HBO’s seri about gay iends San Francis, Lookg, reviewed.

Contents:

• 7 HBO TV SHOWS THAT FEATURE PROMENT GAY CHARACTERS
• HBO'S LOOKG ISN'T GAY PARADISE, BUT IT'LL DOHBO'S NEW SERI ABOUT GAY MEN SAN FRANCIS HAS BEEN BOTH DREAD AND EAGERLY AWAED. AND WHILE DON'T GET EVERYTHG RIGHT, THERE'S PLENTY THERE TO LIKE.BY RICHARD LAWSONJANUARY 16, 2014SAVE THIS STORYSAVESAVE THIS STORYSAVEHERE'S THE PERHAPS-UNFAIR PROBLEM FACG LOOKG, HBO'S NEW SERI ABOUT YOUNG-ISH GAY MEN SAN FRANCIS: IT IS THE FIRST MASTREAM TELEVISN SHOW (THAT IS, NOT ON A WORK EXPLICLY TARGETED AT A GAY DIENCE) ABOUT GAY PEOPLE SCE SHOWTIME'S THE L WORD END S OCSNALLY FABULO, OFTEN GHT SIX-SEASON N 2009. IN THE NEARLY FIVE YEARS SCE THAT SHOW END, 'S SAFE TO SAY THAT THE GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT HAS ADVANCED LEAPS AND BOUNDS, AND THAT THROUGH MEANS BOTH EXPRSIVE (THE “IT GETS BETTER” MPAIGN, FOR EXAMPLE) AND MORE TAC (GAY CHARACTERS MORE EQUENTLY POPULATG THE SIL ON POPULAR TV SERI) GAY CULTURE HAS, AS A WHOLE, BEE MORE BROADLY REGNIZED AND, MANY ARENAS ANYWAY, ACCEPTED. AND YET THERE HAS NOT BEEN SOMETHG ON THE LEVEL OF A PREMIUM BLE SERI MA FOR /BY UNTIL NOW.SO LOOKG NOT ONLY HAS TO BEAR THE HEAVY BURN OF HAVG TO BE A NSISTENTLY ENGAGG SHOW ON S OWN MERS, BUT IS ALSO LAN WH THE RATHER IMPOSSIBLE MAND THAT BE RRECTLY AND ECUMENILLY REPRENTATIVE OF THE GAY EXPERIENCE ENTIRELY, THAT NOT STEREOTYPE OR MARGALIZE OR WHEWASH ANY WAY. THE PERVADG SENTIMENT SEEMS TO BE THAT, HEY, WE'VE BEEN WANTG MORE REPRENTATN POPULAR MEDIA, AND NOW HERE AT LAST, SO THEY'D BETTER NOT F--K UP.FOR THAT REASON THE VELOPMENT OF THE SERI HAS BEEN MONORED CLOSELY; SOME HOPE THAT WEEKEND DIRECTOR ANDREW HAIGH'S VOLVEMENT MEANS GOOD THGS, WHILE OTHERS SEEM MORE CYNILLY LEERY, SURE THAT THE SHOW WILL MERELY PRENT WH THE MOST PRIVILEGED GAYS POSSIBLE AND FIGURE S NOBLE WORK DONE. BASED ON THE FOUR EPISOS I'VE SEEN, WE WERE BOTH RIGHT TO WORRY AND TO HOPE, AS LOOKG IS BY NO MEANS A PERFECT SHOW, BUT ALSO RIPPL WH ENOUGH SMARTS AND SENSIVY TO REGISTER AS A PLENTY DIVERTG, THOUGH PERHAPS SNEAKILY SHALLOW, SUCCS. YOUR EXPERIENCE OF THE SHOW, WHICH UNFOLDS GZY HALF-HOURS THAT PLAY LIKE A RAMBLG REP OF SOMEONE'S WEEK, LIKELY PENDS ON YOUR ANGLE OF APPROACH.ALL I N TELL YOU IS HOW I APPROACHED , AND WHAT STCK A CHORD WH ME. I MT FIRST REGISTER SOME EYE-ROLLS ABOUT THE FACT THAT JONATHAN GROFF, BETIFUL SOFT-FACED CHEB-CURLED DULCET-TONED JONATHAN GROFF, HAS SOMEHOW