‘Looking’ writers defend the show: ‘It is not boring’

The writers of Looking have hit back at critics who have described the show as “boring”.

The new HBO series – which follows the lives of three gay men living in San Francisco – has received some poor reviews, particularly from the gay community.

“Our gay community is looking at us in a certain way,” said JC Lee, a staff writer on the show. “That there is one view of gayness, and we’re not meeting it.

He continued: “It’s a minority trap. When you have a piece that showcases a community, there’s this identity factor where if you’re showing a certain kind of queerness, you’re not honoring what queerness is.

“There’s a sense their queerness feels threatened by a show that is normalizing it.”

In response to critics who have described Looking as “boring”, writer Tanya Saracho said that the understated style of the show is “intentional”.

She said: “The B-word is what they keep calling us; you know, ‘boring’. I would rather they hate it than call us boring.”

“Not to be in defense of boring, but that is very intentional,” Hoffman said. “I think that has become part of the show. [The episodes] do feel like little half-hour indie movies.”

> ‘Looking’ creator on second series: ‘I’m really hopeful’
> Click here for our in-depth recap of the ‘Looking’ episode four

Looking airs on Sky Atlantic in the UK.