Victorious

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Victorious is an American family television series created by Dan Schneider for Nickelodeon. The series revolves around aspiring singer Tori Vega, portrayed by Victoria Justice, who attends a performing arts high school called Hollywood Arts High School.
The series' pilot episode premiered on March 27, 2010 to high viewer numbers.
==Main characters==
===Tori Vega===
*Tori Vega (Victoria Justice) is the younger sister of Trina Vega. After Trina cannot perform for the showcase, Tori has to fill in for her, and realises she is a great performer. Then she becomes a member of Hollywood Arts, a performing arts school in Los Angeles, California. She doubts herself, thinking that Hollywood Arts is not the perfect school for her, as she has self-confidence issues and thinks she is not talented enough to be a student there. When she learns how to do improv and her friend André gives her a pep talk, she decides to stay at Hollywood Arts and nourish her musical talent.
===Andre Harris===
* André Harris (Leon Thomas III) is one of Tori's best friends. They meet through Trina, who had to work with André for the Big Showcase. He is an amazingly gifted musician who loves to play for his friends, and has big and animated emotions. He is not afraid to say what he thinks, and is very kind. André is the guy everyone likes and respects for his obvious creativity.
===Robbie Shapiro===
*Robert "Robbie" Shapiro (Matt Bennett) is a shy and awkward student at Hollywood Arts. He is a phenomenal ventriloquist, and usually carries around his best friend, the puppet Rex Powers, although the two often get into arguments. Robbie's love interest is Cat, and a strong will-they, won’t-they narrative between the two is present in the series.
====Rex Powers====
*Rex Powers (puppeteered by Matt Bennett, voiced by Jake Farrow) is Robbie's ventriloquist dummy, who seems to have a mind of his own. He often cracks jokes at the others' expense. Rex has a crush on Tori, and she jokingly kisses him in the episode "Sleepover at Sikowitz's." Jade absolutely hates Rex and thinks he acts in a stupid way, as shown in the episode “Rex Dies”.
===Jade West===
*Jade West (Elizabeth Gilles) and Tori started out as enemies, but as the show went on they became friends, although Jade always denies she is Tori's friend. She is also Beck's girlfriend. Jade is fickle and guarded. Her style is very goth, and she is the mean girl of the series.
===Cat Valentine===
*Catherina "Cat" Valentine (Ariana Grande) is super sensitive and has bipolar disorder. She is very girly and dresses in pink tutus and dyes her bright red. She is quite dumb and childlike, and she often struggles with common sense. She is always at level 10 emotionally. Though Cat can be a lot to handle, she is a best friend to Tori.
===Beck Oliver===
*Beck Oliver (Avan Jogia) is handsome, funny and down-to-earth. He is Jade's boyfriend and is close with André, Robbie, Cat, and Tori. Beck is also nice, sweet, talented and funny and always friendly to everybody, including those that he doesn't know so well, which also reinforcing his status as popular. Girls often swoon over his good looks, which gets Jade furious.
===Trina Vega===
*Trina Vega (Daniella Monet) is Tori's older sister by about two years. She is unlikeable, and very self-centred. It's been like that forever and she truly believes stardom is her destiny. She overshadows Tori, thinking that she's more talented. The truth: Trina is a terrible singer with a massive ego, providing comic relief for the series.
==Minor characters==
===Sinjin van Cleef===
*Sinjin van Cleef (Michael Eric Reid) is a dorky and somewhat creepy boy at Hollywood Arts. He has a crush on Jade, but she can't stand him. In the episode 'Wi-Fi in The Sky', Sinjin sneaks into Jade's house while she was at Beck's trailer video-chating with Tori, André, Cat and Beck when Sinjin joins the video chat. Soon after Jade realises it's her house. Sinjin was intended to be a one-time character, but Schneider enjoyed Reid's performance so much that he cast him in nearly every episode of the series. He is also the only non-major character so far to have a profile on TheSlap.com, a fictional social media app in the series that all the main character use. His name is a portmanteau of Sen'jin and Edwin VanCleef, both characters from the popular online game "World of Warcraft."
===Erwin Sikowitz===
*Erwin Sikowitz (Eric Lange) is the school's eccentric, barefoot acting teacher. He has strange methods of teaching. Tori (and possibly everyone else) believes he is crazy. He also loves drinking coconut milk because it gives him "visions." He has a profile on TheSlap.com.
