The handwriting seemed to be on the wall. During its two seasons on HBO, Looking, which followed the misadventures of a close-knit group of gay friends in San Francisco, continued to struggle for ratings success and today the network has announced it has officially canceled the series. A spokesperson for HBO sent the following note to Queerty:
After two years of following Patrick and his tight-knit group of friends as they explored San Francisco in search of love and lasting relationships, HBO will present the final chapter of their journey as a special. We look forward to sharing this adventure with the show’s loyal fans.
Looking was greeted with mostly positive reviews when it premiered in January 2014, but it immediately began to polarize viewers. Many complained that the series was too slowly-paced. Some expressed their challenge at trying to relate to Jonathan Groff‘s Patrick, a child-man whose actions sometimes defied logic and who often seemed too naive to be living on his own in San Francisco. A large part of the show’s appeal was the relationship between Patrick and Richie, the grounded, no-nonsense barber played with gentle authority by Raul Castillo. The interaction between the two disparate characters provided the beating heart of the series during the first season, but was largely relegated to the backseat during season two as Patrick explored a controversial relationship with his boss Kevin (Russell Tovey, who courted controversy of his own with remarks he made about effeminate men). One Queerty commenter joked that season one’s cliffhanger had viewers wondering if Patrick will choose Richie or Kevin, while season two’s cliffhanger queried whether Patrick will choose Richie or Kevin. It was definitely a slow-burner of a series. Still, the second season was hailed by many for its inclusion and fully-dimensional depiction of an HIV-positive character, Eddie (played by Daniel Franzese) and its honest discussion around topical issues such as use of PrEP.But, as HBO’s statement indicates, we haven’t seen the very last of these gay underdogs. If you’re a fan of the series, tell us in the comments section what you want to see in the forthcoming conclusion.
Joseph Molnar
Goodbye!
Greg McBride
Damn
lykeitiz
Well, I guess the argument is over. And no, it wasn’t Groff’s fault. He could only say what was written for him.
Joshua Vannoy
Matthew Daigle
Don Rossi-Pace
No!!
Edward Livingston
Richie was the star and then you left him. Serves the show right. He was the hottie not the nerd at a gamer builder.
Chad Jason
What will fill 50% of queerty’s news feed?
Paco
I guess telling the people that wanted to like the show but were frustrated by some things with it, to stop watching it, really worked out well.
It seems appropriate that it will end with a special “movie”. The style of the series seemed like it was better suited as an indie flick anyway. I just hope Patrick and Richie don’t ride off in to the sunset together. Richie deserves so much better.
If I were to do a gay series, I would change the cast and characters each season with a little crossover between them to target different groups within the community. Looking’s target audience was just way too small to be sustainable.
Douglas M. Hilton-Prosser
Thank god
Pete Martinez
It needed to be lol
Edgar Garcia
y ahora Joselo Vargas que joteria podra ayudarnos???
Joselo Vargas
Edgar ¿quéeeeeeeeeeee? Ivan y Toño ¡mátenme ya! ð??¶ð??«
stanhope
The Patrick character was a horror. Watching him was the more irritating things of the TV watching. I watched to support gay programming. Kevin’s quick dismissal of the partner who moved to SFO with him was also tiresome. The coup de grace was the quick hook up of Patrick and Kevin. If it had been on a third season, I would not have watched. Noah’s Arc was much better as was DTLA.
Joselo Vargas
Christopher… ð??¶ð??«
Raul Moya
Nickolai Volobuyev ð??¢ð??¢ð??¢
Matthew Perreira
Sucks
Abel Perez
🙁
Shayan Rayani
Andres
Cam
@lykeitiz:
That is like saying that it doesn’t matter if Meryl Streep or Tara Reid plays a part because they can only say what was written for them.
Groff played it like he was still in High School.
I think this series was probably doomed from the get go, the writing was slightly better than a sitcom which meant it still sucked, and there was the problem of isolated writers not getting that no matter what you want to do with a group of people, you have to provide some basis for the audience to believe that these people would actually hang around with each other. Frankly it’s a shame that they didn’t start with the 2nd season, the show might have done better. The first season was so offputting, with the character of Augustine, and then the 2nd season instead of just dumping his character, they not only reinvented his character, but did it in an obnoxious way.
I can just picture the writers meeting where they said “Oh, so thost f-ers don’t like Augustine? Fine, well now we’ll make sure they HAVE to like him, I KNOW! Lets have him work at a shelter….Another writer, Hmm ok, that’s good, but wait! Let’s make it a shelter for homeless Trans kids!
Yes! That is perfect.
Oh, what about he dates a bear?
Ok, but what else can we put in there to really make those f-kers in the audience too afraid not to like him?
Well we could make the bear HIV positive, and Augustine could be nervoud about it and then take Prep?
PERFECT!
Again, the writers seemed to want to be subtle but just seemed to think that the audience was stupid and everything had to be hit with a sledgehammer.
