10 Reasons Why ‘Victorious’ Is The Best New Age Nickelodeon Series On the 10th anniversary since the premiere

I’m a 90’s Nick kids through and through. All That, The Amanda Show, Rugrats, Hey Arnold, Are You Afraid of the Dark, Legends of the Hidden Temple…all of that. So it takes a particular show for me to be even a little interested in the newer ones that came on Nickelodeon. As an adult I still dabble in the shows meant for a “younger audience,” but Dan Schneider’s Victorious is one that transcends a series just for kids because it’s honestly for all ages.

On March 27, 2010, Victorious premiered on Nickelodeon. The show centered around Tori Vega (Victoria Justice) whose high jinks as a teen and navigating life were highlighted through her time at the performing arts high school Hollywood Arts.

Cat Valentine (Ariana Grande), Robbie Shapiro (Matt Bennett), Jade West (Liz Gillies), Andre Harris (Leon Thomas III), Trina Vega (Daniella Monet), and Beck Oliver (Avan Jogia) made up the supporting cast of Tori’s classmates and closest friends. It would be remiss of me not to mention other key characters like Sikowitz (Eric Lange), Lane (Lane Napper), Andre’s grandmom (Marilyn Harris Smith), Sinjin (Michael Eric Reid), Burf (Darsan Solomon), and Rex (Jake Farrow) that also made Victorious such an awesome show to me.

With shows like this with such stand out characters I often think about how I would rank the main ones and it’s soooo hard for Victorious because the ensemble cast is really filled with a pretty solid roster. They all are so great in the roles that they play, butttt if I had to choose I would rank my favorite to least out of the main ones (and this is a very close margin): Jade, Robbie, Andre, Cat, Trina, Tori, and Beck.

On the show’s 10th anniversary it’s the perfect opportunity to break down 10 reasons why Victorious was one of the best shows to come on Nickelodeon since the 90’s.

GIF: Giphy

10 Reasons Why Victorious Is The Best New Age Nickelodeon Series (in no particular order)

1. Beck and Jade
You have Cory and Topanga, Zack and Kelly, Dwayne and Whitley, Chuck and Blair, and you have to add Beck and Jade to that iconic couple list if you are a Victorious fan. Jade’s hard exterior balanced out Beck’s soft interior really making them a ying and yang couple. Beck knew exactly how to maintain a relationship with a girl like Jade so it broke me when they split in “The Worst Couple” episode. I sometimes have to skip to “Tori Fixes Back & Jade” just to know they ended up back together. Four words: “You Don’t Know Me.”

2. Ariana Grande 
Before she was running Pop, Grande was the high-pitched voice, ditzy, cutie from Hollywood Arts with red velvet hair because she liked red velvet cupcakes, well Cat did. Grande played a character so outside of herself that many had, well still have, a hard time separating her from it, but that just means she played the hell out of it. Grande got to show off her singing chops, her acting skills, and overall lovable nature.

3. Sikowitz
All of these teen shows have that teacher who is the stable adult who serves as the moral compass. That can be true for Sikowitz who took the Hollywood Arts teen’s dreams to heart and made sure to push them to be the best versions of themselves. His wacky demeanor made for some of the best moments of the show as well.

4. The Songs
One thing to know about me is I love a musical. A lot of the songs in my phone are from soundtracks or TV rendition of a song a la Glee and I have pretty much all the Victorious songs in my phone, I don’t think there is a song I didn’t like. Add to the mix that all the actors sung on the tracks makes it that much better because their voices mesh so well together.

5. Adult Humor
One of the reasons why I think Victorious slapped so hard for me is because it wasn’t your typical children’s program. I feel like these shows have to contain some level of adult humor for a parent to sit through them when it’s all the kids want to watch, but the jokes in this show don’t hold back. There’s even references that only adults would get like “where’s the beef” and The Match Game in the “April Fools Blank” episode. Watch it now and I bet you’ll be laughing at all the jokes that you weren’t paying attention to before.

6. Rex
As far as side kicks go Rex is top tier. Robbie’s puppet is honestly the eighth lead in the series. His love/hate relationship with Robbie always made for good TV and how he seemingly did things without Robbie. Like how? Just watch the “Blooptorious” episode and tell me Rex aka Christopher Cane isn’t Stan worthy.

7. Breaking the Fourth Wall
The show often times subtly breaks the forth wall and acknowledges the absurdity of television. Sinjin once mentioned “the main people” in “The Slap Fight” episode and pointed out they are the only ones who star in all the plays at school and answer all the questions in class. Andre even questioned why they all sit on one sit of the table during lunch, you know for camera angles. It’s little jabs at the show like these that make it so enjoyable to watch.

8. The Slang 
Not only did Victorious have its own versions of Apple products and social media sites like: Pear phones, Pear pads, and The Slap, the show had its own language that I still use in everyday life. I always say “back in a boo” when I’m leaving the house, wazz if I need to use the bathroom, jank is golden, but not only a Victorious word. Grunch, chiz, gank, and “that tears it” are all worthy everyday lingo contenders.

9. One Woman Show 
If you know then you know and you know Chicago can never be said any other way than the way Trina Vega belts it out. One thing about Trina is that you could not tell this girl she wasn’t going to be a star and that she didn’t have what it took to be famous. Her one woman show centered around a woman who went to Chicago and learned how to walk again is one of the moments I immediately think about when it comes to this show.

GIF: Tenor

10. Forever Friendships
One thing I really love about shows and movies is when cast members transfer the relationships they built on screen into real life bonds. Matt, Liz, and Ariana are like the three musketeers and probably spend the most time together. When Daniella announced her pregnancy she made sure to give calls to Ariana and Liz. Leon and Ariana have worked on music together. Avan and Liz hung out on numerous occasions and back in 2015 the entire cast got together during the holidays for an epic reunion. Way to make it shine guys.

No matter why you like Victorious it’s safe to say it’s one of the best shows to come on Nickelodeon in the millennium and you can relive the magic again and again. All episodes of Victorious are currently streaming on Nick Hits and Paramount+. A few seasons can be watched on Netflix.

Happy 10th Anniversary Victorious!

Which Victorious moment stands out to you the most? Which Victorious character(s) did you love the most?  Share all your thoughts in the comments.

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GIF: Giphy (Nickelodeon)