# Primo (TV series)

Primo is an American sitcom created by Shea Serrano. The semi-autobiographical series, co-executive produced with Michael Schur, is based on Serrano's upbringing in San Antonio, Texas. Primo stars Ignacio Diaz-Silverio, Christina Vidal, Carlos Santos, Henri Esteve, Johnny Rey Diaz, Jonathan Medina, Efraín Villa, Stakiah Lynn Washington, Martin Martinez, and Nigel Siwabessy. The series debuted on May 19, 2023 on Amazon Freevee and received wide-spread critical acclaim. It was cancelled by Amazon Freevee on May 21, 2024.

## Plot

Primo is a coming-of-age comedy about a teenager balancing college aspirations, societal expectations, and a hectic home life anchored by his single mom and five uncles."

## Cast and characters

* Ignacio Diaz-Silverio as Rafa, a 16-year-old high school junior navigating school, home, and career aspirations
* Christina Vidal as Drea, Rafa's mom and the third eldest among her brothers
* Carlos Santos as Ryan, Rafa's youngest uncle, who is a bank teller
* Henri Esteve as Mike, Rafa's second youngest uncle who is a strict military member
* Johnny Rey Diaz as Rollie, Rafa's wild uncle
* Jonathan Medina as Jay, Rafa's oldest uncle who is a pragmatist
* Efraín Villa as Mondo, the second oldest uncle and a cosmic wanderer
* Stakiah Lynn Washington as Mya, Rafa's friend who he has a crush on
* Martin Martinez as Miguel, Rafa's close friend
* Nigel Siwabessy as Harris, one of Rafa's closest friends

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
| 1 | "Big Eyes" | Kabir Akhtar | Shea Serrano | May 19, 2023 (2023-05-19) |
| Rafa considers signing up for a college prep program amidst competing opinions from his single mom Drea and his five opinionated uncles. |||||
| 2 | "The Cookout" | Cortney Carillo | Debby Wolfe & Jason Concepcion | May 19, 2023 (2023-05-19) |
| A long-held family secret gets exposed at the annual Gonzales family Labor Day barbecue. Fireworks and a crossbow are also involved. |||||
| 3 | "The Ride Home" | Cortney Carillo | Peter Murrieta & Alex Zaragoza | May 19, 2023 (2023-05-19) |
| Rafa tries to convince Ryan to let him borrow his car after Mya asks him for a ride home; Mike, Rollie, and Drea try to find Mondo after hearing he might be in danger. |||||
| 4 | "The Game Champ" | Melissa Fumero | Lisa Muse Bryant & Malloy Moseley | May 19, 2023 (2023-05-19) |
| Ryan gets unexpectedly jealous when Drea celebrates Rafa for winning an award. Mike traps Jay on the roof as payback. A ghost owes Rollie some money. |||||
| 5 | "The Carnival" | Kabir Akhtar | Lisa Muse Bryant & Pedro Gonzalez | May 19, 2023 (2023-05-19) |
| Rafa tries to impress Mya at a carnival. Ryan and Jay have to rebuild Drea's favorite bookshelf after accidentally destroying it. |||||
| 6 | "The Candy Bar" | Melissa Fumero | Peter Murrieta & Alex Zaragoza | May 19, 2023 (2023-05-19) |
| Rafa and Miguel deal with different consequences after stealing a candy bar. Ryan tries to get Jay to open a bank account. |||||
| 7 | "The Recruitment Fair" | Rebecca Asher | Sylvia Batey Alcalá & Pedro Gonzalez | May 19, 2023 (2023-05-19) |
| Rafa tries to win over Mya's dad after accidentally making an inappropriate joke in front of him. Rollie helps Mondo with a bully. Drea enjoys some freedom. |||||
| 8 | "What?" | Rebecca Asher | Shea Serrano & Jason Concepcion | May 19, 2023 (2023-05-19) |
| After talking with Drea, Rafa decides it's finally time to tell Mya how he feels about her. The uncles work together to investigate a threat. |||||