Maybe HBO can get Ryan Murphy to come and do a gay series for them, hell he’s having luck getting gay characters on Network TV in American Horror Story, I’m guessing he could do something good on HBO
David Bower
Robert
Andres Castillo
I saw it too Shayan ……I’m really busy anyway to be watching tv, that’s why I’m not picking up any new shows.
charlie_jackpot
I’m guessing the winner from this series is Raul Castillo – he’ll be playing the romantic lead in some indie flick before the year is out
socaliscorpio
I loved the show. The last episode was real, heartfelt, and I think very relatable to gays who struggle with intimacy, relationships, monogomy, etc. Doris and Dom also had a gut-wrenchly real relationship, and you could really feel their chemistry. I hope the “special” taps into this heart and real life feeling that I got from the show at the end. P.S. The road trip/funeral episode was also fantastic.
Jaime Medina
Finally somebody realized that main characters were boring!!
Maggie Brown
This definitely isn’t the 21 century’s answer to Queen as Folk. How unfortunate.
Wilfried Gorgon
Nooooooooo
lykeitiz
@Cam: Although your Meryl Streep/Tara Reid analogy is hilarious, you only went on to make the exact point I was making: What killed the show was the writing.
No character development, no back stories, nothing to build from. Even as we learned more about each character, we still were never given a history as to how they became friends. We learned more about Doris’s family than we did about the 3 supposed main characters. And then in comes HIV bear, who was given more history than Dom or Ag. It was a mess.
Even if you weren’t a fan of Groff’s take on his character, he did not bury the show, the writers did.
Tackle
This lasted about the same time as Noah’s Arc. This is kind of daunting. Since “Queer as Folk” the average life span of a gay show, ( gay story line, central characters is around the 2yr mark….
lykeitiz
@socaliscorpio: You’re very right. It’s too bad though, that this didn’t all come together before the last show of the 2nd season…..too late for a beginning.
Taskebab
The people who still watch Looking will be devastated, both of them…
NG22
I hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but I knew it would.
I’m grateful that HBO gave this little show two seasons, and even more grateful that they’re wrapping the storyline with a movie.
I want closure in a finale. I want to know who Patrick chooses. I want to see Dom’s dream come true, and Dorris and Augustine move on with their lives. I want the conversations that made “Looking” seem intimate, and the cinematography which made it beautiful.
“Happiness, not in another place, but this place…not for another hour, but this hour.”
revjshoregoss
Yea this show moved extremely slow i thought the characters were shallow and stereotyped…it did not reflect any bit of the reality of living in SF….
AxelDC
Three story lines: one from an annoying character who should have been written of this season; another about a waiter turned chicken entrepreneur that no one follows, and the third about a 30 year old going on 16.
I wanted to like it, but the writing was so poor. Was it a silly drama, or an unfunny sitcom?
Leonidas Aubin
thats too bad.. for one we had a nice real show.. something interesting to watch and not only sex..
Matt Jones
I’m glad its over!
Adrian Michael Ornelas
I personally think the show woul’dve done better on something like netflix or amazon or hulu, because its not really a show that you can’t wait each week to see but I could see people watching whole seasons at once like I did lol…
robho3
Shocking!!!!
Juan Martinez
took so long to get this off tv…..
Greg Diamond
Looking sucked. If you really want to see a good gay series, tune in to “Cucumber,” airing in April on Logo TV (April 13 i think?). The 8 episode, 1 hour series originally aired in the UK. It’s written by Russell T Davies who wrote the original “Queer As Folk” series. I watched the 6 of the 8 episodes on Youtube and it is fantastic (I got my bf who lives in London to stream the last two episodes over facetime. Episode 6 is literally unforgettable. Also, Cucumber has two other related spin off series that aired simultaneously in the UK. “Banana” consists of 30 min episodes that focus in more detail on minor characters in Cucumber (Logo is also going to air Banana) and “Tofu” is similar (It doesn’t look like Logo is planning to air Tofu as of yet). If you’re looking for a current, funny, sad, well written, well-acted gay show, check it out. You’re welcome. 😉
Queerty – if you’re reading this, you should really start promoting this show to the USA gay audience so that the show gets full exposure over here.
Larry
I LOVED the show. When will the public (gay and not gay) realized that REAL LIFE does not happen in 30 minutes. Life is ALWAYS slow if you are looking for something good and lasting. When will gay viewers also realize it isnt a character or a person’s goal to make you happy and be like all the rest. Stop criticizing people who arent like you!! I wish we could celebrate that each of us (gay and not gay) are different.
DarkZephyr
I never watched the show but I think its nice that instead of just cutting the show off completely and leaving the fans hanging they will tie everything up with a movie. Not every series gets that.
David Rudd
I liked it, but it never really covered enough ground in a half hour episode. Whatever happened to Lyn ? It would be great to see some older gay characters represented for a change. And not just in a sugar daddy role either.
Dana Harris-Gonsales
Oh that sucks! I loved that show! It was fun seeing our old stomping grounds, recognizing all the places it was filmed at. Too bad. Maybe we should start a petion for everybody to sign?
fbloss
Personally I found the writing for the Patrick character was a horror. SO many bad decisions made by one person. Sleeping/living with your boss?! Really?! Dumb, dumb, dumb. And the whole monogamy angst was boring. It was as if the character had no recollection that both parties had prior relationships. The actors themselves did the best job they could with what was handed to them, script-wise.
onenuthing
Not to say I told you so, but I knew this was going to happened. As I am a fan of Andrew Haigh, the show was boring and the characters were very flat. I agree that Raul Castillo is going to be the break away star.
