Is Love, Victor a worthy follow-up to the story we left behind as Simon kissed Blue on the Ferris wheel? I am pleased to report that the answer is yes! Stream now on Disney+.
It seems like an eternity ago that I reported on the arrival of the much-anticipated Love, Victor on Hulu in the United States. At the time, most of us had expected Love, Victor to make a quick transition to British TV screens; however, it took much longer than hoped, as we waited for the Disney+ (Star) channel launch. But better late than never: Victor has arrived, with the first two episodes available immediately, followed by a weekly release schedule.
I was a big fan of Love, Simon when it was released in 2018, and its 12a certificate was a welcome step forward in the visibility of gay teenage romantic comedy in cinemas. But is Love, Victor a worthy follow-up to the story we left behind as Simon kissed Blue on the Ferris wheel? I am pleased to report that the answer is yes!
READ MORE: LOVE, VICTOR SEASON TWO
Now, it’s important to state that I have no intention of providing any spoilers for what is to come in Love, Victor. Therefore, this review offers a quick overview of the story. Love, Victor follows a very similar narrative arc to its big-screen cousin; however, many of the weaknesses found in Love, Simon are ironed out here. For example, Victor is new to Creekwood, and his family does not carry the wealth and privilege displayed in the Spier household. Here, Victor’s Puerto Rican and Colombian-American roots provide a welcome discussion on the interface between sexuality, culture and religion. Meanwhile, conversations on sexual orientation and identity also take on a distinctly different voice in Love, Victor, with its episodic structure allowing for a more detailed exploration of the coming-out journey.
Love Victor also dispenses with the secret and anonymous gay romance, instead opting to explore the decisions, choices and hidden feelings that haunt our journey to self-acceptance. While commendable in its vision, Love, Victor occasionally struggles to embrace the themes it raises fully. The show sometimes feels nervous and unsure, possibly because it was dropped by Disney+ early on in favour of Hulu. Who knows! However, despite these first-date nerves, Love, Victor excels thanks to its young cast’s performances. Here, Victor (Michael Cimino), Mia (Rachel Naomi Hilson), Benji (George Sear) and Felix (Anthony Turpel) hold the show together and feel like a genuine group of high school friends.
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The result is a delightfully engaging, if occasionally cautious, series that finds its own unique voice in the first two episodes, expanding Becky Albertalli’s universe while demonstrating how different Simon and Victor’s journey will be, and trust me, by the end of the first season, you are going to be screaming for more because this is one group of teens who have so much more to say. With season two now on the way, I only hope Love, Victor continues to break down barriers to visibility and finds more confidence in the process.
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