Let me set the scene: Its February 2019, I'm flying home from a trip abroad and somewhere over the Pacific Ocean I decide that I want to watch Love, Simon for the first time. Cut to: me sobbing in the middle of a packed plane. What can I say, self destruction is the name of my game. So when I heard there was a spin-off coming to Hulu I knew that I just had to be there.
The first season of Love, Victor followed the coming out story of Victor (Michael Cimino), who attends the same high school as Nick Robinson's character Simon from the movie. To put it simply, the show is really good. It depicts some real issues that young kids who struggle with their sexuality face, especially when they come from traditional families whose cultures aren't 100% accepting.
While the Hulu Original isn't exactly the kind hard-hitting queer media that the community wants to see -- some may even criticize this genre of LGBTQ+ series for watering down the gay experience and starring cis-het actors -- there's something to be said for what it does do.
Love, Victor puts a person of color in a place where queer kids can see that it's possible to live your authentic self and packages the young gay experience in a way that's palatable to straight audiences.
This show is a form of representation that we all wish we had when we were Growing Up Queer. Fingers crossed this season is just as good as the first!
The second season of Love, Victor is available to stream on Hulu starting June 11th.