FOUND HIMSELF LOVELORN AND EMOTNALLY STTERED MORN DAY SAN FRANCIS. AND YET THAT'S EXACTLY WHERE HIS CHARACTER, VIO GAME SIGNER PATRICK, IS WHEN THE SHOW BEGS. IT IS OF URSE CREDIBLY SHALLOW OF ME TO ASSUME THAT SOMEONE AS ATHETILLY BLSED AS YOUNG PATRICK ULDN'T POSSIBLY BE UNLUCKY LOVE OR SHY ABOUT HIS BODY (AS PATRICK IS DURG AN EPISO PARTLY SET AT THE FOLSOM STREET FAIR). BUT MY REACTN WAS JT THAT, A KD OF WEARY "OH, E ON" TEMPERED ONLY BY, WELL, HOW GOOD PATRICK LOOKS A LEATHER VT.HERE'S THE FUNNY THG ABOUT THAT ASPECT OF LOOKG: IN WHAT WAY IS AN IMPOSSIBLY ATTRACTIVE ACTOR BEG ED TO REPRENT A REAL-LIFE GAY EVERYMAN ANY DIFFERENT THAN THE MYRIAD HARDBODI WHO POPULATE TV SHOWS ABOUT SUPPOSEDLY REGULAR STRAIGHT PEOPLE? WE WANTED A TV SHOW "ABOUT " AND THIS, MY IENDS, IS HOW TV WORKS. YOU WANT UGLY OR EVEN AVERAGE? GO TO THE THEATER. AND NOT BROADWAY, LIKE OFF- OFF- OFF-BROADWAY. SO THAT'S LSON NUMBER ONE. THIS IS WHAT TV EQUALY LOOKS LIKE: ANNOYGLY PERFECT.ONCE PAST THAT B OF TRATG SURREALY, I WAS PLEASANTLY SURPRISED TO FD THAT THE SHOW HAS MANY SMALL AND SUBTLE CHARMS. GROFF IS A WHOLLY LIKABLE ACTOR, SWEET WHOUT BEG WY, AND HE AND THE SHOW'S OTHER TWO LEADS FLOW WH EASY CHEMISTRY. PATRICK'S BT IENDS ARE AGTíN (FRANKIE J. ALVAREZ), A BORED ARTIST A HAPPILY MTED RELATNSHIP, AND DOM (THE STURDILY HUNKY MURRAY BARTLETT), A PHG-40 WAER WHO'S FEELG THE EARLY PCH OF A MIDLIFE CRISIS. AT 29, PATRICK SEEMS TO BE THE YOUNGT CHARACTER, WHICH ALONE MARKS A CCIAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LOOKG AND GIRLS, THE SHOW IS MOST MONLY (AND LAZILY) PARED TO. THIS IS A SHOW ABOUT A VERY DIFFERENT STAGE OF LIFE, THOUGH PERHAPS ONLY SEPARATED BY A FEW YEARS.AND GIRLS IS ALSO MORE ABOUT GENERATNAL HUMOR, WHEREAS LOOKG IS MORE BROADLY, AND YET SPECIFILLY, ABOUT LOVE AND SEX AND NNECTN. PATRICK YEARNS FOR A BOYIEND BUT DON'T REALLY KNOW HOW TO FD OR KEEP ONE. AGTíN MOV WH HIS BOYIEND OAKLAND AND THE TWO EXPLORE BOTH THREOM AND DOMTICY. (NOT MUTUALLY EXCLIVE, FOLKS!) MURRAY, WHO HAS THE MOST REER-ORIENTED STORY SO FAR, NOHELS HAS ANONYMO HOOKUPS THAT DON'T SEEM TO SATISFY HIM THE WAY THEY ED TO. (I MT SAY, SEEG MCLEBOUND BROADWAY MUNCHK ANDREW KEENAN BOLGER, WHO LARGELY PLAYS CUTE KID ROL ON STAGE, GET SUCH A THOROUGH RODGERG AS ONE OF MURRAY'S DAT WAS... ALARMG I GUS IS THE WORD?) THE GUYS DRIFT AROUND AND MULL OVER THEIR PROBLEMS AS EPISOS SORT OF EBB AND FLOW TO AND OUT OF EXISTENCE. THE PACE IS LANGUID, THE