Jim Moura
sad that it has been canceled.
redcarpet30
@Paco: Call it “Homosexual Horror Story: Bathhouse”.
Brian Montoya
Thank god I was sick to death of hearing about it 24/7!!
Phil Briggs
Come on Netflix!
Sansacro
Loved the show. I identified with the young, as well as aging, gay characters struggling to form relationships and identities within evolving cultural contexts. Two decades ago, I was patrick. And, today, I still see many of my friends–straight and gay–in the characters.
DDstar1me
I have mixed feelings about the series finale. I really enjoyed the series and I’m always glad to see us represented on tv in any capacity. However, I felt the story lines were a little dated. And, as a black man, I didn’t mind so much that there weren’t enough colors on screen (black people can’t be in everything guys) I just wanted more from these characters. Every character seemed to be somewhat one dimensional.
But, all in all I loved the series and I am sad to see it go. I really really miss Will & Grace. I long for a sitcom like that again.lol
DivotMan
I’m a fan of the show but thought season 1 was better than season 2. I think the ratings decline synced with the decrease in Richie’s story-line. His character seemed like an afterthought this year.
I also just don’t get all the people continually ragging on this show. If I despise a show as much many of the guys on here seem to, I don’t watch or follow it. Period. Seems like many were routing for it to fail from day 1.
I personally thought it was well done. Enjoyed the music, dialog and topics. Sure it could have been better, but have you seen the quality on TV these days?
You can all go back to your favorite episode of “Two Broke Girls” now.
Paco
@redcarpet30: LOL! The title alone would draw an audience.
I wasn’t thinking it to be like AHS exactly. More like a representation of how our circles of friends and acquaintances overlap with other completely different groups of people.
DrivenLibra93
I’m saddened by this news because this show not only represented the lives of gays in modern day San Francisco but even beyond those city limits. The relationships and situations portrayed were real life and incredibly relatable. What made the season 2 finale so special for me was that it showed how the events that happen in our everyday lives doesn’t have any huge dramatic or fairytale ending like other shows. We simply end one season and go into the next with the same issues weighing on our hearts until we do something about it. This storyline and its characters will be greatly missed.
DrivenLibra93
@Larry: This is SO TRUE! Love this.
Cam
@Larry: said…. “When will gay viewers also realize it isnt a character or a person’s goal to make you happy and be like all the rest. Stop criticizing people who arent like you!! I wish we could celebrate that each of us (gay and not gay) are different.”
_________________________-
I find it interesting that you thin that by thinking the characters weren’t well written you seem to take it as if we were insulting real people. Patrick was written as a 19 year old, Dom’s character was written from multiple angles that never landed. Augustin was written as two different characters after his character in the first season was not just unrealistic but unbearable to watch.
The writing was flat, the characters were not fleshed out at first and the situations were weird. I just want to let you know, Patrick and Dom aren’t real people and aren’t crying because I said that.
Michael Lezer
This sucks. I just got into the show.
DistingueTraces
I like the show and am sorry to see it go, but this seems like a good ending to me.
Everyone’s always said that a longer format would be better suited to Andrew Haigh’s rambling, slice-of-life style. And a two-hour movie is roughly half of a season in terms of total screen time!
I’m confident that the show will really go out looking its best, given the breadth of a full-length movie to wrap up the characters’ stories.
Desert Boy
Kudos to HBO for wrapping the series up with a special. Had ‘Looking’ been on ABC, CBS or NBC, the series would’ve just stopped. No resolution.
tchuy03
Looking was boring and really required a jump start. HBO should look better at Production of these shows, I know networks want to have different show to include GLBT show. We should have great LGBT Entertainment not mediocre just to have.
Adam Roseveare
Love this show! Sad news!!
Mauricio Olivares Paganoni
Nooooooooooooooooooooo
Dan Steele
First I heard of it. I’d watch it
gjg64
I actually started to like the season more as it went on, but will continue to more enjoy the story of Mickey and Ian on Shameless…..which no one here ever seems to talk about.
DistingueTraces
Another note on the show’s poor viewer numbers: I am a fan of Looking for whom a single half-hour show was not enough to pay the exorbitant charge for any of the current ways to access HBO.
Had HBO’s on-demand service been live already, or had Looking been added to Amazon Prime when several other HBO shows were, I would have been very happy to be counted among its financial as well as artistic supporters.
As it was, though, I watched the show every week but found “other” ways of gaining access to it that would not have boosted its ratings. I’m sure I’m not the only one.
A mammoth show like Game of Thrones can afford to lose official viewers to piracy, partly because there are also more people who will get HBO just for its flagship series.
But for a niche show like Looking, even a small number of fans watching the show through less-than-licit means could have a serious effect on its standing.
