Support NeoGAF

[kerotan_eater]

Very cool that HBO is backing this. Diversity is always great and I am interested in a snapshot of what life may be like for gay people in a more progressive but not quite there yet society in 2013/4.

Though I am hesistant to DVR this as my less progressive dad is seriously going to think I am gay or something >__>

 

[Grifter]

It's like an angel heard my prayers for "The L Word but with dudes."

 

[ivysaur12]

I don't know why they felt the need to film Looking like it was shot through an Instagram filter. It gives it sort of this faux-indie ambiance that's feels arrogant.

 

[pokeystaples]

It's like an angel heard my prayers for "The L Word but with dudes."

The first two seasons, right? Not the BS of seasons 5 and 6.

 

[kirblar]

I don't know why they felt the need to film Looking like it was shot through an Instagram filter. It gives it sort of this faux-indie ambiance that's feels arrogant.

Ew.

 

[royalan]

I don't know why they felt the need to film Looking like it was shot through an Instagram filter. It gives it sort of this faux-indie ambiance that's feels arrogant.

Wait.

Where did you see the pilot? Is it available somewhere or do you just have special privileges?

 

[TheOddOne]

- Sepinwall: Review: HBO's 'Looking' a sharp look at three gay friends in San Francisco

Through the four episodes I've seen, "Looking" doesn't aim for big, loud laughs. Its humor is more of the sly observational variety, like Patrick skimming OKCupid and complaining, "Instagram filters have ruined everything, and I can't tell if this guy is hot or not," or the way that Patrick lists some of Agustin's recent wild sexual behavior, then tacks on, "And eating meat!" as an additional — and, from the tone of it, biggest — objection.

That said, Patrick is the only one of the three leads to come entirely into focus over these early episodes. Making your location into a character is a great thing — especially coming so soon on the heels of another HBO show that did that so well, "Tremé" — but it helps when the flesh-and-blood characters can stand out from the city they live in. But there's some excellent raw material in here, even if at times I found myself admiring "Looking" more than I was liking it.

 

[Cornballer]

- THR review

Looking is notable for doing the one thing other shows with gay characters can't or won't -- depict sex and intimacy in a straightforward, unflinching way. The whole series would be rendered inauthentic if not, of course. But again, it's fairly clear that what Lannan and Haigh want to do with this series is not just boundary-bust or titillate, but depict dramatic circumstances that are relatable to anybody.

Early on, the duo is accomplishing that impressively well.

 

[Cornballer]

- Variety Review

Tonally compatible with “Girls,” but a lot less whiny, “Looking” has a strong indie-film sensibility, including a serialized narrative that’s less episodic than being simply an ongoing story split into half-hour installments. Focusing on a trio of gay friends in San Francisco, it would be easy to mischaracterize this as another “Queer as Folk,” but the show quickly establishes a voice and characters that firmly stand on their own. In that regard, this half-hour does more than just capitalize on the license of pay cable, and while it’s obviously not for everyone, “Looking” deserves to be found.

- Daily Beast Interview with Jonathan Groff

 

[disco]

Wish I could watch this in the UK!

 

[Cornballer]

- Poniewozik's review for Time

This low-key, stealthily charming half-hour is not any of its predecessors, whether about gay or straight characters; it’s less overtly comic than even Girls, there’s no ha-ha flamboyance, no melodramatic coming-out story, no self-aware feeling of transgressiveness. But in its story of three friends in San Francisco, Looking builds on the themes of its forebears–the observational comedy, the romantic foibles, the sense of how a big city can dangle dazzling treasures just out of your reach–while adapting them to a style of TV that’s less like a sitcom than an indie film.

...

Refreshingly, Looking doesn’t contort itself to create a character to represent every different aspect of “the gay experience.” In the first four episodes, there are few female characters, gay or straight, an exception being Lauren Weedman as Dom’s hometown friend and confidante. (The show does avoid the relentless whiteness that Girls has been criticized for, including several prominent Latino characters.)