SCENERY SUNNY AND PLACID, BUT THE TONE IS A LTLE CHILLY, MELANCHOLY EVEN. BLAME SAN FRANCIS.THREE OF THE EPISOS I'VE SEEN WERE DIRECTED BY HAIGH, AND HE BRGS THE SAME BLEARY REALISM TO THIS ENAVOR THAT HE DID TO THE EXQUISE WEEKEND. THE CHARACTERS ARE NOT GARISH RTOONS, NOR DO THEY TALK UNBELIEVABLE PATTERNS OR RHYTHMS. THERE'S A DISARMG HONTY TO MUCH OF LOOKG, AND I GOT THE SOMEWHAT EFUL SENSE THAT THE LIV, AS WISPILY AND MAGILLY SEXY AS THEY MAY SEEM TO ME, DO SOME SENSE EXIST SOMEWHERE. THE SHOW ISN'T REASSURGLY CLIVE, AND 'S ADMIRABLE A WAY THAT DON'T AIM TO BE THERAPTIC OR EMPOWERG. IT SIMPLY IS. AND THOUGH THAT MAY BE E FOR TRATN—WHY N'T I BE PRETTY LIKE THE IENDS, TO STEAL A LE OM MARGARET CHO—'S ALSO, REALLY, THE ONLY WAY THIS SHOW ULD HAVE BEEN DONE WHOUT TURNG TO SOME OVERSTUFFED, FORCE-FED PARA OF TOKENS.THE DARK GLIMMERS OF DISHONTY NNG THROUGHOUT LOOKG ARE WHAT'S DISHONT ABOUT MOST TELEVISN: MEET-CUT ON CY B, CHANCE ENUNTERS AT EFFORTLSLY HIP PARTI, WTY REPARTEE THAT ONLY DON'T SOUND NNED BEE THE ACTORS LIVERG ARE GOOD AT WHAT THEY DO. I'M AS GUILTY AS ANYONE ELSE OF STARG HARD AT LOOKG, SEARCHG FOR CRIL FLAWS THAT WILL ALLOW ME TO DISMISS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. AND THOSE IMPERFECTNS, CHIEF AMONG THEM AN OCSNALLY HEADY WHIFF OF OVERNFINCE, ARE CERTALY THERE. THE SHOW IS NOT FLAWLS, NOR DO REPRENT ANYONE OTHER THAN THE CHARACTERS WHO EXIST S HAZY INSTAGRAM-FILTERED WORLD. BUT THAT'S O.K. THE SHOW IS CLEVERLY WRTEN AND FTLY ACTED (BIS THE MA THREE, WHO ARE ALL EXCELLENT, LREN WEEDMAN GIV DIGNY AND HUMOR TO A ROLE THAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE A LIMP FAG HAG, AND RSELL TOVEY IS SWOON-WORTHY SEXY TEDDY BEAR MO AS PATRICK'S ALLURG NEW BOSS), AND S PRETENSNS ARE LS GLARG THAN EXPECTED. IN FACT, SPE S OCSNAL POTY EDG, LOOKG IS A RATHER LITE SHOW. AND WATCHED AS SUCH, THERE'S PLENTY THERE TO HAVE ME LOOKG FORWARD TO A FEW MORE DAT.MOST POPULARTHE ELVIS PRLEY WE DIDN’T SEE ELVISBY KATEY RICHRILEY KEOUGH ON GROWG UP PRLEY, LOSG LISA MARIE, AND INHERG GRACELANDBY BRT HENNEMUTHRED, WHE & ROYAL BLUE: THE 6 BIGGT CHANG FROM BOOK TO MOVIEBY SAVANNAH WALSHRICHARD LAWSON
• RSELL TOVEY: GAY MALE BACKLASH TO ‘LOOKG’ ‘BROKE ME, HONTLY’
• HBO ENDS ‘LOOKG,’ S ‘BORG’ SHOW ABOUT GAY MEN
• HBO NFIRMS SEND SEASON FOR GAY DRAMA SERI LOOKG
• JONATHAN GROFF HBO SERI ABOUT GAY MEN SET SAN FRANCIS GETS SERI ORR
• SF GAY MEN'S CHOS 'HELLO YELLOW BRICK ROAD' 2023: SAN FRANCIS