===Mr. & Mrs. Vega=== 
*Mr. and Mrs. Vega (Jim Pirri and Jennifer Carta) are Tori and Trina's parents. They have been seen in the episodes Pilot, The Birthweek Song and sleepover at sikowitz. Although Tori and Trina Vega's mom has been featured in more episodes than their father, she was seen in the episode Robarrazzi and a film by dale squires. They are depicted as typical parents from a teenager's point of view: caring parents that look after their kids, but can be embarrassments sometimes. In "Pilot" & "The Birthweek Song," Tori revealed that her dad is a cop.
===Lane Alexander===
* Lane (Lane Napper) is the school guidance counselor. He often helps resolve problems and catches students who ditch classes.
===Burf===
*Burf (Darsan Solomon) is a friend of Sinjin. He often is known for eating cucumbers and bell peppers.
==Production==
Victorious was the fifth series created by Dan Schneider for Nickelodeon, following The Amanda Show, Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, and iCarly. Schneider first met Justice in 2005, when she was twelve and arrived to audition for the part of Lola Martinez on Zoey 101 during season 2. Impressed by her energy and look, Schneider hired her and, after working with her on three episodes, called Nickelodeon to say, "I’ve got your next star." Justice continued her role on Zoey 101 until the series ended in 2008. In the meantime, Disney Channel, Nickelodeon's main competitor, had experienced immense success with franchises like Hannah Montana and High School Musical, which featured original songs and generated revenue through music as well as television. Seeking to "follow where the kids are", Nickelodeon executives asked Schneider to create a music-based show for the channel. Near the end of Zoey 101's run, Justice was summoned to meet with Schneider about a potential series starring her.
While discussing possible concepts for the series during the meeting, Justice mentioned that she had attended a performing arts middle school. The idea intrigued Schneider, who recognized the appeal of series concerning fame. "If there is anything I've learned about kids today—and I'm not saying this is good or bad—it's that they all want to be stars," said Schneider. Marjorie Cohn, who was then Nickelodeon's executive vice president of original programming and development, agreed. "Every kid thinks they're five minutes away and one lucky circumstance from being famous," Cohn stated. She noted that iCarly was spurred by the rise of YouTube celebrities and had become a successful show for Nickelodeon.
On August 13, 2008, Nickelodeon announced that Justice had signed "an overall talent and music deal" with the company, agreeing to star in a then-untitled musical-comedy series about a girl who attends a performing arts high school. While discussing the show's premise, Schneider stated that while it would be nice if more children "wanted to be teachers and social workers" instead of celebrities, "At least in 'Victorious,' you see a world where they're all working on the talent part." Nickelodeon Productions and the Columbia/Epic Label Group of Sony Music Entertainment agreed to co-produce the series as part of a partnership to develop talent and release their music.
==Reception==
===Critical reception===
The series as a whole earned generally mixed reviews. Variety magazine reviewer Brian Lowry wrote, "Victorious has been cobbled together with the wooden-headed market in mind." David Hinkley of the New York Daily News says the series' format is nearly identical to iCarly and hopes that the series will develop a "more distinctive personality" over the course of the season. Roger Catlin of the Hartford Courant describes Victorious as "harmless but hardly entertaining". Mark A. Perigard of the Boston Herald titled his review "Victorious is a big loser" and writes, "The bulk of the cast mugs for the cameras, probably to compensate for a script that could have been commissioned from fifth-graders." Linda Stasi of the New York Post was mixed; she agreed that the episode contained over-acting performers, "corny" dialogue and a "terribly, terribly loud laugh track", but believed it was "a 'surefire tween hit".
However, reviewers were positive about Justice's performance and suggested that series' potential hinged on her. Hinkley comments, "At this point, Justice is better at singing than acting, and the show doesn't flow as smoothly as iCarly," but Justice "has the personality and talent" needed for a shot at being "the Next Big Teen Thing". Perigard describes her as "undeniably appealing" and Lowry states, "Justice is winsome and talented enough to provide the latest show a leg up in connecting with teen girls."
=== Viewership ===
The series premiere did well among viewers. The pilot episode, advertised as a "sneak preview" of the series, aired after the 2010 Kids' Choice Awards on March 27, 2010 to 5.7 million viewers. This audience made Victorious Nickelodeon's highest rated live-action series debut. The second episode was advertised as the series' official premiere and drew 3.48 million viewers. By comparison, Nickelodeon's Big Time Rush received 3.5 million viewers for its "sneak preview" debut in November 2009, and 6.8 million viewers for its "premiere" in January 2010.
On June 4, 2010, the episode "Robarazzi" became the most watched episode of the series to date, with 6.0 million total viewers, including 3.3 million in the Kids 6-11 demographic, and 2.2 million in the Tweens 9-13 demographic.
