Jonathan Groff discusses people’s ‘Looking’ expectations
By Nick Levine
Jonathan Groff has insisted it is “dangerous” for people to expect Looking to represent the entire gay community.
The HBO series stars Groff, Frankie J. Alvarez and Murray Bartlett as Patrick, Agustín and Dom, three gay friends living in San Francisco. Britain’s Russell Tovey has a key supporting role as Kevin, a work colleague of Groff’s character Patrick – and also a potential love interest.
Looking debuted on HBO in the US on January 20 and on Sky Atlantic in the UK this Monday (January 27) to generally positive reviews, and the show is already being dissected and discussed by gay viewers.
“I certainly feel there are people expecting Looking to be representative of everyone in the entire gay community and that’s a dangerous expectation of any show,” Groff said in an interview with Metro. “Michael Lannan created these characters based on his friends and life in San Francisco and this is a very specific story that we’re telling. I think there are so many aspects of any dating scene that it is hard to portray them all. But I think that it is true to these characters and to the part of San Francisco where the show’s set.”
When asked to describe the show, Groff said: “People are saying it’s like the gay Girls or Sex And The City. I am such a huge fan of both those shows. I’ve seen every episode of Sex And The City and Girls at least once, some multiple times – so the fact that it’s being compared to them is very cool.
“I’ve never met Lena Dunham but I’m such a huge fan – I think she’s a crazy genius. If you like those shows you might like Looking, because it is also about relationships, finding love and the complexities of the way people relate to each other.”
Looking airs Mondays at 10.35pm on Sky Atlantic.
> Click here for our in-depth recap of episode one of Looking