Misplaced Pages

Primo
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Shea Serrano
Starring	Ignacio Diaz-Silverio Christina Vidal Carlos Santos Henri Esteve Johnny Rey Diaz Jonathan Medina Efraín Villa Stakiah Washington Martin Martinez Nigel Siwabessy
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	8
Production
Executive producers	Shea Serrano Mike Schur David Miner Morgan Sackett Peter Murrieta Lisa Muse Bryant
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	Amazon Studios Fremulon 3 Arts Entertainment Universal Television
Original release
Network	Amazon Freevee
Release	May 19, 2023 (2023-05-19)

Primo is an American sitcom created by Shea Serrano. The semi-autobiographical series, co-executive produced with Michael Schur, is based on Serrano's upbringing in San Antonio, Texas. Primo stars Ignacio Diaz-Silverio, Christina Vidal, Carlos Santos, Henri Esteve, Johnny Rey Diaz, Jonathan Medina, Efraín Villa, Stakiah Lynn Washington, Martin Martinez, and Nigel Siwabessy. The series debuted on May 19, 2023 on Amazon Freevee and received wide-spread critical acclaim. It was cancelled by Amazon Freevee on May 21, 2024.

Plot

Primo is a coming-of-age comedy about a teenager balancing college aspirations, societal expectations, and a hectic home life anchored by his single mom and five uncles."

Cast and characters

• Ignacio Diaz-Silverio as Rafa, a 16-year-old high school junior navigating school, home, and career aspirations
• Christina Vidal as Drea, Rafa's mom and the third eldest among her brothers
• Carlos Santos as Ryan, Rafa's youngest uncle, who is a bank teller
• Henri Esteve as Mike, Rafa's second youngest uncle who is a strict military member
• Johnny Rey Diaz as Rollie, Rafa's wild uncle
• Jonathan Medina as Jay, Rafa's oldest uncle who is a pragmatist
• Efraín Villa as Mondo, the second oldest uncle and a cosmic wanderer
• Stakiah Lynn Washington as Mya, Rafa's friend who he has a crush on
• Martin Martinez as Miguel, Rafa's close friend
• Nigel Siwabessy as Harris, one of Rafa's closest friends

Episodes

Production

The Hollywood Reporter announced in October 2017 that a semi-autobiographical sitcom comedy series created by Shea Serrano and produced by Mike Schur was in development at ABC, who made a put pilot commitment. Writer Serrano reportedly pitched the series to Schur because he was "tired of waiting for there to be more Mexicans on TV." In May 2021 it was announced that series was in development at Amazon Studios' free streaming service IMDb TV. On October 25, 2021 it was announced that Universal Television and IMDb TV had ordered Primo, to be co-executive produced by Serrano, Schur (Fremulon), David Miner (3 Arts Entertainment), Morgan Sackett, Peter Murrieta, and Lisa Muse Bryant.

Ignacio Diaz-Silverio, Martin Martinez, Carlos Santos, Johnny Rey Diaz, Henri Esteve, Jonathan Medina, Nigel Siwabessy, Christina Vidal, Efraín Villa, and Stakiah Washington were announced as main cast members on May 12, 2022. Diaz-Silverio portrays the role of Rafa, based on Serrano, in his first lead acting role.

The series was filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico beginning in May 2022. The pilot was directed by Kabir Akhtar.

Amazon Freevee cancelled the series after one season on May 21, 2024. The producers at Universal Television are purported to be shopping Primo around to other networks.

Release

Primo premiered on Amazon Freevee on May 19, 2023 with all eight episodes released simultaneously.

Critical reception

Primo received critical acclaim. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 7.5/10, based on 22 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Bearing the unmistakable stamp of creator Shea Serrano's authentic voice, Primo is a generation-spanning sitcom that feels like home." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 82 out of 100 based on six critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

Manuel Betancourt of The A.V. Club wrote, "Serrano has carefully built a wry love letter to his upbringing, turning what surely felt like nagging family obligations into sitcom-ready plots and concocting a comfort watch that puts a Mexican-American family front and center along the way." Matt Monagle stated in a positive review for Houston Chronicle, "the first season of Primo is well worth your time; the finale weaves together a handful of narrative threads and shows the full depth of the creators' empathy for these characters." In a Texas Monthly review, Luis Rendon described the unconventional representation of a Latino family, who do not speak any Spanish beyond the title of the show: "The Gonzaleses, the family at its center, just get to tell jokes, do bits, and be themselves without having to force 'very special moments' around identity." The Hollywood Reporter's Daniel Feinberg praised the acting of Christina Vidal, "Vidal, who has spent nearly three decades being misused and underused in various TV and film projects, has perhaps her best role to date, expertly participating in and breaking up the potential testosterone avalanche."

