In addition to his role on the NBC pirate drama, Perfetti has appeared on the likes of Next Caller, which was cancelled before it aired, and Submissions Only, while Salahuddin’s television credits include The Mindy Project, Bones, and Help Me Help You. They join a growing cast that includes recent additional Daniel Franzese (Mean Girls) as Eddie, a non-profit employee who will be a love interest for a current series regular. Season one recurring players Raul Castillo (Cold Weather), Russell Tovey (Being Human), and Lauren Weedman (The Five-Year Engagement) have already been promoted to series regulars for season two.

The 10-episode second season of Looking is set to premiere in early 2015. You can check out a recap of the first season finale here.

Will you be watching the second season of Looking? Who would you like to see Perfetti and Salahuddin romance during their stints on the show? How do you think Patrick will deal with the events of the first season finale and the status of his relationship with Richie?

The post Looking Season 2: Chris Perfetti and Bashir Salahuddin Join the Cast appeared first on TVHackr.

The most likely love interest for Eddie seems to be Agustin, who ended the first season single following a major dust-up with Frank. Getting together with someone who works with non-profits could give the struggling artist the type of perspective and direction that he needs, while the self-improvement from Agustin could make Frank rethink his decision to end things. No matter how awful things got by the end, the two had something once and if Frank sees the man that Agustin used to be coming out again, he could want to give a relationship another try.

In addition to his role in the cult comedy classic, Franzese has appeared on the likes of The Comeback, Party Down, and Burn Notice. His addition to the show follows the promotion of Russell Tovey (Being Human), Lauren Weedman (The Five-Year Engagement), and Raul Castillo (Cold Weather) to series regulars after all three recurred during season one.

The second season of Looking, which recently began production, will premiere in early 2015. You can check out a recap of the first season finale here.

Will you be watching the second season of Looking? Which character do you think Eddie could be romancing? Who else would you like to see join the show?

The post Looking Season 2: Daniel Franzese Joins the Cast appeared first on TVHackr.

While Looking wasn’t impressive in the live ratings, the series managed a second season renewal due to strong HBO Go figures, a groundswell of critical and fan support, and building in the live ratings for several consecutive weeks after a nearly disastrous debut. The series is more plot-y than your average comedy and thus could use the expanded episode count to great effect, further fleshing out its world and exploring nuances that might not have been tenable had HBO kept them at eight episodes.

Centered on three gay friends living in San Francisco and dealing with issues in their personal and professional lives, Looking stars Jonathan Groff (The Normal Heart), Murray Bartlett (All My Children), and Frankie J. Alvarez (Smash).

The second season of Looking is set to premiere in early 2015 on HBO. You can check out a recap of the first season finale here.

Do you think an expanded episode count will be good for Looking? Will we see Patrick do the work to make getting back together with Richie a possibility in season two? How will Kevin figure into Patrick’s love life now that the latter is single and vulnerable?

The post Looking Season 2 to Consist of 10 Episodes appeared first on TVHackr.

While Dom calls Lynn to check on the flower delivery and inquire about his presence at that night’s popup, Patrick heads to work, late for a meeting with Kevin and the rest of the team. Afterward, he has his lunch on the roof and Kevin joins him, trying to talk to him about the kiss at the wedding. However, Patrick calls it water under the bridge and won’t engage Kevin about their awkward moment. That evening, he runs into a wasted Agustin, who took some ecstasy he had in his drawer, outside Punjab. The two make it in to Dom’s decidedly unpopulated popup and while Dom sees to a group of Lynn’s friends that come in, Patrick fills Agustin in on the recent complications in his love life. Agustin questions whether Richie is just done rather than needing space and what exactly about Richie Patrick likes; Patrick says that he likes how sweet, genuine, and scorching hot Richie is while trying to keep Agustin away from the wine.

Lynn ends up bringing a date to the popup, a handsome younger man who makes Dom feel insecure enough to go into the kitchen and take a moment for himself. When, of course, he’s not dealing with a potato shortage and Doris talking about sitting on Lynn’s date’s face. While Agustin and Patrick go outside and talk about how the latter has a thing for Kevin, Doris finds Lynn in the restaurant and tells him that while Dom can be hard-headed, he just wanted to know that he could trust his instincts and that he’s able to do a good job on his own. Before she lets him go, she simply tells Lynn that Dom’s worth it, meaning that he’s worth investing the time and effort in regarding a relationship.

