It’s been hailed as this year’s answer to Girls. HBO’s new drama/comedy about three gay men living in San Francisco, Looking, aired its first episode to rave reviews last week. Here’s what you need to know before episode two tonight.
Esquire in the US didn’t much care for it: Their panning of the show included the lines, 'Instead of, say, funny, mincing guys with witty one-liners and put-downs, Looking introduces three ho-hum characters you wouldn't hang around with if they were on SportsCenter.' Also, 'It commits the heinous sin of being gay and boring,' and the one female character 'doesn’t take her clothes off.' Nice one, guys.
There’s going to be lots of hook-ups: The first episode alone opens with the main character Patrick looking for love in the park bushes. There’s also the matter of a super-hot three-way hook-up between Agustin, his boyfriend and a dishy colleague. As for Girls-style graphic sex scenes though, none to report on so far.
It’s going to deal with the same stuff you go through every week: There’s the hopeless romantic looking for love but who gets stuck with weirdos on OkCupid (Patrick), the guy struggling to get over his ex and in a dead-end job that’s going nowhere (Dom), and the guy who’s not sure moving in with his boyfriend’s the right thing to do (Agustin). In short: us.
**There’s not a Stanford or an Anthony in sight so far: **Patrick, Agustin and Dom are a million miles away from the Liza-Minnelli-singing, Elizabeth-Taylor-quoting gay men of the SATC years.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.