Sal Eduard Grana
yo quiero que Dom vuelva con Lynn
wld8hrt
Looking was a tender, funny, well written show that dealt with things we have never seen on a gay show before. Queer as folk was more party and soap opera drama (but entertaining) where Looking was a deliberately paced show about real people. It certainly wasn’t “boring” in my opinion. I appreciate a realistically paced story as it provides a much higher impact at its conclusion. I don’t need or appreciate entertainment that feels it has to explain everything to me every two minutes or has characters that act in ridiculous ways, say things they never would, etc. just to make sure the audience is up to speed (I’m looking at you CSI, NCIS, and practically every movie and TV show made these days).
I work in film marketing and it just kills me how often we have to sacrifice good films in order to please and help the average movie goer. It’s sad. And it keeps us dumb. If Will and Grace is your idea of a good show about gay people that has realistic characters that you can relate to, then I am proud of your ability to solve every problem in your life in 23 minutes. The rest of us will spend our 23+ minutes seeking out challenging, intelligent, original and thoughtful entertainment before it disappears completely.
Well, im off to watch realistic, non-annoying, real people, on RuPaul’s Drag Race, or was it Real Wives? I’ll have to pick up my US magazine and see what the world is watching.
To be honest, I think I’d be much better off “Looking” elsewhere.
tricky ricky
evidently showing an incredibly long bear dick won’t save a sub par television show
Cam
@wld8hrt: said…. ” I don’t need or appreciate entertainment that feels it has to explain everything to me every two minutes or has characters that act in ridiculous ways, say things they never would, etc.”
________________________
Really, So Patrick at the funeral, or at his party wasn’t ridiculous? Augustine’s behavior the first season and completely different personality was realistic? You must live in a different place.
xzall
I don’t think the story was poorly written as others have alleged. Unlikable characters? HBO lives and breathes unlikable characters. Ever heard of a show called Girls? The show with the poor ratings they did renew, Togetherness was filled with unlikable characters. Unlikable characters are HBO’s bread and butter.
But Patrick just couldn’t be a somewhat unlikable (to some) character on Tv. Because there was only 1 cable TV gay show he had to represent every gay guy which is an impossibility. I think that’s the reason for the over criticism of the show. You can see by the comments where people made sure to tell you how different they are from the characters.
I think when there starts being more than one gay themed show at a time, you’ll start seeing less of this excessive criticism and hate watching. Of course, without ratings TV networks probably aren’t going to take a chance on another gay show anytime soon.
The next show needs to be less ratings dependent. Someone should be lobbying Netflix to get one created.
charwegl
Its just hard to have a shown here th main characters are just insufferable. Patrick and Augustine and now the ridiculous of Kevin (open relationship my ass) began to make the show hard to watch. The irony is that Augustine was actually changing and the other characters (Dom and Doris) were well written. But I began to just wish I could see more of them than the bullshit with Patrick every week.
charwegl
@charwegl: wow…bad spelling by my iPhone. Show where the* main characters are insufferable.
KM201
Tsk tsk. If only Russell Tovey hadn’t been such a douche to fem gays, maybe the show would still be on the air. Instead, his career is bursting into flames and dying right before our very eyes. His faux “MASC” persona can’t save his career now. Humility is the lesson he needs to learn. 😉
charwegl
@Greg Diamond: I liked Cucumber a lot! My issue with it is that I couldn’t get over how it seemed like Davies was just playing out his fantasy of wanting to be with a younger guy. And I hated the finale. The episode right before they should’ve ended. I loved Banana as well!
charwegl
@KM201: he’s currently on this new show in England about settlements in Australia. It’s a good premise but ratings aren’t stellar.
kayakriver
The bitchy queens who complained so much about the show must be happy now. Sadly, now with Looking gone so is the only tv show that represents real gay lives.
Why gay guys didn’t like the show is beyond me.
Marcos Villareal
This is what happens when writers don’t diversify characters and story lines
Martinez Abel
Jacob
CCTR
@Tackle: I am with you on that. I loved both Noahs Arc and Looking. I hope to see another Noahs Arc movie or special. Two very different kinds of tv shows, but both only lasted two seasons.
NG22
@kayakriver: The people here certainly got what they wanted. Does it make the world a better place for a show about gay men to be canceled? Even if you don’t like it, you should’ve appreciated that it existed — that someone is willing to tell gay stories, even if it isn’t your story.
CCTR
@xzall: You make some great points in your comment.
Many don’t realize that over criticizing a show such as Looking that is created by gay men, starring gay actors, and about gay characters, shows what an uphill climb a gay themed show has at being successful. I agree that one show can’t be a total representation nor can it appeal to all gay people. It would be great to see a variety of them.
kayakriver
@NG22: I loved Looking more than anyone, I think you misdirectioned your comment.
Tommy Frasca
Thank his. That was a painful two seasons
CCTR
“If you’re a fan of the series, tell us in the comments section what you want to see in the forthcoming conclusion.”
I want to see Ritchie and Patrick together and for Kevin to go back to the UK.
Alex Mark
Michael James Gebran August Knox Moon Harb Lykke Aandrew Harrizon ð??¢
jonny
The thing is the public eye/viewer needs more! If one were to make a gay theme show showing the young adult club scene and there life struggles… Would have a better chance, drag shows,dancing, first kiss and so on
pjm1
what i would like to see in the final episode is a “talk back”
with the writers of the show — as the writers watched the show —
did they really think it was entertaining? Same with the actors, did the
actors know the writings was boring? Did the director ask or direct
the characters to be one dimensional?