 

[Cornballer]

- About Looking (HBO vid on youtube)

 

[Cornballer]

- Maureen Ryan: 'Looking' Review: A Smart Look At The Lives Of Gay Men

"Looking" has much to recommend it: The performances are nuanced and subtle, the mens' quests for different kinds of emotional and sexual intimacy are handled with matter-of-fact confidence and skill, and executive producers Andrew Haigh and Michael Lannan depict every apartment, every hookup and every club outing with a granular level of detail. Those making the show clearly know the worlds in which they're traveling, and everyone who's ever been a struggling, ambitious urban type -- gay or straight -- will likely see themselves in the lives and bickering-yet-warm friendships of Dom, Patrick and Agustín (Frankie J. Alvarez).

 

[Cornballer]

- Sneak peek clip from episode 1 (please spoiler tag discussion as appropriate)

 

[RatskyWatsky]

SF Gate - 'Looking' review: Clear portrait of contemporary gay life

[Looking was] filmed entirely in the Bay Area, which is a big part of why the story rings so true. The other parts are the delicately detailed direction by Haigh and the pitch-perfect performances of the cast. All of these elements work together to present a convincing, multidimensional portrayal not only of contemporary gay life but also of contemporary life in general.

Slate - Looking Good, Looking great!

Looking and Girls are superficially similar [...] But Looking, and maybe HBO more largely, appear to have learned some important lessons from Girls, the most obvious of which is: diversity. Looking tells a diverse story, and not in some cheap just-hire-a-Hispanic-person-to-play-the-friend way.

And Looking is careful to keep its flawed and complicated main characters far from the unlikability cliff.

 

[Cornballer]

- Matt Zoller Seitz's review: The No-Fuss Radicalism of HBO’s Looking

Looking carries itself as if there have already been nine or ten shows about gay men that could have been paired with Girls on HBO. Like Lena Dunham's series — and Louie, which the intimate shooting style often evokes — it's mainly about characters struggling to get past their neuroses and self-centeredness and really connect with other people. There's nothing formally or dramatically groundbreaking about it, except for its "no big deal" attitude. But that in itself is striking.

 

[Matt_]

Is it just going to be the first episode shown this Sunday or is it going to be a two parter to introduce the show a bit more?

 

[Cornballer]

Is it just going to be the first episode shown this Sunday or is it going to be a two parter to introduce the show a bit more?

It's just one episode after Girls on Sunday.

 

[Frost_Ace]

Read some reviews, I'm officially hyped.

 

[Crayons]

I saw an ad for this show on a bus and I knew it was gay before I even saw this thread.

I'll give it a watch.

 

[Cornballer]

- Onion A|V Club review

The show’s world has yet to fill out as much as it could—though it already has more of an eye on issues of class and race than Girls has—and there are a couple of smaller plot points that skew too much toward sitcom misunderstandings. But for the most part, Lannan and Haigh have crafted something that’s bittersweet and funny and surprisingly quiet, willing to simply let the characters hang out and try to figure out what the rest of their lives are going to be like. Looking is a series about the difference between looking and knowing, the difference between seeing someone you like and really understanding who they are.

 

[Cornballer]

- Think Progress: ‘Looking’s Andrew Haigh On San Francisco, Sex Scenes, And The Future Of Relationships

 

[The Abominable Snowman]

So watching this when I get a chance. Any idea on HBOGo on demand availability?

Initial pictures show little to no diversity, but I'm holding hope they will have at least one token there somewhere. Stereotypical favorites like The effeminate Latino or the burly Black bear will eventually come up in the series.

 

[Cornballer]

So watching this when I get a chance. Any idea on HBOGo on demand availability?

It should be up almost immediately when it premieres on Sunday.

 

[Frost_Ace]

http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/hbos-new-looking-sneaks-up-on-you-in-the-best-possible-way/

Andy Greenwald's review.

 

[Matt_]

So watching this when I get a chance. Any idea on HBOGo on demand availability?

Initial pictures show little to no diversity, but I'm holding hope they will have at least one token there somewhere. Stereotypical favorites like The effeminate Latino or the burly Black bear will eventually come up in the series.

