Looking...once more!

The boss of HBO - Michael Lombardo - has admitted that as a gay man he found it “very painful” to axe the channel’s flagship gay drama Looking earlier this year.

Lombardo told reporters at that the decision to end Looking at the conclusion of season two back in March was “very painful” for him on “a personal level”, DigitalSpy reports.

“I thought the show, creatively, was really doing something that I hadn’t seen on any other show, particularly dealing with gay lives,” he explained.

“As a gay man, in particular, I was very proud that there was a show that felt like it was dealing very honestly and openly with gay men and their lives, without putting them into a comedic mode.”

Lombardo added that ultimately, the show’s low ratings meant the channel couldn’t justify a third season.

Initially, over 60,000 fans signed a petition to save the Jonathan Groff and Russell Tovey-starring series from cancellation, but their disappointment was eventually allayed by the news of a feature-length movie continuation to provide the series with some closure.

The feature will appear in 2016...Looking had a weak start but gained momentum with the second series...alas, too late...the lesson: grab them from the beginning.