Hey, the writers, directors are professionals — they can swat back
answers to a few sincere questions that may not be completely PC.
Also, i wonder if the writers thought their writing was just to sophisticated
for the audience– that is, the audience just doesn’t get what they are trying
to do.
lauraspencer
The writing was on the wall for the past couple months with the low ratings. Season 2 lost half the audience they had in season one.
I don’t see a film ever being made to wrap up the series. The actors have now been released from their contracts and will be moving on to other work. It will be difficult to get them all back to shoot a movie to wrap up the series. Why would HBO bother? Nobody watched the series so they won’t spend the money on movies. This show wasn’t SEX & THE CITY which has now spawned how many movies?
As for Logo’s NOAH’S ARC it is hard to compare that show with LOOKING. HBO has budgets much bigger than Logo. NA was also on air when Logo first launched in 2005. The digital network was in less than 40 million homes the first couple years on the air. It is difficult for any cable network to get ratings if it is in less than 60 million homes. For comparison AE, MTV, Discovery are in 100 million homes.
markgtx11
@lauraspencer: I agree. I SERIOUSLY doubt they will make a “A Very Special Looking” movie. It’s just a nice corporate soundbyte to mitigate disappointment and dissuade people from canceling their HBO subscriptions.
Canceling today! 🙂
vive
All characters don’t have to be likable for a show to be good – see House or Nurse Jackie or even the whining Ally McBeal – but there have to be some relatable characters in the show and tight writing. Looking lacked both. None of the leads ever gelled; they all had a falseness and distance to them that I think instinctively repelled many viewers.
Kenneth Bidstrup Bruun
Ã?v….. ð??¢
markgtx11
@NG22: I wouldn’t hold your breath. I think the movie finale is an empty corporate promise, although I hope I am dead wrong. I too loved this show and am sad to see it canceled. The upside is that when you buy both seasons they don’t include hate watchers! 🙂
Colin McCoy
Or just hate.
Captain Obvious
About time.
Kangol
@Paco:
“If I were to do a gay series, I would change the cast and characters each season with a little crossover between them to target different groups within the community. Looking’s target audience was just way too small to be sustainable.”
Exactly. Looking was tedious, and just more of what we tend to get with “gay” series. Richie, one of the best things about the show, pretty much vanished in Season Two. One highlight, though, was Daniel Franzese as the HIV-poz, hung bear for man-child Agustín. In general, though, future shows really could try to reflect the LGBTQ worlds out there in today’s America, even if they focus on a small group of friends.
@DDstar1me: I hear you, but like so many shows they wrote the main black character off after the first season, which sucked, and then they had a straight black character, which is great, but it’s as if sustaining writing for a black gay/bi man wasn’t imaginable. And where were the Asian Americans in a show set in a city that is heavily Asian American? It’s not just black characters, the show’s focus was just too narrow.
Geeker
I guess Danny whipped it out for nothing…but I’m sure the porn offers are just pouring in.
Larry
@Cam: That is YOUR opinion that it wasnt written well. It was written just like real life. I am glad yours is perfect and can be shown in 8 30 min episodes. Sorry you live in a different world than the rest of us my man.
Irish Ryan
I urge all the Queerty readers to post on HBO’s Facebook page and urge HBO not to cancel Looking.We have to power..let’s us it.Urge your friends straight and gay to call and post on HBO’s page.I just did.
Tommy Gaige
I loved the show, and I can’t believe those who didn’t like it would not at least support it, if a show like this was on 30 years ago my life would be different. Your taking for granted the fact that we have a voice on tv, it’s stupid for any gay person not want to support it.
Stenar
Bummer. I just started to get into the series in the second season. The first one, not so much.
Chris Keller
I love how it portrays the age old stereotype that gay guys prefer multiple sex partners rather than monogamy and when they finally get a couple together “in love” and grindr comes in and ruins it. Then they cancel it. The fuck?
jason smeds
A show about men simply looking for homosexual relationships is boring. Boring, boring, boring. Gay-identifying men generally won’t watch such shows because they simply reproduce what gay men already know about their own lives.
Lack of imagination is another factor. Producers of such shows often think that if they stick the word “gay” in front of brand, it sells. No, it doesn’t. If you want to sell a show, you need to have good acting, a good script, an element of mystery, maybe a murderer here and there and, in the case of shows about male homosexual relationships, a lot of homophobia.
If you leave the homophobia out of such shows, it comes across as anodyne and unrealistic.
inbama
Ah, such seasoned critics.
I bet y’all support truly excellent television writing like in “Olive Kitteridge.”
TundraMichael
I’m still going to need a Murray Bartlett fix.
SportGuy
This comes as no surprise! The show should have been canceled ages ago. The show was not a real representation of the whole gay community and it reflected in the ratings! Good riddance to a crap show.
Stephen Mc Rae
Can not believe it was canceled
Paco
@Kangol: Richie was my favorite too. I would have loved to have a season spun off, away from the three leads, to focus on Richie and his circle, with Patrick popping in from time to time to tie the seasons together. Oh well… It wasn’t meant to be.