I definitely read somewhere that there was a fair few Hispanic people in this. It was in a little comparison bit with girls

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Initial pictures show little to no diversity, but I'm holding hope they will have at least one token there somewhere. Stereotypical favorites like The effeminate Latino or the burly Black bear will eventually come up in the series.

Most of the reviews have mentioned this, actually:

They also demonstrate a remarkable sensitivity to prickly subjects like race and class

Looking to me seems to be much more racially diverse (than Girls)

it already has more of an eye on issues of class and race than Girls has

It does deal with race rather pointedly

Looking tells a diverse story, and not in some cheap just-hire-a-Hispanic-person-to-play-the-friend way.

Etc.

Plus, there are apparently a lot of Hispanic supporting characters, so.

 

[ctothej]

I find it a strange how no one complains when a new show has a completely white, heteronormative cast and a male lead, yet whenever a show deviates from that formula it is attacked for not including every other form of diversity. When's the last time you saw someone put Breaking Bad under the knife for only casting people of color as villains and sidekicks? Why is it that when a show goes against the grain and offers the rare all-gay cast, it's put under this level of scrutiny? I'd love to see more people of color, more LGBT characters, more female protagonists on television. Instead of decrying Looking--the first non-camp gay drama on TV (I'm looking at you, Queer as Folk and Noah's Arc)--let's talk about the myriad shows lacking any diversity. Or at least put them under the same level of scrutiny.

 

[kirblar]

I find it a strange how no one complains when a new show has a completely white, heteronormative cast and a male lead, yet whenever a show deviates from that formula it is attacked for not including every other form of diversity. When's the last time you saw someone put Breaking Bad under the knife for only casting people of color as villains and sidekicks? Why is it that when a show goes against the grain and offers the rare all-gay cast, it's put under this level of scrutiny? I'd love to see more people of color, more LGBT characters, more female protagonists on television. Instead of decrying Looking--the first non-camp gay drama on TV (I'm looking at you, Queer as Folk and Noah's Arc)--let's talk about the myriad shows lacking any diversity. Or at least put them under the same level of scrutiny.

It's because of Girls. There's a real debate/schism in the feminist movement over race and if it is or isn't just reflecting the goals/desires of upper-class white women. People normally don't comment unless something's specifically triggering it.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Today's the day! LOOKING!!!

Looking for Now

Spoiler

In the premiere of this dramedy about a trio of gay men in San Francisco, Patrick deals with news of his ex's engagement; Agustín prepares to move in with his boyfriend; and Dom mulls reconnecting with an old flame.

 

[TheOddOne]

- Huff: Andrew Haigh And Michael Lannan, 'Looking' Creators, Address Racial Diversity On HBO Show

 

[G0523]

I find it a strange how no one complains when a new show has a completely white, heteronormative cast and a male lead, yet whenever a show deviates from that formula it is attacked for not including every other form of diversity. When's the last time you saw someone put Breaking Bad under the knife for only casting people of color as villains and sidekicks? Why is it that when a show goes against the grain and offers the rare all-gay cast, it's put under this level of scrutiny? I'd love to see more people of color, more LGBT characters, more female protagonists on television. Instead of decrying Looking--the first non-camp gay drama on TV (I'm looking at you, Queer as Folk and Noah's Arc)--let's talk about the myriad shows lacking any diversity. Or at least put them under the same level of scrutiny.

I understand it but at the same time I don't. Because if a show actually did have nearly every form of diversity represented, it wouldn't be very good. Every character would be the "token" character and people would complain that the cast is too big. Personally, I just think people are complaining for the sake of complaining. And they're complaining off of promotional material! The show hasn't even aired one episode yet!

 

[RatskyWatsky]

More on diversity, from the above HuffPo article:

"We have two very prominent Latin characters. We have an African-American character. We have an Asian-American character, so I think we are dealing with different ethnicities," Haigh said. "There's always a limit to what you can put in a half-hour show and we've never tried to represent the whole of the LGBT community because it's an enormous community made up of lots of different elements. All we can really do is try and tell a story about our characters."