Then on April 2, 2011, the Season 2 premiere of "'Beggin' on Your Knees" became the series most watched episode to date, earning 6.1 million viewers, just over "Robarazzi"s premiere viewership.
===Awards===
Year	Award 	Category 	Recipient 	Result 	
2010	Teen Choice Awards 	Choice TV Breakout Show 	Victorious 	Nominated	
2010	Hollywood Teen TV Awards 	Teen Pick Show: Comedy 	Victorious 	Nominated	
2011	UK Kids' Choice Awards 2011 	Nick UK's Favourite TV Show 	Victorious 	Nominated	
2011	Australian Kids' Choice Awards 2011	Fave TV Show 	Victorious 	Nominated	
2011	Primetime Emmy Awards 	Outstanding Children's Program 	Victorious 	Nominated	
2011	British Academy Children's Awards 	BAFTA Kid's Vote: Television 	Victorious 	Nominated	
2011	Youth Rocks Awards 	Rockin' Ensemble Cast (TV/ Comedy) 	Victorious 	Nominated	
2012	2012 Kids' Choice Awards 	Favorite TV Show 	Victorious 	Won 	
2012	Hollywood Teen TV Awards 	Favorite Television Show 	Victorious 	Nominated	
2012	Primetime Emmy Awards 	Outstanding Children's Program 	Victorious 	Nominated	
2012	Primetime Emmy Awards 	Outstanding Hairstyling for a Multi-Camera Series or Special 	Episode: April Fools Blank	Nominated	
2012	Primetime Emmy Awards 	Outstanding Makeup for a Multi-Camera Series or Special (Non-Prosthetic)	Episode: April Fools Blank	Nominated	
2012	Casting Society of America 	Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Children's Series Programming 	Krisha Bullock
Jennifer Treadwell	Nominated	
2012	Kids' Choice Awards Mexico 	Favorite International Show 	Victorious 	Nominated	
2012	Kids' Choice Awards Argentina 	International TV Show 	Victorious 	Won 	
2013	2013 Kids' Choice Awards 	Favorite TV Show 	Victorious 	Won 	
2013	2013 Kids' Choice Awards 	Favorite TV Actress 	Victoria Justice 	Nominated	
2013	Kids Choice Awards México 2013 	Favorite international TV Show 	Victorious 	Won 	
2014	British Academy Children's Awards 	BAFTA Kid's Vote - Television 	Victorious 	Nominated	
==Episodes==
Season 	Episodes	Season premiere 	Season finale
Season 1	20 	March 27, 2010 	March 26, 2011
Season 2	13 	April 2, 2011 	December 26, 2011
Season 3	13 	January 28, 2012 	June 30, 2012
Season 4	14 	September 22, 2012	February 2, 2013
Filming for the pilot began on February 23, 2009. The rest of Season 1 was filmed from October 5, 2009 and ended on April 14, 2010. 20 episodes were produced for the show's first season.
===iCarly crossover===
Dan Schneider the creator of iCarly and Victorious confirmed via his Facebook and Twitter that a crossover special between the two shows are now completed, as of August 29, 2010. Later that night the script was sent out and the following day it went into production. Production lasted about 3 weeks long. The episode, a three-parter titled "iParty with Victorious", aired on June 10, 2011.
==Music==
"Make It Shine" is the theme song for Victorious, and is performed by Justice. It was co-written by Justice, Dr. Luke and Michael Cororan and released as Justice's debut single on April 13, 2010. The song is an up-tempo power-pop song with elements of dance and rock . The song has peaked at #16 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.Template:Citation needed
Victorious featured approximately one song every three episodes. Most songs were sung or co-sung by Justice.
==Series end ==
On August 10, 2012, series creator Dan Schneider confirmed that the fourth season would be the last. Nickelodeon chose not to renew the series, in keeping with their practice of running shows for approximately 60 episodes. He pointed out that the show was not canceled, which is usually applied to shows that have low ratings, which was not the case for Victorious. Schneider further stated that he plans on each series he creates for Nickelodeon having 60 episodes.Series creator Dan Schneider confirms end of Victorious
==External links==
* Victorious Wiki
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*Victorious Wiki (Spanish)
*TheSlap.com
==References==
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Category:Shows
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Category:Live-action shows
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Category:Cancelled shows
Category:Kids' Choice Awards winners
Category:2010s premieres
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Category:Shows on TeenNick
Category:Short-lived shows
Category:Sitcoms
Category:Victorious