## Production

The Hollywood Reporter announced in October 2017 that a semi-autobiographical sitcom comedy series created by Shea Serrano and produced by Mike Schur was in development at ABC, who made a put pilot commitment. Writer Serrano reportedly pitched the series to Schur because he was "tired of waiting for there to be more Mexicans on TV." In May 2021 it was announced that series was in development at Amazon Studios' free streaming service IMDb TV. On October 25, 2021 it was announced that Universal Television and IMDb TV had ordered Primo, to be co-executive produced by Serrano, Schur (Fremulon), David Miner (3 Arts Entertainment), Morgan Sackett, Peter Murrieta, and Lisa Muse Bryant.
Ignacio Diaz-Silverio, Martin Martinez, Carlos Santos, Johnny Rey Diaz, Henri Esteve, Jonathan Medina, Nigel Siwabessy, Christina Vidal, Efraín Villa, and Stakiah Washington were announced as main cast members on May 12, 2022. Diaz-Silverio portrays the role of Rafa, based on Serrano, in his first lead acting role.
The series was filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico beginning in May 2022. The pilot was directed by Kabir Akhtar.
Amazon Freevee cancelled the series after one season on May 21, 2024. The producers at Universal Television are purported to be shopping Primo around to other networks.

## Release

Primo premiered on Amazon Freevee on May 19, 2023 with all eight episodes released simultaneously.

## Critical reception

Primo received critical acclaim. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 7.5/10, based on 22 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Bearing the unmistakable stamp of creator Shea Serrano's authentic voice, Primo is a generation-spanning sitcom that feels like home." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 82 out of 100 based on six critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
Manuel Betancourt of The A.V. Club wrote, "Serrano has carefully built a wry love letter to his upbringing, turning what surely felt like nagging family obligations into sitcom-ready plots and concocting a comfort watch that puts a Mexican-American family front and center along the way." Matt Monagle stated in a positive review for Houston Chronicle, "the first season of Primo is well worth your time; the finale weaves together a handful of narrative threads and shows the full depth of the creators' empathy for these characters." In a Texas Monthly review, Luis Rendon described the unconventional representation of a Latino family, who do not speak any Spanish beyond the title of the show: "The Gonzaleses, the family at its center, just get to tell jokes, do bits, and be themselves without having to force 'very special moments' around identity." The Hollywood Reporter's Daniel Feinberg praised the acting of Christina Vidal, "Vidal, who has spent nearly three decades being misused and underused in various TV and film projects, has perhaps her best role to date, expertly participating in and breaking up the potential testosterone avalanche."
Proma Khosla of IndieWire named Primo the seventh best new TV show of the year and called the series "pure sitcom gold". The series was also listed seventh on Rotten Tomatoes' list of the Best New TV & Streaming Shows of 2023 Ranked. Vanity Fair listed it as one of the Best TV Shows of 2023. Mashable's Belen Edwards named Primo the Best New Sitcom of 2023. Cracked ranked the show as number one on the Funniest Shows of 2023 list and RogerEbert.com included it in the 25 Best TV Series of 2023 list. Rolling Stone included it in its list of the Best New TV shows of 2023.
TV Insider named Ignacio Diaz-Silverio one of the 11 Breakout TV Stars of 2023.

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
| 2024 | Imagen Awards | Best Comedy Series | Primo | Nominated |
| 2024 | Imagen Awards | Best Actor – Comedy (Television) | Ignacio Diaz-Silverio | Won |
| 2024 | Imagen Awards | Best Actress – Comedy (Television) | Christina Vidal | Nominated |
| 2024 | Imagen Awards | Best Supporting Actor – Comedy (Television) | Carlos Santos | Nominated |
| 2024 | Young Artist Awards | Best Performance in a Streaming Series – Recurring Youth Artist | Michael Sifain | Won |