 

[Via Purifico]

I'll watch it. About diversity I think people are not wrong to feel a certain way when 9 times out of 10 you have mainly white guys portraying gay characters and when you do have someone of another race it's the stereotype role.

At any rate I am glad this show will have diversity and more LGBT shows and movies should have it.
Let's watch it first and then judge.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

The Sacramento Bee - HBO’s ‘Looking’ a gay San Francisco slice of life

The eight-episode first season follows the love lives of three gay male friends “without having it be about being in the closet or coming out,” series creator Michael Lannan said. “We wanted to drop in on them in the midst of their lives and progress, and meet them when they have been out for some time.”

Such a pure slice-of-life approach differs from previous gay-centric premium cable shows. Showtime’s “Queer as Folk” (2000-05) and “The L Word” (2004-09) touched on many aspects of characters’ lives. But each show started from the neophyte’s perspective – in “Queer,” a teenage boy first exploring his sexuality; in “L Word,” a young woman rethinking heterosexuality after a female cafe owner speaks to her in French.

Slice of life is easier to show today, when gay marriage is legal in 17 states and coming out is only part of picture. Lannan, 36, said he and “Looking” co-executive producer and primary director Andrew Haigh, who is in his early 40s, wanted the series to reflect how things are for their generation right now.

“We are kind of at an age where we grew up with a certain set of expectations about what it was like to be gay and what our lives would be like,” Lannan said. “(Then) the world changed very quickly in my adulthood.”

In the past 10 years, “ideas about gay people have changed in the American public,” Lannan said. “I did not think (that) in my lifetime gay marriage would be legal in several states. ... It creates an interesting thing for people in their late 20s, or 30s or early 40s where you suddenly have all these options available to you.”

 

[scarlet]

itshappening.gif

Hopefully it's gonna be as good as the trailers!

 

[RatskyWatsky]

This starts in just a few minutes!! LOOKING!! :O

 

[royalan]

Let's get this show on the road!

EDIT: This opening scene is ripped right out of United States of Tara

 

[RatskyWatsky]

It's starting! Oh my god!

 

[Sanjuro]

I was curious how far they would go with the gay themes...

What a start!

 

[royalan]

I loved the scene between Dom and Doris. That was cute.

 

[royalan]

Lord, why are threesome scenes on tv always so awkward...

 

[Sanjuro]

Lord, why are threesome scenes on tv always so awkward...

Unlike real threesomes!

The gay universe seems a bit skewed so far. If this was a show about Spiderman, everyone would be Spiderman.

 

[Sanjuro]

I've seen too much of the straight Dancing Bear to take the gay one seriously.

 

[royalan]

Unlike real threesomes!

I don't know about you, Honey, but my threesomes always go flawlessly.

 

[Sanjuro]

I wouldn't say it was a great drawing first episode, but True Detective spoiled me quite a bit.

It's not a gay version of Girls, so there is that. Liked a couple of the primary characters. Hopefully they are progressive about the cast moving forward.

 

[Cornballer]

Solid pilot. It's tough covering much character-wise in just 30 minutes, but they laid some groundwork. It does feel low-key, as a lot of the reviews said, and I like the characters so far. It was well shot and it's pretty cool seeing so much local stuff here in SF.

I loved the scene between Dom and Doris. That was cute.

That was my favorite scene.

 

[Cornballer]

- HitFix review
- Onion A|V Club review

 

[Sanjuro]

Solid pilot. It's tough covering much character-wise in just 30 minutes, but they laid some groundwork. It does feel low-key, as a lot of the reviews said, and I like the characters so far. It was well shot and it's pretty cool seeing so much local stuff here in SF.
That was my favorite scene.

The time restriction is a bit hindering. That was one of my first observations very quickly into the episode. The other is I'm not sure what this show's goal ultimately is. It wasn't very funny or serious, and I'm not sure I could take it seriously if the show develops to far in either direction.

 

[lunch]

I enjoyed the pilot. I really need to go to San Francisco. Apparently it's a place where men have sex in parks in broad daylight, charming bouncers hit on you on the bus, and everybody you work with is gay.