Readers' Choice Award Nomination: The Cast of Looking

Pictured: Frankie J. Alvarez, Jonathan Groff & Murray Bartlett

"Trying to humanize the gay experience and make it universal while also trying to tell specifically gay stories is an interesting Catch-22," Jonathan Groff, the star of Looking, told Out last year before the season 1 premiere of the HBO show. "Because there is something unique and special about being gay--and, there's something completely normal and just like everybody else about being gay."

Although the fact that gay actors--including Groff, Murray Bartlett, and Russell Tovey--are playing gay characters in a decidedly honest way remains a landmark in TV history. It should be noted that it's also the straight male actors--such as Frankie J. Alvarez, Raul Castro, and Scott Bakula--that give it just as much power for audiences.

In a year that so many strides for LGBT people on TV, Looking will return for its second season in January 2015, adding new actors and characters, and continuing to push boundaries. Something that should never be estimated when it comes to the influence the media has on popular opinion.

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