PHOTOS Take a trip down memory lane with these ‘Looking’ throwback pics from a series gone too soon

Y’all remember Looking?

The critically acclaimed HBO series — which starred hotties like Jonathan Groff, Murray Bartlett, and Russell Tovey — followed the lives of three gay friends as they tackled the messiness that comes with relationships, careers, and the San Fran 20-teen queer scene.

Despite lasting just two seasons (and a one-off finale movie), the show’s indie vibe and honest depiction of everything from douching to homophobia helped it become a cult classic amongst LGBTQ+ viewers. And thanks to the power of HBO Max, a whole new generation has become acquainted with the exploits of Patrick, Dom, and Agustin.

From Patrick and Richie’s meet cute on public transit, to a well-timed “Piece of Me” sync at the club, the elders of Gay Twitter (read: anyone who remembers dial up internet) have stepped up to educate Gen-Z on the series gone too soon. In case you’re new here: before Bartlett was rimming Lukas Gage on The White Lotus, he was hanging with his BFF Doris and trying to open a restaurant. And pre-Hamilton, Groff was slacking off on his job as a video game designer and Googling “uncut Latin c*cks.”

Looking may have aged as well as Lady Gaga’s Artpop amongst the gays, but it wasn’t universally beloved upon release.

Shortly before its cancellation, Vox dubbed it “the best show no one’s watching.” And recently, Tovey — who played Kevin, Patrick’s on-again, off-again a**hole boss and BF — called out the community’s lack of support at the time in an interview with The Independent. “The critical narrative at the beginning was that nothing much happened in it,” he said. “That it was too boring. But it was just real life!”

Considering it was a period where LGBTQ+ people were still digesting what meaningful representation looks like, Tovey implied that we didn’t know how good we had it. “[The lack of interest in the show] broke me honestly,” he said. “If that show came out now, it’d have a completely different response.”

To be fair, Looking was ahead of its time. The show premiered in 2014: the year Ellen DeGeneres’ Oscars selfie broke the internet, Frozen’s “Let It Go” tightened its vice grip on the world, and the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge had us dousing ourselves in freezing cold water. The idea of a series opening with a gay man soliciting a handy in the woods… and then charting his romantic developments with nuance felt groundbreaking.

Without a doubt, the series paved the way for LGBTQ+ shows that followed it (You’re welcome, Euphoria). And a few weeks ago, Daniel Franzese, who starred in Season 2, reignited the fandom when he tweeted, “Miss the gang! Maybe we should make a Christmas movie?” Fingers crossed, but until then, we’ll have to keep *looking* for a series that feels as resonant. See what we did there?