The Prince of Peoria (2018-19) was an attempt by Netflix to break into the teencom market with a Hannah Montana-type premise: Emil (Gavin Lewis), the young prince of a ridiculously over-the-top country, goes undercover as an ordinary exchange student in Peoria, Illinois.
I grew up near Peoria, so I was hoping for shots of local landmarks. But, except for the opening montage, you might as well be in Albuquerque. No Peoria landmarks are mentioned in the two episodes I reviewed.
An unbridled id, Emil forms an "unlikely" buddy bond with overachieving superego Teddy (Theodore Barnes, the one who doesn't have his shirt off). Emil teaches Teddy not to be so uptight, and Teddy teaches Emil to be more responsible.
The gay subtext is played with, as in "The Bro-Posal," when Emil proposes (asks Teddy to make their relationship official), and is rejected.
And in "Robot Wars," advertised as "Emil develops an instant crush on Ryan, Teddy's long-time rival." Turns out that Ryan is a girl with a boy's name! Fooled you!
You probably didn't watch, but you'll certainly be interested in Gavin Lewis now, at age 21.
After Peoria, Gavin got a starring role in Little Fires Everywhere (2020), a Hulu drama about: "the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, the ferocious pull of motherhood – and the danger in believing that following the rules can avert disaster." Geeze, just tell us what it's about. Does anyone start a fire?
In the Western Old Henry (2021), a farmer and his son (Tim Blake Nelson, Gavin) take in an injured man (Scott Haze) with satchel full of cash. He claims to be a lawman who was ambushed by bad guys, but the posse that arrives claims that he is the bad guy. Who to believe?