Agustin brings up the idea of moving back in with Patrick and resuming their Golden Girls Saturdays, but Patrick says that he has to have time to think about it. Not helping things is that Kevin won’t stop calling and Agustin forces Patrick to answer, which leads to him having to leave and go into work. However, when he gets to Most Dangerous Games, he learns that Kevin took care of the issue and instead wants to talk about the kiss over a beer. Patrick tries to shut him down, but Kevin tells him how much effort it takes to not kiss him in public and how he can’t get him off his mind. Uncomfortable, Patrick wants to go and Kevin kisses him twice; Patrick kisses back and soon enough pants are off and the two are having sex on the floor of the office. Afterwards, he asks what’s next for them and Kevin doesn’t know. Back at the restaurant, Lynn prepares to leave and compliments Dom on doing a good job with the popup. Dom pulls him aside and tries to apologize for being an asshole before proposing that the other day count as something of a learning curve and that they continue doing popups together. Which, he adds, could lead to something more permanent. Lynn confesses that after tonight, their working relationship comes to an end and Dom kisses him accordingly.

Patrick makes it home and runs into Richie, who is waiting for him at his steps. This time, Richie does the talking, as he tells Patrick that he felt disrespected after what happened on the way to the wedding and that he’s still working on dealing with his pride issues. He continues that Patrick rushed everything in their relationship, but he didn’t stop it because he liked him so much. In fact, Richie claims to be close to falling in love with Patrick and will only let himself if he knows that Patrick is ready for it, which he doesn’t think he is right now. Patrick cries and the two part ways with a kiss on the cheek.

Patrick goes in his place and finds Agustin asleep on the bed with the Golden Girls on pause. He unpauses and begins trying to cheer himself up.

Additional thoughts and observations:
-“I just wanna lick his armpits all day long.”
-“You’re so Mother Hen.”
-I still think Agustin is an asshole, but this is the first episode where I felt more sympathy for him than I did annoyance. I feel like I understood what made him tick (insecurity, jealousy) and why he clung so tightly to Patrick (latent attraction, fear of being left behind), so it was nice for that to manifest itself into him being a character you empathize with; the show decided to play on how sad a person he is and it definitely humanized him vs. the prick that he had been written as prior to tonight’s episode. As much as I loved Frank telling him how it is (I love Frank in general, but y’know), hopefully all this will lead to a better, more self-aware Agustin in season two, one who has known what rock bottom feels like and wants to do anything in his power to avoid going there again.
-If you didn’t cry at Richie showing up at Patrick’s place with the hat from the pilot on, you are a cyborg. If you didn’t cry at all the beautifully real things Richie told Patrick, you are a cyborg. Because that was a stunning gut punch of a scene that highlighted everything I love about their chemistry and the dynamic that exists between the two characters.
-Doris coming through in the clutch to help Dom land his man. Her telling Lynn that Dom was worth it was very touching, especially coming from a comedy-heavy character, yet I couldn’t relax until I saw Lynn kissed him back. Even though bringing a young guy to the popup was a bit of a clueless move, especially since he knows Dom’s insecurities about his age and the feelings that existed between them, I’m glad that Dom has found somebody who could be more than just a one night thing and that it looks like everything’s finally turning around for him.
-That being said, I expected Lynn’s date to be Ethan, since the episode description made it seem like the identity of the date (and not just the general appearance) was going to be a big thing. Silly HBO.
-Let’s have a moment of silence for that sex scene between Kevin and Patrick. Because I honestly can’t remember the last time there was a scene like that with two gay men that wasn’t on a drama with a heightened reality (e.g. Spartacus) and that was a long time coming. And I love how it wasn’t just an implied thing – they stayed on the scene and Jonathan Groff’s face for much longer than what I expected.
-I’m very much #TeamRichie and all that, but Russell Tovey’s delivery of his “you don’t know how much effort it takes not to kiss you” spiel was incredibly sexy. I would have given it up, too, Patrick. Don’t worry.
-The final scene might have been the best use of a Golden Girls reference that I’ve ever seen. It was such a bittersweet capper on an emotionally complicated finale and boiled the show down to its essence – for all the talk of romance and love and such, this is a show about friendship and Agustin moving back in only underlined that point. It feels as if season two will pull Dom, Agustin, and Patrick together a little more, since they were kind of floating off in their own spheres for much of season one, and I’m excited to see how that changes the feel of what we know Looking to be.
-Thank you guys for hanging with me and my coverage of Looking this season. Please tell your friends, family members, or anybody you think would love this show about its existence. We barely got a season two and this is the type of show, both in terms of quality and importance, that deserves to stay on for quite some time.

