Alerts & Newsletters

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

‘Looking’ Canceled by HBO After 2 Seasons, Though The Story Isn’t Over

'Looking' Canceled by HBO After 2 Seasons, Though The Story Isn't Over
'Looking' Canceled HBO After 2 Seasons, Though The Story Isn't Over

READ MORE: ‘Looking’ Back: Reviewing The Entire Second Season, Episode By Episode

“Looking” is shutting its eyes. Following the conclusion of its second season, the dramedy created by Michael Lannan and directed by Andrew Haigh has been canceled by HBO.  

The Season 2 finale — which ended on what was presumably a pretty dramatic cliffhanger (I didn’t read the details, because I still need to catch up) — won’t be where things end. Similar to the cancelation of Stephen Merchant’s “Hello Ladies,” HBO will produce a special episode to conclude the series.

Despite a groundswell of praise for its nuanced portrait of its San Francisco gay life, “Looking” failed to attract strong ratings and awards attention, the latter of which can be especially key for HBO in making renewal decisions. 

But the fact that “Looking” got a second season was in line with a general network trend, in recent years, to give shows more than their first block of episodes to develop a following. HBO especially has led in this regard — even underperforming series like “How to Make It In America” ran for a second season. 

Is two seasons enough to prove the potential of a show? Maybe not. Is “Looking” really truly done? Television these days is too full of weird survival stories to write it off entirely. At the very least, the show’s loyal fans have the special to look forward to, and the opportunity to get their friends hooked in the meantime.  

READ MORE: The Journey to Self-Acceptance: Why HBO’s ‘Looking’ Is One of the Most Important Shows on TV

Daily Headlines
Daily Headlines covering Film, TV and more.

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Must Read
PMC Logo
IndieWire is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2024 IndieWire Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.