Looking Creator Michael Lannan: “People Have To Support Gay Shows”

Looking Creator Michael Lannan: “People Have To Support Gay Shows”

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The story of three best friends living in San Francisco and tackling the hopes, fears, and challenges of modern gay men captured the hearts of fans for two seasons.

Though the series was given the axe at the end of its sophomore season, HBO thankfully greenlit a film version, giving the creators a rare chance to wrap up loose ends – and the fans a chance to see more of the cast stripped down and sexed up.

Now the entire saga will be available as a single box set when Looking: The Complete Series Debuts on Blu-ray and DVD November 15.

To remember the series in all its queer glory, we sat down with Looking creator Michael Lannan to chat about the show’s impact, legacy, and the need to support LGBTQ shows and programs of all sorts.

How does it feel to have the entire Looking series and film finally released as one big saga? It’s cool and strange to be able to hold a box in my hand of all these stories we created over the last few years, but I’m excited for people to see it as this whole package because we always thought of it as one big story divided up into smaller pieces.

What was the initial spark that lit your creative fire?

There wasn’t any kind of modern take on sexuality and gay men on television at that moment. I was a big fan of the U.K. version of Queer as Folk, that blew my mind when I saw it, because it was so modern and unlike anything else at that time. I would never compare our show to that one, but I think it was a big inspiration to do something that was equally provocative and contemporary.

What are some of your favorite stories fans have told you about how Looking has personally inspired them in their own lives?

LookingThere have been so many, but we had a couple of older men who told us they came out after watching the show because it showed them such a different vision of being gay then they had seen before. I don’t think any of us can take credit for that exactly because obviously coming out is such a personal thing, but I’m so pleased that the show has helped people think about sexuality a little differently.

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