The Series Premiere of Looking

Looking premiered last night on HBO, following Girls and True Detective, this series centers on three gay men in San Francisco. Jonathon Groff, the principal character, is a little disappointing as the mild and meek, eternally single Patrick. Though obviously attractive and intelligent to boot, (he is a videogame designer) Patrick's self esteem is low and he lets himself be dumped on a first date by a dick of an oncology doctor. (The doctor isn't that attractive in looks or personality either.) Agustin (Frankie Alvarez) is the gay in the relationship of the trio. He and his boyfriend agree to move in together though Frank is more confident about it than Agustin. By the end of the pilot , they have a threesome with some random cute guy they meet and doubts slowly grow within their relationship. Dom (Murray Bartlett) is the 40 year old something whore who just hasn't gotten his life together yet. Still waiting tables at this stage in his life isn't what sends Dom over the edge, but when a younger co-worker refuses to sleep with Dom he suddenly begins to question his purpose in life.

                                               (Source: AP Images) Jonathon Groff

I was excited about a new series on HBO that features three gay men as the main characters but frankly these are just shallow stereotypes. Is it funny the guys start the episode by jokingly cruising the park as some sort of experiment? Yes, but most gays today aren't cruising parks for dick because it is 2014 and not 19something. Maybe that goes to show just how different the new generation of gay is but that is where the bubble bursts. The show and its characters have to begin somewhere of course and hopefully these characters will grow beyond superficial stigmas to show how diverse the gay world can be nut why wouldn't they start there? Surprisingly, there was no nudity, not one bare butt or penis sighting yet but the night is young. In the one risqué scene of the pilot the focus was more on intimacy than sex.
It was refreshing to hear Dom finally call Patrick out on his bullshit, specifically that Patrick thinks he should be with this "perfect idea of a guy" according to society and his mom's impossible standards that really wouldn't make him happy. After the pep talk with Dom, Patrick decides to take a chance on a random guy he encounters on the subway and then follows up with named Richie. Richie (Raul Castillo) is a bouncer and doesn't seem educated but he seems genuine, oozes depth and humanity, and could be just what Patrick needs. Plus Richie is really hot in real life (see below). Now if only Dom would turn his blunt attitude to Agustin and maybe the creative path of the series.

                          (Source: AP Images) Murray Barlett, Frankie Alverez, Jonathon Groff

(Source: AP Images) Raul Castillo