Executive Producers Interview: Love, Victor Season 3
Love, Victor season 3 closes the chapter on the beautiful Hulu series that officially began as a spin-off of the 2018 romcom Love, Simon. The show centers on Victor Salazar (Michael Cimino, Senior Year), a gay student who begins to discovers himself at his new school and finds both love and friendship along the way. Much like its film predecessor, the show has touched plenty of LGBTQ teens who have felt represented through its stories.
Last season's cliffhanger had Victor on the verge of choosing between his two love interests, Benji and Rahim, but several other storylines also hung in the balance. Not only are his friends Lake and Lucy on the brink of exploring their own romantic connection, but his entire family has plenty on their plate as well.
Screen Rant spoke to the show's executive producers Isaac Aptaker, Elizabeth Berger, and Brian Tanen about the joy they feel at interacting with the Love, Victor fandom, the Ferris wheel of emotions the teens go on in season 3, and how the Salazar family is handling all the recent changes in their lives.
Screen Rant: Elizabeth, what does it mean to you to be part of bringing such an important story to life, especially for LGBTQ teens who are watching?
Elizabeth Berger: I'm really proud to be a part of it. I think probably the most meaningful part of doing this show has been, over the three seasons, hearing directly from our fans. We have a very beautifully vocal fan base who have never hesitated to reach out to us, and it's just meant so much to hear from them. To hear that watching the show made a true impact in their lives, and it maybe allowed them to have conversations with their parents that they previously hadn't been able to have. They ended up binging the whole series with their parents, and it fostered all of these beautiful conversations and left them closer than they were before.
We've also gotten to hear from an older demographic that really wished that they had a show like this and feel like they finally got the show that they wish they had growing up. It's been just tremendously meaningful to receive that feedback. We hope that the show continues to live on, that people continue to find it, and that it continues to make a difference. [That it] makes people that didn't have a show like that before feel seen and like their stories are represented on TV.
Season 3 is what I would call a Ferris wheel of emotions. Brian, could you give us an overview of what emotions we might be experiencing? How would you sum up the season?
Brian Tanen: Yeah, I think a Ferris wheel of emotions is really good. We want to trademark that; I think that's exactly right.
The show has always lived in this space between comedy and drama, and I think that sort of perfectly encapsulates what it feels like to be... I was gonna say a queer teenager, but I think it encapsulate what it feels like to be a teenager. There's a lot of ups and a lot of downs, and that's true this season. There's a lot of growing up still to do.
I'd say twists and turns, excitement, joy, surprise, heartbreak, and ultimately a feeling of wanting to leave the audience hopeful. Wish fulfillment has always been a strong drive of ours. So many queer stories are based in trauma, or experiences which are painful. And while we absolutely love good teen drama, we want to leave people feeling a sense of optimism.
By the end of the season, I think you're gonna feel like these kids are going to be alright.
Isaac, I adore the Salazar family, not least of which because Ugly Betty was my jam in ye olden days and so Hilda is my icon. But can you describe what the family might go through this season?
Isaac Aptaker: For sure. Ana [Ortiz], who plays Victor's mom Isabel is really reeling from how long it took her to get on board with Victor's coming out last year. She's still feeling the residual guilt from that and feeling this need to prove to him how supportive she is and how much he loves him now that everything's said and done. She has varying degrees of success with that; she goes sometimes too far in the supportive mom direction and becomes a bit overbearing, but they ultimately find this really lovely status quo, I think.
And then we have James [Martinez], who plays Armando - as open and quick as he was to get on board with Victor last season, this year he's having a much harder time with his daughter Pilar, who's embarking on a romantic relationship. We see a very different side of him, and some of the toxic masculinity that the family has to contend with, in the context of him being the father to a young woman embarking on a romantic relationship.
Set in the world of the original 2018 film “Love, Simon,” the series follows Victor, a new student at Creekwood High School on his own journey of self-discovery, facing challenges at home, adjusting to a new city, and struggling with his sexual orientation. When it all seems too much, he reaches out to Simon to help him navigate the ups and downs of high school.
Check out our interview with Love, Victor stars Anthony Turpel, Isabella Ferreira & Mateo Fernandez as well as Bebe Wood & Rachel Hilson and Ava Capri.
All 8 episodes of Love, Victor season 3 are available to stream on Hulu and Disney+.
Source: Screenrant
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