# Looking (2014)

> Three gay friends in San Francisco navigate the fun and overwhelming dating and personal options of their generation.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/51717

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 18
- Episode runtime: 30 min
- Status: Canceled
- Genres: comedy, drama
- Created by: Michael Lannan
- Network: HBO
- Cast: Jonathan Groff, Frankie J. Alvarez, Murray Bartlett, Russell Tovey, Lauren Weedman, Raúl Castillo, Scott Bakula, O-T Fagbenle
- TMDB rating: 8.2/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2581458/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: slow
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: none
- Tone: wistful, intimate, candid, observational, warm

## What critics say

Critics and audiences broadly found the series a warm, naturalistic portrait of gay men in San Francisco, valued for its grounded tone and performances.

## Synopsis

Looking (2014-2015) is a American HBO dramedy created by Michael Lannan. Jonathan Groff plays Patrick Murray, a video game designer who is caught between his fraught romantic hopes and the pressures of his age, while Frankie J. Alvarez plays Agustín Lanuez, his friend and roommate-adjacent confidant, and Murray Bartlett plays Dom Basaluzzo, an older friend navigating the gay scene with weary humor. Russell Tovey, Raúl Castillo and Lauren Weedman round out the principal cast. Across two seasons and eighteen episodes the show is a character-driven, mostly episodic portrait of three friends in San Francisco who explore the fun and sometimes overwhelming options available to a new generation of gay men. Each episode is built from ordinary moments: dates that go nowhere, awkward encounters, work frustrations, and conversations that circle around what the characters actually want. The atmosphere is intimate and naturalistic, with a wistful, observational register that finds humor in embarrassment and tenderness in drift. Its setting of a gentrifying tech-era city shapes the friends' choices and anxieties. Fans of Girls, Queer as Folk and Insecure will find resonance in its candid, low-stakes take on modern romance and friendship.

## Shows like Looking

- [Queer As Folk (2000)](https://ember.film/tv/2760)
- [Queer as Folk (1999)](https://ember.film/tv/2268)
- [Uncoupled (2022)](https://ember.film/tv/124740)
- [Smiley (2022)](https://ember.film/tv/135366)
- [Banana (2015)](https://ember.film/tv/55157)
- [Adults (2025)](https://ember.film/tv/174758)
- [Togetherness (2015)](https://ember.film/tv/54924)
- [It's a Sin (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/96756)
- [Overcompensating (2025)](https://ember.film/tv/163183)
- [Mid-Century Modern (2025)](https://ember.film/tv/175554)

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