Love, Victor
Love, Victor is an American teen comedy drama streaming television series created by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, inspired by and set in the same world as the 2018 film "Love, Simon". The series premiered on June 17, 2020, on Hulu. It is produced by 20th Television, with Aptaker and Berger serving as showrunners. The first two seasons of the show, as well as the third season will be available on both Disney+ in the US and Hulu beginning on June 15, 2022. Michael Cimino stars as Victor, a teen from a half Puerto Rican, half Colombian-American  family living in Atlanta, alongside George Sear, Rachel Hilson, Bebe Wood, Anthony Turpel, Isabella Ferreira, Ana Ortiz, James Martinez, Mason Gooding, and Mateo Fernandez. Nick Robinson, who starred as the titular Simon in the original film, produces and narrates the series. The second season premiered on June 11, 2021. In July 2021, the series was renewed for a third and final season which is set to premiere on June 15, 2022. Premise. The first season focuses on a new student at Creekwood High School, Victor. The series follows his journey of self-discovery: facing challenges at home and struggling with  his sexual orientation. He reaches out to Simon when it seems too difficult for him to navigate through high school. The second season deals with the aftermath of his coming out and follows Victor as he navigates through this new world with his friends, while also dealing with his relationship with Benji, which is tested multiple times, due in part to Victor's family and a new possible love interest. Cast and characters. Main. Nick Robinson, reprising his role as Simon Spier from "Love, Simon", mostly appears via voice-over, narrating Simon's messages to Victor. Robinson appears as Simon  in person in the eighth episode of the first season and the tenth episode of the second season. Production. Development. In April 2019, Disney+ gave the 20th Century Fox Television–produced showbased on the film "Love, Simon"a straight-to-series order, with the writers of the original movie, Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, attached as showrunners. The show would focus on brand new characters and would be set in the same world as the movie. In February 2020, the series was retitled "Love, Victor" and moved to Hulu, with a scheduled premiere date in June 2020, making it the second  seriesafter "High Fidelity"to move from Disney+ to Hulu. In April 2020, it was announced that the series was scheduled to premiere on June 19, 2020. On June 10, 2020, the premiere date was moved up to June 17, 2020, to give Juneteenth its own day in the spotlight. On August 7, 2020, Hulu renewed the series for a second season which premiered on June 11, 2021, and consists of 10 episodes. On July 30, 2021, Hulu renewed the series for a third season. On February 8, 2022, Hulu announced that the third season will be its last. Casting. In June  2019, Ana Ortiz was cast as Isabel. In mid-August, the series' full cast was announced, with Michael Cimino as the lead, Victor. Also announced were James Martinez as Armando, Isabella Ferreira as Pilar, Mateo Fernandez as Adrian, Johnny Sequoyah as Mia, Bebe Wood as Lake, George Sear as Benji, Anthony Turpel as Felix, and Mason Gooding as Andrew. It was also announced that Nick Robinson, who starred in the film, would produce and narrate the series. Later that month, it was reported that Rachel Hilson had been cast as Mia, replacing Sequoyah. The recast was made in order to  take the character in a new creative direction. On October 23, 2019, it was also announced that Sophia Bush had been cast as Veronica, Mia's father's new girlfriend. In November 2020, Betsy Brandt was announced as having been cast in the second as Dawn, Felix's mother, who struggles with mental health issues. Ava Capri and Anthony Keyvan were also announced as joining the second season cast. In March 2022, Nico Greetham was booked in a recurring role for the final season. Filming. Filming began in August 2019, in Los Angeles, with Amy York Rubin directing the first  episode. Filming for the second season began on November 9, 2020. Filming for the third season began on November 8, 2021. Music. The soundtrack EP for the first season, featuring three new songs by LGBT artists and all co-written by Leland, was released on June 19, 2020, by Hollywood Records.The soundtrack album for the second season, featuring eight new songs by LGBT artists and all co-written by Leland, was released on June 11, 2021, by Hollywood Records. Release. The series premiered on June 17, 2020, pushed up from a June 19 release date, on Hulu in the  United States. Internationally, the series premiered on Disney+ under the dedicated streaming hub Star on February 23, 2021. The second season was released on June 11, 2021, on Hulu and premiered internationally on June 18, 2021, on Disney+'s Star. On Disney+, "Love, Victor" episodes premiered on a weekly basis. The 8-episode third and final season is scheduled to be released on June 15, 2022. Additionally, from June 15, 2022, "Love, Victor" will be available in the United States on both Hulu and Disney+. Reception. Audience viewership. According to Hulu, the series was the most-watched drama on the  service during its premiere week between June 17 and 23, 2020. It was also the most-binged original drama series on Hulu in 2020 during its first week and the second-most binged original on Hulu after "Solar Opposites". Critical response. For the first season, review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 90% based on 49 reviews, with an average rating of 7.13/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Michael Cimino charms in "Love, Victor", a sincere and sweet—if safe—spin-off with a lot of heart." Metacritic gave the series a weighted average score of 69  out of 100, based on 21 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The second season has a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 8.1/10 based on 23 reviews. The website's critics consensus states, "Grounded by its talented cast, "Love, Victor" grows into itself with a mature second season that confronts difficult situations with care."