Ever since watching Jonathan Groff in Glee, he’s always been on my radar, but I had never really given any of his other stand-out projects a chance. Now, I don’t know that I will ever watch Hamilton or Frozen (just not a fan of musicals or kids movies), but I did want to check out his critically acclaimed show, Looking, while I still had the chance. Unfortunately, despite it’s great reviews, the viewership was low enough that it got cancelled after two seasons, although HBO was gracious enough to let them tie up their story with a movie. So I watched it all!
The story is primarily Patrick’s, a gay man who seems to still have some hang-ups about being gay, but it also focuses on his two best gay friends Augustin and Dom. Also thrown into the mix is Dom’s best friend and roommate Doris. During the first season, Dom’s primary focus is trying to get a restaurant opened with the help of potential love interest, Lynn. He owns a flower shop but seems to have deep pockets and a want to help Dom accomplish his dreams. Their relationship is somewhat unclear and it’s only a matter of time before Lynn’s past comes to ruin what they have. Meanwhile, Augustin’s relationship with his long-term boyfriend Frank is on the rocks when he hires a rent-boy to make “art.” The two eventually break up and Augustin decides to give up on art as well. Finally, Patrick very early on meets Richie and the two hit it off instantly. Despite their chemistry and feelings for one another, Patrick can’t help but make a mess of things almost every time they get together. Richie is so confident in who he is that he sees Patrick struggling, but doesn’t want to be collateral damage when it all hits the fan.
In the second season, Patrick sort of rebounds with his boss, Kevin, even though he is in a “serious” long-term relationship of his own. Dom still flip-flops with Lynn for a little while more during the second season but ends up cutting him out for good as he makes some decisions about his future restaurant. In a move of selfishness, he pushes Doris away, but the two make amends by the end of the season. Augustin tries virtually all season to get together with Eddie, who seems to spark a real change in Augustin’s life. The two end up working together at a homeless youth shelter for trans teens. Richie’s certainly not out of the equation this season, although he’s got his own new boyfriend, Brady (can’t stand this dude). Despite Patrick and Richie not being together, they do spend a considerable amount of quality time together and really get to know each other. Sometimes friendship needs to happen first people! He helps Patrick realize that he doesn’t want to be a side piece, so he asks Kevin to fully commit. When he can’t do it, Patrick breaks it off for good.
Finally, in the film to wrap up this story of gay life in San Francisco, almost a year after the second season finale, Patrick is flying back into town for Augustin and Eddie’s wedding. He’s been in Colorado to sort of get his life back together, but as soon as he’s back, he finds himself missing the life he had there. Dom seems to be swearing off relationships for the time being to focus on his seemingly thriving restaurant, while Doris and Malik want to try for a baby. Patrick reaches out to Kevin for closure, and thank goodness nothing comes out of that interaction. Augustin and Eddie both appear to have bouts of cold feet, but the wedding goes off without a hitch otherwise. Afterwards, we see them all celebrating in a club, where Richie and Brady show up also. Brady is shown to be increasingly dependent on alcohol and he calls Patrick out for still having feelings for Richie. In the end, Richie breaks up with Brady and reunites with Patrick. Coming full circle, he decides to fully commit to Richie and travel with him for the foreseeable future.
Overall, I freaking adored this show! Sure, each character was frustrating in their own way, but it made it all the more real. Nothing made me feel more relieved though than Patrick ending up with Richie. His whole time with Kevin just felt messy and it seemed somewhat clear to me that Richie was going to end up as Patrick’s ‘grand love.” I’m just glad they were given the opportunity to do it. You know, it’s been several years since this show aired it sort of makes me sad that it’s run ended so soon. I think had this show been made today it would probably be thriving. Regardless, you can still watch what they did make, so get to it!