Cutler Richardson
🙁
Mr-DJ
OK, I just spent 10 minutes composing a nicely written comment (which disappeared – and I will not re-write).
After I hit ‘Post Comment’ – I received an error message that said: “YOU ARE POSTING COMMENTS TOO FAST. SLOW DOWN.”
WTF does THAT mean? I wrote ONE message, and hit ‘Post Comment’ ONCE!
AlliterationAddict
Maybe it makes me a bad gay (and HBO fan), but I’m not really all that devastated by this news. Looking just never seemed to be a particularly well-written show. It struck all the classic chords of literary aspiration that is so characteristic of the network’s approach to drama, but it lacked any of the profoundness or monumental scope of something like The Wire or Deadwood. I just never felt swept away by it, which is a big problem when you’re running on a channel with the pedigree that HBO has. You can’t create some of the greatest television dramas ever written, and then be surprised when people are underwhelmed by a lackluster and unambitious offering. And when you remove the novelty of focusing on gay characters, Looking is unfortunately extremely unambitious, especially when it comes to how the concept is executed technically. They could have done so much more with the idea of a show about contemporary LGBT identity, but they thought that having it be about gay people was already enough to make it edgy, so they played it safe in terms of how the show was actually written.
Of course, I think much the same thing about Girls, too, and obviously there are a lot of people out there who disagree vehemently with me on that. So take my opinions with a grain of salt. If HBO’s schedule were up to me, all they’d run would be Game of Thrones, True Detective, Veep and Last Week Tonight. Any extraneous personnel carried over from the cancelled shows would be put to work following George R. R. Martin around and backhanding him whenever he gets distracted from writing The Winds of Winter. Also, they’d announce that they are bringing Firefly back for season 2.
pjm1
well if you are in SF this weekend and want to see something other than TV
check out Theater Rhinoceros (oldest gay theater in the U.S.) production
of “Breaking the Code” — unlike the recent movie, the production does
get into Alan Turing’s queer life — you’ll enjoy the show and be enriched.
Enjoy!
Stephen Devine
Bye looking.
geo jim
Having lived in San Francisco for 25 years, I found this show to be remarkably accurate to what I’ve experienced here. I walked into a shoot by accident in a side street alley around the corner from my place on my way to the bank once. I rather liked. It was very realistic and the settings were real.
Noah’s Ark? Uh, no…unwatchable. And I used to Noah (Darryl Stevens) in college!
geo jim
Oopsy, I meant I used to *date* Noah (Darryl Stevens) in college.
geo jim
Oopsy, I meant I used to *date* Noah
Thad FD
OH well. Then need to do something with the bears. Enough of the twink stuff.
KJA
Thank God! It was dying a very slow death.
Southstguy
Can everyone watch Please Like Me now?
cdndmf
I thought the show was really good, and subtly very thought-provoking. I saw many of my experiences and feelings reflected in the characters. Like some other posters have commented, I am grateful to HBO for producing two seasons, and to the creators, writers and actors in the show. I guess I will be able to let up nursing a couple of crushes now. Looking forward to the *special*
nemesis9
I really don’t get the appeal of Jonathan Groff. That’s why I stopped watching it.
KM201
@charwegl: That won’t last either.
Clark35
This is not a surprise the show sucked, and it showed nothing but rich white gay men in SF.
TemptyK
Anything with Russell Tovey in it should be cancelled. Good fucking riddance!!!!
Clark35
@Marcos Villareal: Indeed. Or they just write about what get called “Bears” but are just fat white guys and ex twinks who let themselves go and grow facial hair in SF.
coolgato13
Of all the characters on the show, i think Eddie deserves his own spinoff series. To follow the life of a healthy, well-adjusted HIV positive gay man would truly be groundbreaking and inspiring to many.
Larry
ONLY 2 reasons I pay for HBO…..
#1 is real Time with Bill Maher
#2 is LOOKING
Well As soon as Real Time is in reruns….I Cancel HBO
KiDAciDic
@Cam: LOL Cam! Thats exactly how I reacted to Augustine’s retooling this season.
Im disappointed to see the only gay drama on television go but I honestly dont think it was the caliber of an HBO show. Some people have compared it to “Girls” saying “Hey look! They are unlikeable, white-ish people in a bg city! Why do they get a free pass!?” Because… Girls actually has some good writing, that doesnt take 4 or 5 episodes a season to strike emotional highs or lows. It changes things up constantly with scenes of absurdist behavior or well synched musical montage. Looking was just flat out shaky cam and the 1977 instagram filter. On top of that there was no intrigue to any of these characters. If I wanted to watch people do completely inane, boring everyday whining and living I WOULDNT BE WATCHING TV. You need to make a show around a decent plot structure not simply “HEY! Look at the completely normal, down to earth guys who are REAL!” Gay shows about how average the gay characters are will NEVER fly with the gay community. Make something bold and alive!