7 HBO TV SHOWS THAT FEATURE PROMENT GAY CHARACTERS

2 Seasons | 18 Episos | TV-MAWATCH NOWMAXMeet Patrick, Agt and Dom: three 30-somethg iends livg San Francis explorg the excg, sometim overwhelmg, optns available to a new generatn of gay men. In the first episo of Lookg, —HBO’s lovely new seri about a group of gay men livg San Francis created by Michael Lannan and directed by Weekend’s Andrew Haigh—Patrick (Jonathan Groff), a vio game signer, fds himself on a first date wh an onlogist who never plays vio gam. Here we are, simultaneoly pletely faiar and unfaiar terrory: the bad first date that is, also, the bad, gay first date—and a bad, gay first date that is not the B storyle, will not be followed by scen starrg straight people, and do not feature stereotypilly mpy gay men.

HBO'S LOOKG ISN'T GAY PARADISE, BUT IT'LL DOHBO'S NEW SERI ABOUT GAY MEN SAN FRANCIS HAS BEEN BOTH DREAD AND EAGERLY AWAED. AND WHILE DON'T GET EVERYTHG RIGHT, THERE'S PLENTY THERE TO LIKE.BY RICHARD LAWSONJANUARY 16, 2014SAVE THIS STORYSAVESAVE THIS STORYSAVEHERE'S THE PERHAPS-UNFAIR PROBLEM FACG LOOKG, HBO'S NEW SERI ABOUT YOUNG-ISH GAY MEN SAN FRANCIS: IT IS THE FIRST MASTREAM TELEVISN SHOW (THAT IS, NOT ON A WORK EXPLICLY TARGETED AT A GAY DIENCE) ABOUT GAY PEOPLE SCE SHOWTIME'S THE L WORD END S OCSNALLY FABULO, OFTEN GHT SIX-SEASON N 2009. IN THE NEARLY FIVE YEARS SCE THAT SHOW END, 'S SAFE TO SAY THAT THE GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT HAS ADVANCED LEAPS AND BOUNDS, AND THAT THROUGH MEANS BOTH EXPRSIVE (THE “IT GETS BETTER” MPAIGN, FOR EXAMPLE) AND MORE TAC (GAY CHARACTERS MORE EQUENTLY POPULATG THE SIL ON POPULAR TV SERI) GAY CULTURE HAS, AS A WHOLE, BEE MORE BROADLY REGNIZED AND, MANY ARENAS ANYWAY, ACCEPTED. AND YET THERE HAS NOT BEEN SOMETHG ON THE LEVEL OF A PREMIUM BLE SERI MA FOR /BY UNTIL NOW.SO LOOKG NOT ONLY HAS TO BEAR THE HEAVY BURN OF HAVG TO BE A NSISTENTLY ENGAGG SHOW ON S OWN MERS, BUT IS ALSO LAN WH THE RATHER IMPOSSIBLE MAND THAT BE RRECTLY AND ECUMENILLY REPRENTATIVE OF THE GAY EXPERIENCE ENTIRELY, THAT NOT STEREOTYPE OR MARGALIZE OR WHEWASH ANY WAY. THE PERVADG SENTIMENT SEEMS TO BE THAT, HEY, WE'VE BEEN WANTG MORE REPRENTATN POPULAR MEDIA, AND NOW HERE AT LAST, SO THEY'D BETTER NOT F--K UP.FOR THAT REASON THE VELOPMENT OF THE SERI HAS BEEN MONORED CLOSELY; SOME HOPE THAT WEEKEND DIRECTOR ANDREW HAIGH'S VOLVEMENT MEANS GOOD THGS, WHILE OTHERS SEEM MORE CYNILLY LEERY, SURE THAT THE SHOW WILL MERELY PRENT WH THE MOST PRIVILEGED GAYS POSSIBLE AND FIGURE S NOBLE WORK DONE. BASED ON THE FOUR EPISOS I'VE SEEN, WE WERE