the song as well.[15] In October 2014, she released an animated music video for the song "Die Young" by Kesha, which accumulated over 50 million views by October 2019.[12] As a result, she became "relatively well-known" online for her animation and artwork, some of which she shared on her channel.[16] In September 2025, Medrano said she would love to develop the world of "Timber" in the future, adding she has "projects that are...in my head that I would love to work on. It’s just about finding the time."[9]
Medrano founded theanimation studioSpindleHorse, under which thepilot forHazbin Hotel, thepilot and first season forHelluva Boss, and several animated shorts would be released.[19] Medrano serves as the director, writer and character designer for SpindleHorse Toons.[20] In an interview withCartoon Brew, she said that much of theHazbin Hotel pilot was funded by money from her Patreon, 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.[21] Cartoon Brew described her as a "paragon of indie success in animation".[22]
In October 2019, the pilot episode ofHazbin Hotel was released on Medrano's YouTube channel.[23] By September 2025, it had garnered over 117 million views.[9] In November 2019, thepilot ofHelluva Boss was released on her YouTube channel as well.[24] In July 2020, Medrano released an animated music video forHazbin Hotel called "Addict", featuring the Silva Hound song of the same name.[25][26] In August 2020,Hazbin Hotel was picked up for a full series byA24.[27][28]Animation Magazine said that A24 was taking a "bold step" by picking up the series.[29] 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".[30]
On September 30, 2020, Medrano releasedan animated short film titled "Bad Luck Jack", based onZooPhobia.[31] The short was nominated and won for aUrsa Major Award in the "Best Dramatic Short Work" category.[32][33] The short was also listed as a "Recommended Anthropomorphic Dramatic Short Work" on the Ursa Major Award website.[34] In September 2025, Medrano said she would like to do more with the webcomic's characters, possibly including more animated shorts and agraphic novel, the latter of which she wanted do as a college student.[9]
On April 25, 2025, it was announced thatHelluva Boss would now be available onAmazon Prime Video as well as YouTube, with Medrano expressing that she was grateful to Prime Video for the opportunity and what it "means for the continued rise of indie animation."[35] It was later reported that Medrano, and Spindlehorse itself, would retain "full creative control and final cut on the series."[36][37]The Hollywood Reporter also stated that Medrano had signed a "first-look deal with Prime Video to develop new projects."[38]
In August 2025, it was announced that the Australian studio branch of Spindlehorse, Spindleroo, would be releasing an 11-minute animated pilot for the webcomicHomestuck.[39][40] It will be the first project for Spindlehorse not built around Medrano's story or characters. She expressed her excitement about this project toPolygon, in September 2025, 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 be opening the door for Spindlehorse working with additional creators, like artists or those who created webcomics, with "more original projects," to support other voices apart from her own ideas.[9]
In September 2025, Medrano revealed that she has a five season-plan forHazbin Hotel and a four season-plan forHelluva Boss, with seasons 3 and 4 ofHazbin Hotel andHelluva Boss already in production, respectively. She described the second season ofHazbin Hotel as what the show was "meant to be" in terms of visuals, scale, narrative, pacing, and everything else, noting that the first season was "made in a vacuum" because she didn't know "if the show would continue". She also stated that while the original pilot ofHelluva Boss has a "very special place in her heart", it functionally does not work with the rest of the show, calling "Mission Zero" a new "starting point" for the series and new audiences.[9]
From 2017 to 2019, she worked as an animator on Nico Colaleo'sDreamWorksTV series,Too Loud.[11] She called her experience on the series "a delight".[41] She also worked as a character designer on the series.[42] In March 2021, it was reported that she was a partner of Redefine Entertainment, a management company formed by Jairo Alvarado, Tony Gil, and Max Goldfarb.[43][44]
In a January 2024 interview following the release ofHazbin Hotel onAmazon Prime Video, she described herself as a "queer woman on the internet who made something popular", and related herself to her characterCharlie Morningstar, saying that both she and Charlie are in a "position of fighting uphill battles to just have [their] dreams exist."[48] Previously, Medrano had described herself, on social media, as a "proud 'fiery' [L]atina," and said thatVaggie was the character she related to most, saying that Vaggie and Charlie "feel like sides of [her]self."[49]
^"Dusty Festival: Winners List".SVA BFA Film.School of Visual Arts.Archived from the original on February 2, 2021. RetrievedApril 25, 2021. See the list of winners in 2011 which list "Blanderstein" and "Destiny for the Birds", and 2014, which lists "Timber".
^abCubilas, Sean (November 26, 2020)."Hazbin Hotel: 10 Funniest Lines in the Show, Ranked".Screen Rant.Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. RetrievedApril 24, 2021.From Vivienne Medrano, the talented artist behind the drawings and animations on the YouTube channel, Vivziepop, Hazbin Hotel portrays all of the quirky, ambitious, and dark humor that Vivienne has become synonymous with.
^Baron, Reuben (December 2, 2019)."Adult Animation Is Better Than Ever - So Why Does It Draw Ridicule?".CBR.Archived from the original on December 2, 2019. RetrievedApril 25, 2021.Independent animator Vivziepop has lit up YouTube with her pilotsHazbin Hotel andHelluva Boss, which have earned some warranted criticism for their immature, edgy humor but are at least clear labors of love from an animation standpoint.