Blackceo
Writing was on the wall for this one. Poor ratings and bad plotlines and storytelling doomed this show from the beginning. Not in the least surprised.
stranded
@coolgato13: I think a show with him would really work. Daniel Franzese brought so much to his character, he was so dimensional and believable. If the show focused on Eddie as the main character, Richie and Doris, as his best friends and maybe another male gay character possibly a love interest and a lesbian character and they all worked at the shelter, it would really work. The thing about this show, and tons of other just like it on the web. It’s about a hot white guy with mostly hot white guy friends living in a metropolis and trying to find love with other hot white guys.
Geeker
@stranded: After that scene in the hallway all I can think of when I see him is him creepily rubbing his gut with his giant hog swinging in the breeze.
Sam J. Gutierrez
Guess that riveting chicken window storyline didn’t reel in viewers….
Zenguy
@pjm1: I’d like that too. To be more succinct – It would be great if the producers,writers and actors can have a discussion about the strengths and weaknesses of the show.
martinbakman
@Edward Livingston: Raul Castillo was the best!
coolgato13
@stranded: Totally agree. The minority gays (African-American and Latino especially) still have to deal with homophobia and rejection from their communities. Just look at Richie`s family! HIV positive guys such as Eddie also have to deal with a lot of crap (eg : Drug & disease free… you be too!) I can only hope that someone from Netflix or Amazon is willing to take a shot at refocusing this series
coolgato13
@Geeker: And that is a bad thing???? LOL
Geeker
@coolgato13: It is if that’s all casting directors can think of when he auditions for another role.
Alex Estrada
Esteban Medina
Russell Deason
Yawn. The story was awful. Why does it need “tied up with a special”? There nothing to tie up. It stunk. Let it rest.
Clark35
@Geeker: Yes and since the show is canceled you know he’ll wind up going into porn.
Geeker
@Clark35: But since he’s a “serious actor” he’ll say he’s doing it to challenge societal conventions regarding sexuality or something.
Philip Davis
VERY sad
David Velazquez Roa
How sad
monroeplace
LOOKING started off slowly and then went downhill from there.
The actors were decent enough but the writing was boring and in its second season everything went south with the new plot lines. Not good.
Having said this I hope HBO will bring another show but take it out of San Francisco and the realm of the young and hot.
There is life, after 40, in Gay America.
It’s there gang. We can wait. God knows we’ve been waiting long enough for a TV show that is funny, sometimes sad and true to live.
Scooter Ruben
Tim Darnell
Tim
Thank the Gods. I don’t think I could watch another minute of that whiny Patrick. UGH
markgtx11
The hate watchers remind me of the LA riots where many folks looted and burned the stores in their neighborhood but then were mad because they had to travel miles to a supermarket because many of the chain stores didn’t rebuild.
Keep making a sport out of bashing gay shows and eventually they’ll go away too. Programming is often a business decision, and if every gay show is burned at the stake for not being all things to all gays at all times then they will see these shows as a bad investment and stop.
Luckily the UK puts out good shows that stand on their own without all the nasty queens constantly sharpening their claws on them.
DavidTheLeo
While the show had its problems with character development, I was a loyal follower and am sorry to see it go.
stanhope
@Cam: excellent entirely save one thing…HBO isn’t going to spend the money to get Ryan Murphy…..everything about “Looking” said low budget I am reminded of something an English lit professor said to a football player…”I am asking for angel food cake and you are giving me ginger snap crumbs.”
siltor67
@Paco: that’s an excellent idea!
egcc85
I grew up in the States but have been living in Bolivia for 13 years. I was not able to be gay in the US and this show really gave me something to look forward too. I found the characters totally relatable and fun to watch…I am really sad to see this show go off the air…I finally felt identified…
cvdixon29
@Maggie Brown: I wish they would bring back QAF, I Miss it so much. I’ve already watched it twice on Netflix, I watched when it originally aired too. I just couldn’t get into “looking” I tried watching it and couldn’t even make it through the first episode, it was so boring.
cvdixon29
HBO has a history of cancelling shows, Like Hung, It had great ratings and they cancelled it and put Girls on. I watch Girls as well, but I never could get into “looking” it was so boring, I never made it through the first episode. No gay drama has lasted since QAF went off the air. If they cancel Girls, I will cancel HBO. Showtime the only thing i watch on it is Nurse Jackie and as soon as it’s gone I will cancel it as well.
NG22
@kayakriver: No, I didn’t misdirect. I was agreeing with you, and adding my complaints about hate-watchers to yours.
@markgtx11: This is HBO, so it’s not an empty corporate promise. They promised to do a “Hello Ladies” movie to wrap up that show’s storyline after one season, and they followed through. There was a “Hello Ladies” movie. The two EPs of “Looking” both confirmed the movie is forthcoming. Your fears are unfounded.
markgtx11
@NG22: I hope you are right! 🙂
markgtx11
They suddenly canceled Southland on TNT and talked about a movie to wrap up the series but by the time they were going to do it most of the actors were already contracted to do other projects. I would hate to see the same thing happen here.
allenl
I am sorry to see this show come to an end as it meant something to me. It wasn’t perfect but I was not watching to witness perfection. I saw myself in the struggles of the characters. And … HIV was brought out of the closet – no shame in that.
It’s a reported new age of television where that celebrates the mostly straight modern hero who is also a mobster, drug dealer and a perpetual cheat. anything other now disappoints.