BOTH RIGHT TO WORRY AND TO HOPE, AS LOOKG IS BY NO MEANS A PERFECT SHOW, BUT ALSO RIPPL WH ENOUGH SMARTS AND SENSIVY TO REGISTER AS A PLENTY DIVERTG, THOUGH PERHAPS SNEAKILY SHALLOW, SUCCS. YOUR EXPERIENCE OF THE SHOW, WHICH UNFOLDS GZY HALF-HOURS THAT PLAY LIKE A RAMBLG REP OF SOMEONE'S WEEK, LIKELY PENDS ON YOUR ANGLE OF APPROACH.ALL I N TELL YOU IS HOW I APPROACHED , AND WHAT STCK A CHORD WH ME. I MT FIRST REGISTER SOME EYE-ROLLS ABOUT THE FACT THAT JONATHAN GROFF, BETIFUL SOFT-FACED CHEB-CURLED DULCET-TONED JONATHAN GROFF, HAS SOMEHOW FOUND HIMSELF LOVELORN AND EMOTNALLY STTERED MORN DAY SAN FRANCIS. AND YET THAT'S EXACTLY WHERE HIS CHARACTER, VIO GAME SIGNER PATRICK, IS WHEN THE SHOW BEGS. IT IS OF URSE CREDIBLY SHALLOW OF ME TO ASSUME THAT SOMEONE AS ATHETILLY BLSED AS YOUNG PATRICK ULDN'T POSSIBLY BE UNLUCKY LOVE OR SHY ABOUT HIS BODY (AS PATRICK IS DURG AN EPISO PARTLY SET AT THE FOLSOM STREET FAIR). BUT MY REACTN WAS JT THAT, A KD OF WEARY "OH, E ON" TEMPERED ONLY BY, WELL, HOW GOOD PATRICK LOOKS A LEATHER VT.HERE'S THE FUNNY THG ABOUT THAT ASPECT OF LOOKG: IN WHAT WAY IS AN IMPOSSIBLY ATTRACTIVE ACTOR BEG ED TO REPRENT A REAL-LIFE GAY EVERYMAN ANY DIFFERENT THAN THE MYRIAD HARDBODI WHO POPULATE TV SHOWS ABOUT SUPPOSEDLY REGULAR STRAIGHT PEOPLE? WE WANTED A TV SHOW "ABOUT " AND THIS, MY IENDS, IS HOW TV WORKS. YOU WANT UGLY OR EVEN AVERAGE? GO TO THE THEATER. AND NOT BROADWAY, LIKE OFF- OFF- OFF-BROADWAY. SO THAT'S LSON NUMBER ONE. THIS IS WHAT TV EQUALY LOOKS LIKE: ANNOYGLY PERFECT.ONCE PAST THAT B OF TRATG SURREALY, I WAS PLEASANTLY SURPRISED TO FD THAT THE SHOW HAS MANY SMALL AND SUBTLE CHARMS. GROFF IS A WHOLLY LIKABLE ACTOR, SWEET WHOUT BEG WY, AND HE AND THE SHOW'S OTHER TWO LEADS FLOW WH EASY CHEMISTRY. PATRICK'S BT IENDS ARE AGTíN (FRANKIE J. ALVAREZ), A BORED ARTIST A HAPPILY MTED RELATNSHIP, AND DOM (THE STURDILY HUNKY MURRAY BARTLETT), A PHG-40 WAER WHO'S FEELG THE EARLY PCH OF A MIDLIFE CRISIS. AT 29, PATRICK SEEMS TO BE THE YOUNGT CHARACTER, WHICH ALONE MARKS A CCIAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LOOKG AND GIRLS, THE SHOW IS MOST MONLY (AND LAZILY) PARED TO. THIS IS A SHOW ABOUT A VERY DIFFERENT STAGE OF LIFE, THOUGH PERHAPS ONLY SEPARATED BY A FEW YEARS.AND GIRLS IS ALSO MORE ABOUT GENERATNAL HUMOR, WHEREAS LOOKG IS MORE BROADLY, AND YET SPECIFILLY, ABOUT LOVE AND SEX AND NNECTN. PATRICK YEARNS FOR A BOYIEND BUT DON'T REALLY KNOW HOW TO FD OR KEEP ONE. AGTíN MOV WH HIS BOYIEND OAKLAND AND THE TWO EXPLORE BOTH THREOM AND DOMTICY. (NOT MUTUALLY EXCLIVE, FOLKS!) MURRAY, WHO HAS THE MOST REER-ORIENTED