Back in mid-2013, the HBO drama “Looking” was heralded by many as a gay man’s version of “Sex and the City.”
But as it continues Sunday with its second episode of Season 2, “Looking” is failing miserably at both the sex and the city (in this case, San Francisco). Much of the problem lies with Season 1, which was unable to adequately imbue its characters with the necessary empathy or energy that made “Sex and the City” such an instant must-watch.
Nearly a year later, “Looking’s” core character trio — tech-cutie Patrick (Jonathan Groff), artsy brat Augustin (Frankie J. Alvarez) and aging waiter Dom (Murray Bartlett) — offers viewers little more than contrived conflicts and banal bon mots.
In an era of cable and digital TV excellence, “Looking” is more than just a missed opportunity — it’s a full-scale political and cultural dud. Rudderless and utterly without ambition, its protagonists smoke pot, chase the wrong guys and dance the night away. Along the way, its officially gay characters do lots of officially gay things — play on gay sports teams, relax in gay vacation spots and worry about gay concerns (open relationships, HIV). There’s sex, of course, though (mercilessly) less than expected. And while “Looking’s” cast is certainly attractive(ish), they don’t possess the necessary charm or magnetism to justify their hero worship across the LGBT mediasphere.
“Looking” is hardly the first LGBT-themed series to hit the airwaves. Back in 2000, Showtime debuted the US adaptation of Britain’s ground-breaking “Queer as Folk,” which ran for five years. In 2005, Logo released “Noah’s Arc,” which focused on mostly black gay characters. Showtime was also behind the lesbian-themed “L Word,” which lasted for six seasons until 2009.
Like all long-running series, both “Queer as Folk” and “The L Word” had their ups and downs. The “L Word,” in particular, went from a revolutionary first season to a messy, misguided Season 2 before regaining its momentum later on (thank you, guest star Kelly Lynch!).
But even amid its gaffs, both series created characters who were not only entertaining, but actually interesting. Despite their foibles and love triangles, these were people you truly wanted to spend time with. These were folks you wished would be your friends: They had lives (and homes and senses of style) that you fantasized to be your own. The woman were elegant and aspirational, quirky and maternal, hip, professional and frequently hot. Compared to the “The L Word” ladies, the lads in “Looking” are mostly jobless, joyless losers.
And therein lies the show’s core challenge: its almost complete lack of female characters. Indeed, at a time when television literally heaves with strong, female-driven shows — from “Scandal” to “The Good Wife” — “Looking” is almost woman-free. Sure, there’s Dom’s trusty, crusty roommate Doris (Lauren Weedman), but her “fag-hag” depiction is so clichéd and anachronistic that she might as well just be one of the guys.
Part of what made “Queer as Folk” so compelling was its strong female performances — particularly Sharon Gless as the community den mother, and the lesbian couple Melanie and Lindsay (not to mention their young kids). Their presence injected much-needed doses of womanly warmth and wisdom into the show’s racy mix of big-city temptations. Without a handful of women to balance out its boys, “Looking” flounces and flails — leaving its young heroes searching for their daddies when they could actually use some strong maternal guidance. Take note major networks: All-male media may succeed on the big-screen, but small-screen narratives wither when women are left out.
Beyond its character flaws and gender fails, the biggest loser in “Looking” is the city of San Francisco. From Alfred Hitchcock to Aaron Spelling, my beloved hometown has charmed film and television’s most successful creatives. But here, San Francisco — a town almost painfully quaint and cinematic — is as flat and boring as Patrick and his gang. Sure, San Francisco lacks New York’s fashion-world fabulousness or the Hollywood glamour of LA. But what about it’s tech-industry titans or culinary kings? Where are the activist-innovators or small-scale creatives? Didn’t San Francisco just host Vanity Fair’s first-ever New Establishment Summit? Where are they?
The “Looking” lot, meanwhile, muddle about town as failed artists, frustrated waiters and inexplicably flush florists (for real?!). Patrick may work in tech, but in one of America’s most expensive cities, he’s the only one who actually has a proper job. Yawn.
As it sludges through its second season, “Looking” seriously risks inevitable cancellation (its season premiere attracted a measly 180,000 viewers). Forty-five years after the start of the Gay Rights movement, America deserves far more from Gay TV.
With its formidable track record of creating revolutionary LGBT characters, HBO can and must do better. But, for now, “Looking” is like the gay hook-up sites that inspired its name — fleeting, foolish and all-too-often flaccid.