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

Contents:

• THE GAY TRAVELER’S GUI TO SAN FRANCIS
• GAY CLUB TV

THE GAY TRAVELER’S GUI TO SAN FRANCIS

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. From gay rights in Harvey Milk’s electn – and vastatg assasatn – through to last year’s regnn of the cy’s gay and leather cultural district, San Fran has always been a vibrant LGBTQ+ haven. 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. 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.

GAY CLUB TV

Lookg featur three gay men who are, as the tle suggts, searchg: for partners, for reers, and, mostly, for themselv.

It's well known that gay onle culture, "lookg" means "I'm available for sex - now.

While QaF's characters spent a lot of time wrgg their hands over equaly, acceptance and pri, Lookg's whole approach to beg gay has matured along wh society and the dience.

There's a post-gay sensibily about the characters (Yup; I'm a homo - so, what?

Lookg also avoids a pfall about which gays have long griped: the over-e of stereotypil, "fem-actg" gay characters. I also hope will lve to the still-surprisg "ordars" of what is to be gay today, pecially a major cy. Dpe the good word of mouth, leadg a gay life n often be ls than fabulo.

Jt ask would be easy to pigeonhole this as a "gay" show, but I hope heterosexual viewers will fall love wh s quirky characters and sights. They'll disver that whether gay or straight, we're all more alike than many of realize: People are generally horny, driven to succeed and need to feel loved.

What a shame that a show wh such promise—and which had a terrific queer storyle featurg a real-life gay actor—had to e to such a disappotg end. Empire never tried to hi s own soaps, and always paid good attentn to the stggle of Jamal (played by Jsie Smollett) livg as a gay hip hop artist. ACS: Versace argu the magnu of that tragedy uld have been avoid were not for a society rife wh homophobia, where same-sex upl uldn’t marry, queer Amerins uldn’t serve the ary, and where succsful men lived closets and empty, straight marriag.

Sorry Hannibal fans, but only one horror/mystery seri drippg wh homoeroticism mak the cut here. But rarely has a show ever been this pro-LGBTQ, as evinced by the terracial, trans-cis gay uple of Nomi & Amana (trans actrs Jamie Clayton & Freema Agyeman).

The San Francis-based show about the everyday liv of gay men ed s often soapy storyl of sex, datg, backstabbg, and iendship drama as a greater prism by which to view the changg inty of the LGBTQ muny, and s place the world. She-Ra tak place a world of genr and sexual fluidy, of same-sex upl prented a matter of fact way, of gay parents, nonbary characters and where butch women and femme men have sex symbol stat.