STORY SO FAR, NOHELS HAS ANONYMO HOOKUPS THAT DON'T SEEM TO SATISFY HIM THE WAY THEY ED TO. (I MT SAY, SEEG MCLEBOUND BROADWAY MUNCHK ANDREW KEENAN BOLGER, WHO LARGELY PLAYS CUTE KID ROL ON STAGE, GET SUCH A THOROUGH RODGERG AS ONE OF MURRAY'S DAT WAS... ALARMG I GUS IS THE WORD?) THE GUYS DRIFT AROUND AND MULL OVER THEIR PROBLEMS AS EPISOS SORT OF EBB AND FLOW TO AND OUT OF EXISTENCE. THE PACE IS LANGUID, THE SCENERY SUNNY AND PLACID, BUT THE TONE IS A LTLE CHILLY, MELANCHOLY EVEN. BLAME SAN FRANCIS.THREE OF THE EPISOS I'VE SEEN WERE DIRECTED BY HAIGH, AND HE BRGS THE SAME BLEARY REALISM TO THIS ENAVOR THAT HE DID TO THE EXQUISE WEEKEND. THE CHARACTERS ARE NOT GARISH RTOONS, NOR DO THEY TALK UNBELIEVABLE PATTERNS OR RHYTHMS. THERE'S A DISARMG HONTY TO MUCH OF LOOKG, AND I GOT THE SOMEWHAT EFUL SENSE THAT THE LIV, AS WISPILY AND MAGILLY SEXY AS THEY MAY SEEM TO ME, DO SOME SENSE EXIST SOMEWHERE. THE SHOW ISN'T REASSURGLY CLIVE, AND 'S ADMIRABLE A WAY THAT DON'T AIM TO BE THERAPTIC OR EMPOWERG. IT SIMPLY IS. AND THOUGH THAT MAY BE E FOR TRATN—WHY N'T I BE PRETTY LIKE THE IENDS, TO STEAL A LE OM MARGARET CHO—'S ALSO, REALLY, THE ONLY WAY THIS SHOW ULD HAVE BEEN DONE WHOUT TURNG TO SOME OVERSTUFFED, FORCE-FED PARA OF TOKENS.THE DARK GLIMMERS OF DISHONTY NNG THROUGHOUT LOOKG ARE WHAT'S DISHONT ABOUT MOST TELEVISN: MEET-CUT ON CY B, CHANCE ENUNTERS AT EFFORTLSLY HIP PARTI, WTY REPARTEE THAT ONLY DON'T SOUND NNED BEE THE ACTORS LIVERG ARE GOOD AT WHAT THEY DO. I'M AS GUILTY AS ANYONE ELSE OF STARG HARD AT LOOKG, SEARCHG FOR CRIL FLAWS THAT WILL ALLOW ME TO DISMISS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. AND THOSE IMPERFECTNS, CHIEF AMONG THEM AN OCSNALLY HEADY WHIFF OF OVERNFINCE, ARE CERTALY THERE. THE SHOW IS NOT FLAWLS, NOR DO REPRENT ANYONE OTHER THAN THE CHARACTERS WHO EXIST S HAZY INSTAGRAM-FILTERED WORLD. BUT THAT'S O.K. THE SHOW IS CLEVERLY WRTEN AND FTLY ACTED (BIS THE MA THREE, WHO ARE ALL EXCELLENT, LREN WEEDMAN GIV DIGNY AND HUMOR TO A ROLE THAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE A LIMP FAG HAG, AND RSELL TOVEY IS SWOON-WORTHY SEXY TEDDY BEAR MO AS PATRICK'S ALLURG NEW BOSS), AND S PRETENSNS ARE LS GLARG THAN EXPECTED. IN FACT, SPE S OCSNAL POTY EDG, LOOKG IS A RATHER LITE SHOW. AND WATCHED AS SUCH, THERE'S PLENTY THERE TO HAVE ME LOOKG FORWARD TO A FEW MORE DAT.MOST POPULARTHE ELVIS PRLEY WE DIDN’T SEE ELVISBY KATEY RICHRILEY KEOUGH ON GROWG UP PRLEY, LOSG LISA MARIE, AND INHERG GRACELANDBY BRT HENNEMUTHRED, WHE & ROYAL BLUE: THE 6 BIGGT CHANG FROM BOOK TO MOVIEBY SAVANNAH WALSHRICHARD LAWSON