The post Looking Season Finale Recap: Who Did Patrick End Up With? appeared first on TVHackr.

On the season finale of Looking, Patrick must now go to Richie and somehow keep their relationship from imploding even more than it already has. But it’s going to be difficult since Richie takes commitment very seriously and things with Patrick took a noticeable downturn when they went from simply having a good time to being boyfriends; he might be able to forgive Patrick for what happened, just because he can’t afford to have baggage like that weighing him down, but it’s going to take a lot for him to give the relationship another chance. For Richie to want Patrick back in his life, he’s going to have to see something in his (former?) boyfriend that shows him that things are going to be different, that Patrick is ready and willing to commit himself to their relationship and that he has a better understanding of himself than he did previously. If none of that is apparent, Richie could opt to cut his losses and move on, leaving Patrick with more regrets than he knows what to do with.

Elsewhere on Looking, Frank tells Agustin what he really thinks about their relationship and his art, while Dom is surprised at Lynn’s guest of choice for the restaurant popup.

Looking airs Sundays at 10:30 on HBO. The series has already been renewed for a second season.

Should Richie forgive Patrick for his behavior before the wedding? How will Agustin handle Frank’s moment of brutal honesty? Who could Lynn be bringing to the restaurant popup?

The post Looking 1.08 Sneak Peek: Will Richie Forgive Patrick? appeared first on TVHackr.

Listed below are the dates, titles, descriptions, and encore information for the final two episodes of Looking‘s first season.

Sunday, March 2nd – “Looking for a Plus-One”
Already stressed that his parents will judge his choice of a partner in Richie (Raúl Castillo), Patrick (Jonathan Groff) reaches new levels of anxiety before his sister’s wedding, and runs into an unexpected guest when he arrives. Still unsure whether to pursue a business or personal relationship, Dom (Murray Bartlett) rebuffs Lynn’s (Scott Bakula) advice while in the throes of preparing for his restaurant popup. Unhappy with his photos of Frank (O-T Fagbenle) and CJ (TJ Linnard), Agustín (Frankie J. Alvarez) drops out of the art show, leaving Frank fuming.
Other HBO playdates: March 2 (12:30 p.m., 2:30 a.m.), 3 (11:00 p.m.), 4 (10:30 p.m.), 5 (9:00 p.m., 12:30 a.m.), 6 (8:30 p.m.) and 7 (12:30 a.m.)
HBO2 playdates: March 3 (10:30 p.m.), 6 (9:00 p.m.) and 8 (11:30 p.m.)

Sunday, March 9th – “Looking Glass” (Season Finale)
Patrick looks to mend fences after Richie’s abrupt exit the previous day. Frank tells Agustín what he really thinks about their relationship and his art. Later, Patrick and Agustín join Dom at the opening of his restaurant popup, where Dom is surprised by Lynn’s choice of guest.
Other HBO playdates: March 9 (12:30 a.m., 2:30 a.m.), 10 (11:00 p.m.), 11 (10:30 p.m.), 12 (9:00 p.m., 12:30 a.m.), 13 (8:30 p.m.) and 14 (1:30 a.m.)
HBO2 playdates: March 10 (10:30 p.m.), 13 (9:00 p.m.) and 15 (11:30 p.m.)

Looking airs Sundays at 10:30 on HBO.

Will Patrick be able to mend fences with Richie? Is this the end of Frank and Agustin as a couple? Who will Lynn bring to the opening of Dom’s popup?

The post Looking Season Finale Spoilers: Patrick Looks to Mend Fences appeared first on TVHackr.

On the next episode of Looking, Patrick runs into Kevin at his sister’s wedding while without Richie, something that causes even further complications in his line of thinking. What’s been the main problem in his love life is that Patrick cares too much about what other think about his boyfriends – he wants to have somebody that everyone else feels is right for him rather than trusting his heart and his head to find the one, a sign of his insecurity. Kevin is the type of guy that Patrick thinks that his loved ones want him to be with, someone with the type of prestige and success that impresses at dinner parties and social gatherings, and that might be part of the reason Patrick is so drawn to him – he is the ideal, the guy he could take home to impress his parents. But will Patrick be able to get out of his head long enough to realize that his attraction to Kevin is another in a line of self-sabotaging moves meant to keep himself as unhappy as he has been lately? Or is he going to go after Kevin, thereby making things awkward at work and ruining any chance he has of making things last with Richie?