Proma Khosla of IndieWire named Primo the seventh best new TV show of the year and called the series "pure sitcom gold". The series was also listed seventh on Rotten Tomatoes' list of the Best New TV & Streaming Shows of 2023 Ranked. Vanity Fair listed it as one of the Best TV Shows of 2023. Mashable's Belen Edwards named Primo the Best New Sitcom of 2023. Cracked ranked the show as number one on the Funniest Shows of 2023 list and RogerEbert.com included it in the 25 Best TV Series of 2023 list. Rolling Stone included it in its list of the Best New TV shows of 2023.

TV Insider named Ignacio Diaz-Silverio one of the 11 Breakout TV Stars of 2023.

Awards and nominations

References

1. ^ "Primo (2023)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
2. ^ Maas, Jennifer (October 25, 2021). "Mike Schur Comedy Inspired by The Ringer Writer Shea Serrano's Childhood Ordered at IMDb TV". TheWrap. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
3. ^ Rosario, Alexandra Del (May 12, 2022). "'Primo': Ignacio Diaz-Silverio, Martin Martinez, Carlos Santos Among 10 Cast In Amazon Freevee Comedy From Shea Serrano". Deadline. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
4. Kiefer, Halle (October 20, 2017). "Mike Schur Developing a Mexican-American Family-Sitcom Pilot With Shea Serrano". Vulture. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
5. Ivie, Devon (May 3, 2021). "Mike Schur and Shea Serrano's Family Sitcom Is Going to … IMDb TV?". Vulture. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
6. Otterson, Joe (October 25, 2021). "IMDb TV Orders Comedy Series 'Primo' From Shea Serrano, Michael Schur". Variety. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
7. ^ Monagle, Matt (May 15, 2023). "The star of 'Primo' on (sort of) playing a young Shea Serrano". Chron. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
8. Gomez, Adrian (May 23, 2022). "Amazon, Universal series 'Primo' to film in ABQ". Yahoo News. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
9. ^ Jacobs, Meredith (March 21, 2023). "Meet Teen & His Overbearing Uncles in Trailer for Michael Schur's 'Primo'". TV Insider. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
10. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (May 21, 2024). "'Primo' Canceled at Amazon's Freevee". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
11. "Primo (2023)", Metacritic, retrieved June 25, 2023
12. Betancourt, Manuel (May 16, 2023). "Primo review: A comfort watch centering on a Mexican-American family". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
13. Rendon, Luis G. (May 15, 2023). "Shea Serrano's New Sitcom, 'Primo,' is Peak Pocho TV". Texas Monthly. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
14. Fienberg, Daniel (May 17, 2023). "'Primo' Review: Shea Serrano's Family Comedy Is Another Low-Key Winner for Freevee". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
15. Khosla, Proma (November 27, 2023). "The 12 Best New TV Shows of 2023". IndieWire. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
16. "The Best New TV Shows of 2023 Ranked". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
17. Ariano, Tara (July 10, 2023). "The Best TV Shows of 2023". Vanity Fair. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
18. Edwards, Belen (June 2, 2023). "'Primo' review: The best new sitcom of 2023, hands down". Mashable. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
19. "The 10 Funniest TV Shows of 2023". December 15, 2023.
20. "The 25 Best TV Series of 2023 | TV/Streaming | Roger Ebert". December 14, 2023.
21. "The Best New TV Shows of 2023". Rolling Stone. December 28, 2023.
22. "11 Breakout TV Stars of 2023: India Amarteifio, Ronald Gladden & More". December 30, 2023.
23. Pedersen, Erik (July 25, 2024). "'Acapulco' & 'A Million Miles Away' Lead Field As Streamers Dominate 2024 Imagen Awards Nominations". Deadline. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
24. "2023/24 Recipients • Annual Young Artist Academy™ Awards".

External links

• Primo at IMDb
• Official trailer on YouTube

• 2023 American television series debuts
• 2023 American television series endings
• 2020s American single-camera sitcoms
• 2020s American teen sitcoms
• American television series about teenagers
• Television series by 3 Arts Entertainment
• Television series by Universal Television
• Television series by Amazon MGM Studios
• Television series by Fremulon
• Coming-of-age television shows
• American English-language television shows
• Television series about families
• Television shows set in San Antonio
• Television shows filmed in New Mexico
• Hispanic and Latino American sitcoms
• Amazon Freevee original programming