It’s 2014 and there have been—as Ey Nsbm observed her glowg review for The New Yorker—a number of shows by gay men, but none as lmly, sularly gay as Lookg, which ntas ls than five (small) speakg parts for straight people. Lookg featur three gay men who are, as the tle suggts, searchg: for partners, for reers, and, mostly, for themselv. Although the blue makeover might not be que as fabulo as HBO Max’s inic purple, Max still has a cent claim to beg the gayt streamer around.

Though an early role for Day-Lewis, was que rare for well-known actors to take on gay rol 1985.

RSELL TOVEY: GAY MALE BACKLASH TO ‘LOOKG’ ‘BROKE ME, HONTLY’

Featurg proment members of the scene proment rol — Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, Angie Xtravaganza, and Willi Nja clud — the movie featur credible footage of the ball petns that the var ho take part , and sh a light on how s subjects al wh the racism, poverty, and homophobia surroundg them durg the peak of the AIDS crisis. The charmg Jeff Hiller, too often relegated to cliched character bs, is given center stage as a sweetly optimistic gay man makg the bt of datg the Midwt. ” From Murray Bartlett’s fugue-state breakdown Season 1, to Jennifer Coolidge’s inic “the gays, they’re tryg to murr me” awakeng, Whe seems to have crafted the beats of his darkly wty melodrama like a queer fantasy football league.

Sardonic Aubrey Plaza, a gay bal, and an ensemble of newly disvered eye ndy that n also act?

While seems every show has a gay supportg character the days, “The Flight Attendant” has a few, all si a quick-wted, totally addictive, woman-onted thriller.

HBO ENDS ‘LOOKG,’ S ‘BORG’ SHOW ABOUT GAY MEN

Wh solid support om two gay characters, both wh distct personali totally unrelated to the other — not to mentn lic turns om seasoned actrs Rosie Perez and Michelle Gomez — “The Flight Attendant” will have you flyg high. Pneers of lbian parentg, Rob and Rso had a fantasy of llective queer parentg, vg their gay sperm donors to their fay liv. The show is also reful to skewer the lopsidns of attus — both hetero and homo — toward bisexualy as somethg that, as Carrie Bradshaw would say another HBO seri, is perceived as a “layover on the way to gay town.

Though may have ed terror the streets, when fans of “The Wire” hear the warng ll “Omar’s g” — announced the arrival of one of televisn’s greatt gay characters of all time, Omar Ltle. Created by “Weekend” filmmaker Andrew Haigh, “Lookg” is often dubbed the gay “Girls. The queerns and mps of the ics tends to get sand-off and replaced wh, at most, embarrassg tokenism serted to fill a diversy quota (the “first gay character” “Avengers: Endgame, ” anyone?

HBO NFIRMS SEND SEASON FOR GAY DRAMA SERI LOOKG

But what gay characters existed shows aimed at kids were generally hidn, and their queerns only hted at stead of nfirmed. ” Sugar’s show lead to an explosn of children’s seri wh more explicly gay characters, but you got to give cred where cred is due.

The cln of gay characters mastream televisn and film has been an ongog procs for the dtry — one that has ma the the current generatn of TV shows some of the most progrsive to date.

JONATHAN GROFF HBO SERI ABOUT GAY MEN SET SAN FRANCIS GETS SERI ORR

As such, the goln age of TV is also a goln age for gay characters and televisn seri — wh gay-iendly work HBO leadg the work has featured proment gay characters several of s seri — though, admtedly, wh mixed rults th far. Here are seven shows om HBO's lp, both prent and past, that promently feature gay characters their storyl.

Read more: The Depictn of Gay Teens on 'Amerin Crime' Is Unprecented on TVSix Feet Unr: The premise is a b somber — a fay owns a funeral home — and morticians generally don't personify warm and fuzzy feelgs. Dave wants to n the funeral home that his father left him and his more reluctant brother, Nate (Peter Krse), but Dave also stggl wh a closeted homosexualy. Patrick) — a gay black police officer — and Dave fds a lot of acceptance and strength to unrgo such a big change to his life.

SF GAY MEN'S CHOS 'HELLO YELLOW BRICK ROAD' 2023: SAN FRANCIS

"Between the two, David and Keh helped break down stereotyp about homosexualy and race, offerg a realistic portrayal of two men love, " Stacey Lambe wrote for Entertament Tonight. "While wasn't always pretty, the uple broke down barriers and beme one of the first gay fai reprented on TV.

" Lookg: Lookg foced on three close iends, all gay, as they searched for love and life San Francis. ""It's rehg to see a seri about gay men that isn't actively urtg ntroversy and which ftly modulat the drama stead of keepg at a fever pch, " Keh Uhlich wrote for the BBC.

As such, 's not surprisg that the HBO seri and s large st has troduced gay characters on-screen, mostly adapted om the books. In the show, the Sparrows fd homosexualy sful and punishable.