looking canceled renewed
Patrick (Jonathan Groff, center), Dom (Murray Bartlett, right) and Agustín (Frankie J. Alvarez) will have one chance to tell the final "Looking" story in an HBO special. HBO

“Looking” just finished Season 2 on Sunday, and it’s about to wrap up forever. HBO announced that there would not be another season of adventures for Patrick (Jonathan Groff), Dom (Murray Bartlett) and Agustín (Frankie J. Alvarez). But their story isn’t quite over yet. The boys will reunite for a finale special.

With plans for a special in the works, some "Looking" fans might wonder why HBO would cancel the program. Despite having diehard fans, the series about gay men in San Francisco probably was canned because not enough people were tuning in. With an average of 240,000 viewers, it certainly isn’t a hit like the network's “Game of Thrones.” It isn’t even on the level of less popular HBO shows like “Girls,” which averaged more than a half a million viewers on the same nights as "Looking" this season.

Another possible reason for the "Looking" cancellation is that HBO has the luxury of not being ruled by sponsors. While they could keep a show with a small and dedicated audience, “Looking” lost more than a third of its viewers from Season 1, according to TV Series Finale. That’s a sizable loss, so the cancellation is understandable.

However, the network is allowing a special to be made to give the characters a proper sendoff. “After two years of following Patrick and his tight-knit group of friends as they explored San Francisco in search of love and lasting relationships, HBO will present the final chapter of their journey as a special,” the network said in a statement (via Entertainment Weekly). “We look forward to sharing this adventure with the show's loyal fans.”

The special is likely to be longer than a typical 30-minute episode of “Looking.” The show’s creator, Michael Lannan, referred to the special as “a movie” on Twitter.

A final movie is good news for “Looking” viewers. The Season 2 finale left off on a very ambiguous note. After Patrick fought with his boyfriend Kevin (Russell Tovey), it wasn’t clear if they broke up. The final scene in the barbershop of his ex-boyfriend Richie (Raúl Castillo) made the ending even more uncertain. Fans hope to get real answers in the “Looking” movie.

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