Jonathan Groff: ‘There’s not a lot of gay programming on TV’
By Josh Haggis
Jonathan Groff has argued that there should be more programs targeted at the LGBT community on television.
During an interview in which he discussed the cancellation of HBO’s gay-themed show Looking, Groff explained that he hopes that the show’s legacy will spark an interest in the creation of more original, quality gay programming by TV networks.
“There’s not a lot of gay programming on TV,” he told People. “We wanted to create a show with gay men where they weren’t tragic figures or the comedic relief or sexually sensationalized but just multi-dimensional human beings. ”
He continued: “So, I feel sad that it was canceled but grateful for the time that we had. That was amazing to see that sort of outpouring of love and support for the show. I think that speaks to just the need and desire for more gay stories to be told. Hopefully it maybe paved the way for other people to create [more] gay stories.”
“Hopefully someday there won’t be just one gay show on the air but multiple shows. I remember being a kid and feeling like when somebody mentioned in a moment that they were gay or [saw someone gay] on TV, it was like an exciting sense of relief to see someone talk about being gay, so I try to do that as often as I can.”
“It sort of goes back to that Harvey Milk thing of, ‘Tell your friends, tell everyone. I always try to wear that on my sleeve,” he added.
Despite being cancelled last month (March) following lacklustre viewing figures, HBO confirmed that Looking will be wrapped up with TV film that actor Frankie J Alvarez claims will be equivalent to a four episode series.
Meanwhile, Looking star and Attitude columnist Daniel Franzese told attitude.co.uk exclusively that he is “walking away from the show a changed man” – find out more here.
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