'Looking' Looks to Be More Than Usual HBO Fare

HBO's latest series, Looking is in search of an audience, and with its second trailer, it may have just found it. The buzzed-about, Jonathan Groff-fronted series about life for three gay men in San Francisco may have had most of its talk predicated on the gay sexy times we're sure to encounter in its lifetime, but it's also about a lot more. Slated to premiere on January 19, 2014, we can already tell that Looking is going to be a good one. We're ready for the real life and real sex, even if others may not be, HBO.

The don't-call-it-a-gay-Girls-you-guys-seriously-I-mean-it comedy/drama circles around the lives of four characters — who, yes, are definitely gay — who are more than just the sum of their parts, sexually speaking. There's a feeling gleaned from the trailer that there's no short supply of heart involved, which is not entirely unexpected given the prowess behind the series is acclaimed Weekend writer/director, Andrew Haigh. And while the boys may be looking for certain things (some of the episodes titles include "Looking for Now," "Looking for Uncut," and "Looking for $220/Hour"), it seems that the central focus is actually about inward exploration — with yourself and other people. Which is embodied in Patrick (Groff)'s "Look what we're finding out about each other," quip halfway through the trailer.

Speaking with Out Magazine, the occasional Glee guest star, Groff explained that the series was "Trying to humanize the gay experience and make it universal while also trying to tell specifically gay stories," which is, as he puts it, "an interesting Catch-22, because there is something unique and special about being gay—and, there’s something completely normal and just like everybody else about being gay."

Surely — and in stark juxtaposition to Lena Dunham's Girls — the simplicity with which it handles its characters (all at different stages in their life) will grant Looking the introspective look at people that it so craves. "We’re trying to tell stories about relationships and hopefully we make the people in the gay community feel connected to it, and hopefully the people outside the gay community feel connected to it, too." Besides, that Jonathan Groff is just so damn charming, isn't he?

Image: HBO