Cam
@markgtx11: said…
“Keep making a sport out of bashing gay shows and eventually they’ll go away too. Programming is often a business decision, and if every gay show is burned at the stake for not being all things to all gays at all times then they will see these shows as a bad investment and stop.
Luckily the UK puts out good shows that stand on their own without all the nasty queens constantly sharpening their claws on them.”
___________________________
What a pathetic comment. So anybody pointing out things like “These plots are terrible” are just nasty queens? How nice it must be in your world, where writers can put out crap, but then demand that the audience pretend to love it because they’re “Nasty Queens” if they in any way don’t like it.
Did it ever occur to you that some of the shows in the UK are good, because the writing is actually better?
vive
What made “Sex and the City” a great show? You felt it would be fun to hang out with them. Same for “Tales of the City,” speaking of San Francisco. As for shows with hostile characters like House? You still felt it would be interesting to hang out with that group.
But only a masochist would want to hang out with the psychopathic Looking cast.
Marvellis1
I am simply not going to be as happy. Jonathan Groff is a wonderful actor and I hope there are many great roles ahead for him. He has the talent of making everyone feel good, even when he is sad. He has a wonderful smile, and an acting sensitivity to gay life that is a gift to all of his gay fans.
NJjoe
I am bummed out though I thought this would be the outcome over the speculations that “LOOKING” was on the chopping block. Yes, it was slow placed at times, I never thought 30 minutes were enough and I felt the characters were beginning to develop. Oh well. I do hope they wrap this up with dare I say, a one hour special?
@vive:
“But only a masochist would want to hang out with the psychopathic Looking cast.”
I can only laugh at your hidious and bizarre comment. You do realize it’s a TV show, correct?
Clark35
@cvdixon29: Hung sucked.
But yeah HBO does cancel shows, and then decides to renew shows for another season that should have never happened like Looking.
Clark35
@Geeker: LOL You mean just like Chris Crocker did?
vive
@NJjoe: “You do realize it’s a TV show, correct?”
You do realize that fiction requires from the viewer (or reader) a certain “suspension of disbelief” to work, don’t you? Why would you even be discussing the characters otherwise.
wikedmonkey
It was just bad, like most gay movies or books are. T
inbama
@wikedmonkey: And yet gay men do write and direct many of the world’s best plays, screeenplays, music, films and novels.
QueerD
I truly loved this show because of the realness of it. I always felt like a fly on the wall watching people actually live their lives. Here was a show where I finally felt like I could relate to my own life.
We all know it was cancelled due to poor ratings and those poor ratings where brought on by what I call the simple gay. Simple gays are the ones that always need things turned up, campy and over the top with stereotypes. The show lacked camp therefore the simple gay stopped watching. Two examples of long running shows supported by simple gays: Will & Grace and Queer as Folk, both campy and full of stereotypes.
mz.sam
All who have commented that 30 minutes per episode isn’t enough time to develop the characters is correct for many drama series and is confirmed by creator/producer and writer(s) Michael Lannan and Daniel Franzese. Unfortunately, after watching ‘What The Flicks?’ interview and discussion of Looking’s final episode It was sadly inevitable for HBO to axe the series. If the show was given a golden hour per episode or infact two hours it would an over-extended version of its 30 min. version. This is due to the direct lack of focus and plot direction or story arc by its creator from the beginning which is important to draw and sustain and new TV project…contrary to an indie film. The creator/producer focused on an organic approach with its character development (sans plot) and thus spelling viewer frustration and ultimately apathy, not to mention the conceit of not taking and interest in viewers responses and/or comments throughout Season One.
tham
A story about gay men in San Fransico….what is this? The 1970s?
It was just boring recycled crap….Next why doesn’t HBO do Lesbian PE teachers in comfortable shoes…ground breaking!
tham
You can call it “Dodging Balls”
donkeyforlife
this show sucked, although it summed up gay life pretty well, hence it sucking.
markgtx11
Looking is a breakthrough show that provided one of the most honest and refreshing portrayals of modern gay culture. Looking features story-lines and characters that depict the real emotional complexity of people living with HIV, and tackles tough issues like transgender homelessness. It truly is like nothing else on TV.
To some fans of the show, it is the truest representation of themselves on TV; for others, it is a rare opportunity to see characters that remind them of their friends, loved ones and fellow community-members.
HBO has a history of taking risks for the sake of artistic expression and producers around the world look to HBO as a trendsetter.
Please sign the petition to tell HBO: reconsider canceling Looking, and renew these powerful stories — our stories — for a third season.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/555/751/323/hbo-honor-our-stories-renew-looking-for-3rd-season/?cid=fb_LG_AdsLooking&z00m=22809455
donkeyforlife
@markgtx11: no one is interested in hearing “your story”, thats why they cancelled the show. this show is as cliche and stereotypical as they come and (surprisingly…) their customer base can’t relate to the contrived characters of the show. “
Matt
Glad to see it gone! It was very vile and the gay community doesn’t need another stereotypical program.
joesey
yes! finally! What a terrible show about more shallow gays only hairier ones. not enough diversity and boring as feck