To the Victor...

A few years ago, I was very pleasantly surprised by the movie Love, Simon -- a gay teen rom-com with some actual emotional heft, despite its mostly light touch. Though the movie was successful, it was hardly the sort of thing you'd expect to spawn a sequel. And yet it has, in the form of a TV series on Hulu: Love, Victor.

The title character is a teen who is just arriving in a new city. Victor is questioning his own sexuality, and afraid to admit that to a family he fears won't understand. But he has one person he can confide in. He happens to be starting at the same school where a recent graduate, Simon, had a memorable coming out. Victor writes Simon, and gets back advice as the two strike up a cyber-friendship.

I will say right up front: Love, Victor is not as effective a story as Love, Simon was. In fact, Love, Victor sometimes seems more like the cheesy knockoff of some other truly great show. The writing is soap operatic -- in dialogue, and even occasionally plot twists. What I didn't know while watching the first season (but which makes total sense now that I've heard it) is that the series was originally made for Disney+, but they balked at the last minute, deciding not to host it under the Disney banner and instead airing it on Hulu. Still, it absolutely feels like a "Disney Channel" show.

Still, there are things to like about the series. Although the guys in the cast seem that rather one-dimensional and limited actors, the women are pretty great throughout. Rachel Hilson is a young actress you might know as the college-era Beth from This Is Us; she's just as strong here, and has a lot more to do in each episode. Bebe Wood has grown up hopping from one "almost a hit" sitcom to another, including The New Normal and The Real O'Neals (among more guest starring roles); she has great comic chops here and the show makes good use of them. Isabella Ferreira is strong as Victor's fiery sister, and Ana Ortiz has many good moments as his mother.

For whatever weaknesses the show might have, its heart is always in the right place. It does have a lot of positive messages woven into its story. It's an LGBT story that charts a different course than Love, Simon. Also, Victor and his family have Puerto Rican and Colombian-American heritage, which gives this story a different canvas to paint on.

Honestly, if Love, Victor hadn't been just 10 episodes, each a half an hour and easy to watch, I might not have hung with it for the whole ride. A renewal for a second season was just announced, and I had mixed feelings about that: there's certainly potential within the show and it could get better, but I hardly feel like I need to know what's going to happen next. But that renewal announcement came with interviews from the creators saying "now that we know were making the show for Hulu, we're going to be able to do more with it." So... maybe...?

Given that it is such a breezy watch? I think I'd call it a B- overall. It's no Love, Simon... but it's not too bad.