Elsewhere on Looking, Dom rebuffs Lynn’s advice on how to handle his restaurant popup, while Agustin drops out of the art show due to his dissatisfaction at the photos of Frank and CJ.

Looking airs Sundays at 10:30 on HBO. The show was renewed for a second season earlier this week.

Why do you think that Richie decided to ditch out of the wedding early? Will seeing Kevin cause Patrick’s feelings for Richie to become more complicated? How will Frank handle Agustin dropping out of the art show that he fought so hard to get into?

The post Looking 1.07 Sneak Peek: Patrick Runs into Kevin at the Wedding appeared first on TVHackr.

A renewal for Looking didn’t always seem likely, as the show debuted to an underwhelming 338,000 viewers last month, a sharp drop-off from what its lead-in Girls was doing and a number that wouldn’t be sustainable, even on HBO, where live ratings aren’t the end all, be all of renewal decisions. However, thanks to strong word of mouth, the show has built in the ratings for several weeks running, resulting in a season high 519,000 live viewers for the most recent episode and two million weekly viewers once originals, replays, HBO Go, and On Demand are counted.

The show should return in winter 2015, where it will air along with the fourth season of Girls and the second season of True Detective; the latter doesn’t have an official renewal yet, though it’s a lock to return considering critical buzz, awards potential, and a massive 10 million weekly viewers. There’s been a lot of turnover in the HBO lineup in recent months, particularly when it comes to their comedies, as Family Tree and Hello Ladies were cancelled while fellow low-key comedy Getting On received its own second season recently. HBO also ordered broader-skewing The Brink and Ballers, with both likely being used in place of the drama carnage that will befall the network by the end of the year with True Blood, Boardwalk Empire, and The Newsroom all set to end in 2014.

Looking airs Sundays at 10:30 on HBO.

Are you excited about getting another season of Looking? What do you hope happens during season two? Should HBO continuing airing the show with Girls and True Detective next year?

The post HBO Renews Looking for Season 2 appeared first on TVHackr.

On the next episode of Looking, Patrick introduces Richie to his friends and while reaction is generally positive/welcoming, Agustin makes it clear that he’s not happy. Whether that be due to jealousy over not being with Patrick himself or anxiety over Patrick finding a life where he won’t always be available, that type of resistance is likely to take the wind out of Patrick’s sails and cause him to rethink the confidence he found in his relationship with Richie. As much as he wants to be the type of unapologetic gay man who does as he pleases and doesn’t pay any mind to what people think, he’s not made that much progress yet and the idea that his friends won’t be supportive of Richie could lead him to overanalyze his new boyfriend’s flaws and try to decipher what it is that isn’t meshing well with his friends. But this would only end up being another example of Patrick’s aversion to happiness peeking through, as the thought of being in a serious relationship is scary for him and Agustin’s reaction might give him the push needed to revert back to his old habits and cocoon himself in a word of friends with benefits and OK Cupid personal ads.

Elsewhere on Looking, Dom’s relationship with Lynn becomes more cloudy, while CJ and Frank cross paths at Dom’s birthday picnic.

Looking airs Sundays at 10:30 on HBO.

Will Agustin’s reaction to Richie cause Patrick to doubt his relationship? Should Dom make a move on Lynn or keep things purely professional in nature? How will Frank react to meeting the infamous CJ?

The post Looking 1.06 Sneak Peek: Patrick Introduces Richie to His Friends appeared first on TVHackr.

On the next episode of Looking, Patrick calls in sick and spends the day traveling around San Francisco with Richie. The two found each other again at Stud the night after Folsom and they could no longer deny the chemistry they have, not when Patrick was apologetic about the foreskin comment and the connotation that came with it. Having the day to themselves will allow them to further develop their connection without any distractions while giving Patrick the chance to show Richie who he really is; thus far in their brief time together, Patrick has decidedly not been himself whenever around Richie, often getting too nervous to function and saying things in the way that he doesn’t intend them, and if there’s any hope of the two pursuing something serious, he’s going to have to show Richie that he’s more than what he’s shown and that he’s left the days of fuck buddies and casual sex behind.

Looking airs Sundays at 10:30 on HBO.

Will the trip around San Francisco help to reconnect Patrick and Richie following their time apart? What do you expect to learn about both during their time together? Has Patrick gotten Kevin off his mind enough to be able to devote his attention to Richie?

The post Looking 1.05 Sneak Peek: Patrick Takes a Sick Day to Spend Time with Richie appeared first on TVHackr.