Love, Victor Hulu Original Season 1 Review

Major Spoilers are included in this season review. Please read with caution.

On June 21, 2020, I binge-watched Love, Victor—the television series successor to 2018 film Love, Simon—with my siblings. The 10-episode first season was released on June 19, 2020 (Juneteenth). We watched it from beginning to end in one night, and I’d like to share some thoughts. The ride wasn’t completely smooth, but the series—centered around Victor (Michael Cimino)—was definitely an improvement over the movie.

In the first couple minutes, the series established Victor’s character, background, who he thinks he is, and who he might be. This is a sharp contrast to the movie’s protagonist Simon (Nick Robinson), who was an “All-American Boy” through and through except for the fact that he was gay. Victor and Simon creating a connection over Instagram DM was an interesting way to bridge the gap between the movie and television series, essentially turning Simon into a gay mentor.

At the start of this series though, Victor had moved to a new town with his family where he was set-up to explore his sexuality, but the homophobia he experienced at home and school—in addition to the social pressure of dating popular girl Mia (Rachel Naomi Hilson)—made coming out or accepting his queerness way more complicated. Like it was so complicated that my siblings and I weren’t 100% sure who we were initially rooting for in the beginning.

Overall, Love, Victor banked on the potential of its movie predecessor without collecting all the payoff. Episode 8 in particular—when Keiynan Lonsdale and Nick Robinson guest-starred—had potential, only to falter with its twist regarding the diverse queer family. I enjoyed the twist, but then Simon actually showed up at the end of the scene. It was also weird how Simon was separated from this queer family when he did return. In my opinion, you should give this show a chance. It’s still pretty cute with lessons definitely worth learning.