HBO’s upcoming series, Looking, finally nabbed a title and a premiere date, which means the subscription cable network is finally giving audiences trailers for the series. The first teaser trailer dropped last month, introducing us to a group of gay friends living in the gorgeous San Francisco Bay area. The first teaser was a little flashy and stylized, but the new trailer focuses on the emotions and amusing dialogue that will hopefully become trademarks of the show.
There’s already been comparisons made between Looking and HBO’s other life-in-the-city comedy, Girls. However, the characters in the new trailer are a lot more heartwarming, and while they seem to be striving for something, a la Girls, there’s a lot more of a need for love and a want for real connections and relationships illuminated in this preview. There’s some great dialogue, too. At one point, two of the guys are shooting the shit about not being as invested in the things that used to define them, when lead Jonathan Groff’s character spits out the sentiment, “I don’t know if either of us are very good at being who we think we are.” It’s a truth bomb that comes pretty early on in the trailer and sets the tone for the rest of the segment.
Even with a full trailer, there’s not a ton that we know about Looking. The show is set to hit HBO’s schedule on January 19, 2014, which means it will air on Wednesday nights, rather than the Sunday night lineup the subscription cable network has become known for. HBO’s also giving the dramedy a pretty short trial run, signing on for only eight episodes in Season 1. That might not seem like a ton of episodes, but it is the same number that Family Tree earned at the network earlier this year.
Looking stars Frozen and Glee actor Groff, as well as Frankie J. Alvarez and Murray Bartlett. Groff’s probably the most famous name attached to the project, and it was his casting that really kickstarted Looking.We first started hearing about the show last December, when writer Michael Lannon sold a script called Lorimer to HBO, a script that had a similar premise to Looking. Groff became attached to the project last spring, and a fall production date, as well as the title, began to fall into place.
HBO’s comedies and dramedies are typically designed for niche audiences, and Looking doesn’t seem to be an exception. However, TV has been sorely in need of a show like Looking for a while, and we expect it to do quite well when it hits the schedule next year.
