Primo (TV series)
A semi-autobiographical sitcom about a Mexican-American family.
Primo is an American sitcom created by Shea Serrano, based on his upbringing in San Antonio, Texas. The semi-autobiographical series debuted on Amazon Freevee on May 19, 2023, and received widespread critical acclaim. It was cancelled by the service on May 21, 2024.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Sitcom
- Creator
- Shea Serrano
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Seasons
- 1
- Episodes
- 8
- Executive producers
- Shea Serrano
- Mike Schur
- David Miner
- Morgan Sackett
- Peter Murrieta
- Lisa Muse Bryant
- Camera
- Single-camera
Facts from the source article.
Production
The series was first announced in October 2017 as a put pilot commitment at ABC, with Shea Serrano creating and Mike Schur producing. Serrano pitched the show to Schur because he was tired of waiting for more Mexican representation on television. In May 2021, development moved to Amazon Studios' free streaming service IMDb TV. Universal Television and IMDb TV ordered Primo on October 25, 2021, with co-executive producers including Serrano, Schur, David Miner, Morgan Sackett, Peter Murrieta, and Lisa Muse Bryant. The main cast was announced on May 12, 2022, with Ignacio Diaz-Silverio playing Rafa, a character based on Serrano, in his first lead role. Filming took place in Albuquerque, New Mexico beginning in May 2022, with Kabir Akhtar directing the pilot. After cancellation on May 21, 2024, Universal Television reportedly began shopping the series to other networks.
Critical reception
Primo received critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 7.5/10 based on 22 critic reviews, with the consensus calling it a generation-spanning sitcom that feels like home. Metacritic assigned a score of 82 out of 100 based on six reviews, indicating universal acclaim. Manuel Betancourt of The A.V. Club described the series as a wry love letter to Serrano's upbringing that turns family obligations into sitcom-ready plots. Matt Monagle of the Houston Chronicle praised the finale for weaving narrative threads and showing the creators' empathy for the characters. Luis Rendon of Texas Monthly noted the unconventional representation of a Latino family that does not speak Spanish beyond the title, allowing the characters to simply tell jokes and be themselves. Daniel Feinberg of The Hollywood Reporter highlighted Christina Vidal's performance as perhaps her best role to date. Proma Khosla of IndieWire named Primo the seventh best new TV show of the year and called it pure sitcom gold. The series ranked seventh on Rotten Tomatoes' list of the Best New TV & Streaming Shows of 2023. Vanity Fair listed it among the Best TV Shows of 2023, and Mashable's Belen Edwards named it the Best New Sitcom of 2023. Cracked ranked it number one on the Funniest Shows of 2023 list, and RogerEbert.com included it in the 25 Best TV Series of 2023. Rolling Stone also 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.
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