Victorious
Victorious (stylized as VICTORiOUS) is an American sitcom created by Dan Schneider that originally aired on Nickelodeon, debuting on March 27, 2010, and concluding on February 2, 2013 after four seasons. The series revolves around aspiring singer Tori Vega (portrayed by Victoria Justice), a teenager who attends a performing arts high school called Hollywood Arts High School, after taking her older sister Trina's (Daniella Monet) place in a showcase while getting into screwball situations on a daily basis. On her first day at Hollywood Arts, she meets Andre Harris (Leon Thomas III), Robbie Shapiro (Matt Bennett), Rex Powers (Robbie's puppet), Jade West (Elizabeth Gillies), Cat Valentine (Ariana Grande), and Beck Oliver (Avan Jogia). The series premiered after the 2010 Kids' Choice Awards. The series won Favorite TV Show award at the 2012 Kids' Choice Awards and 2013 Kids' Choice Awards, beating out iCarly. Victorious earned four Emmy nominations.
This article is about the Nickelodeon television series. For other uses, see Victorious (disambiguation).Victorious
- Łukasz Gottwald
- Michael Corcoran
- Dan Schneider
"Make It Shine", performed by Victoria Justice
United States
English
4
57 (list of episodes)
- Dan Schneider
- Warren Bell (season 3)
- Robin Weiner (season 3)
- Bruce Rand Berman
- Joe Catania
- Jake Farrow
- Matt Fleckenstein
- Tom Keniston
- Christopher J. Nowak
24 minutes, 46 minutes for specials
March 27, 2010 –
February 2, 2013
On August 10, 2012, Justice stated that the series would not be renewed.[1] After the spin-off series Sam & Cat was announced, fans of Victorious expressed dismay that its spin-off series was the reason for its ending, but Schneider himself stated otherwise.[2] Although the Victorious cast only filmed three seasons, when the decision to end the series was made, Nickelodeon split the third season in half, making a fourth season.[3]
Plot
The series follows Tori Vega, a teenage girl who is accepted into Hollywood Arts, a fictional elite performing arts high school for talented teens. Other students at Hollywood Arts (and the students who later make up Tori's group of friends) include the musical prodigy Andre Harris, the socially awkward Robbie Shapiro and his ventriloquist dummy Rex, the sweet but dim-witted red-head Cat Valentine, the sarcastic and mean Jade West (who serves as Tori's frenemy), Jade's handsome down-to-earth, actor boyfriend Beck Oliver, and Tori's very untalented and self-absorbed older sister Trina. Other characters include Erwin Sikowitz, the performing-arts teacher for Hollywood Arts; Lane Alexander, the school's guidance counselor; and Sinjin Van Cleef, an odd and often unsettling classmate that handles audiovisual.
Reception
Critical reception
Like iCarly, Victorious received generally mixed reviews. Variety magazine reviewer Brian Lowry wrote, "Victorious has been cobbled together with the wooden-headed market in mind."[26] David Hinkley of the New York Daily News says the series' format is nearly identical to iCarly's and hopes that the series will develop a "more distinctive personality" over the course of the season.[25] Roger Catlin of the Hartford Courant describes Victorious as "harmless but hardly entertaining".[27] Mark A. Perigard of the Boston Herald titled his review "Victorious is a big loser" and writes, "The bulk of the cast mugs for the cameras, probably to compensate for a script that could have been commissioned from fifth-graders."[28] Linda Stasi of the New York Post was mixed; she agreed that the series contained over-acting performers, "corny" dialogue and a "terribly, terribly loud laugh track", but believed it was "a surefire tween hit".[29]
However, reviewers were positive about Justice's performance and suggested that the show's potential hinged on her. Hinkley comments, "At this point, Justice is better at singing than acting, and the show doesn't flow as smoothly as iCarly, but Justice has the personality and talent needed for a shot at being 'the Next Big Teen Thing'".[25] Perigard describes her as "undeniably appealing"[28] and Lowry states, "Justice is winsome and talented enough to provide the latest show a leg up in connecting with tween girls."[26] Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media gave the series four out of five stars, writing, "Upbeat iCarly-like tween comedy promotes confidence".[30]