{{About|the series||Hunting Season (disambiguation){{!}}Hunting Season}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox television | image = Hunting Season Poster.png | caption = Season 1 logo | creator = Jon Marcus | director = Jon Marcus | writer = Jon Marcus<br>Adam Baran | starring = {{Plainlist| * Ben Baur * Pressly Coker * Jack Ferver * Tyler French * Walker Hare * Jake Manabat * Marc Sinoway }} | theme_music_composer = Jake Monaco | country = United States | language = English | num_seasons = 2 | num_episodes = 12 | runtime = 9–12 minutes (season 1)<br> 21-30 minutes (season 2) | list_episodes = | executive_producer = Jon Marcus<br>Rose Troche | network = HuntingSeason.tv <br> LOGOtv.com <br> Vimeo | first_aired = {{start date|2012|9|12}} | last_aired = {{end date|2015|5|5}} }} '''''Hunting Season''''' is an American LGBT-themed comedy-drama web series created by Jon Marcus. Following the romantic and sexual exploits of Alex (Ben Baur) and his small group of friends in New York City, the story was inspired by and largely based on the 2005–08 blog ''The Great Cock Hunt'' and the 2008 novel of the same name published by Kensington Books.

Season 1 premiered in September 2012 with eight short-format webisodes. Season 2, funded by a 2013 Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign that raised $151,406, premiered in May 2015 and consisted of four longer episodes. The series's theme music was composed by Jake Monaco.

==Premise== ''Hunting Season'' follows Alex, a single, gay, 20-something blogger for Gawker in Manhattan who begins writing anonymously about his wild social life.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.welovesoaps.net/2012/09/hunting-season.html |title=Catch Up On ''Hunting Season'' |first=Roger |last=Newcomb |work=We Love Soaps |date=September 27, 2012 |access-date=January 31, 2017}}</ref>

==Characters== * Ben Baur as Alex * Marc Sinoway as Tommy * Jake Manabat as TJ * Tyler French as Reese * Brit-Charde Sellers as Shania * Pressly Coker as Hot Sales Guy * Joshua Warr as Harris

===Season 1=== * Walker Hare as Lenny * Jack Ferver as Nick * Kate Geller as Lizzie * David Lavine as Ben

===Season 2=== * Quinn Jackson as Jamie * Yuval Boim as Will * Ken Barnett as Josh King * Hunter Hoffman as Reagan * Nic Cory as Aron * David Garelik as Nico * Ryan Barry as Luke {{clear}}

==Episodes== ===Season 1 (2012)=== {{Episode table |background=#960018 |overall=5 |season=5 |title=25 |airdate=20 |country=US |aux4=10 |aux4T=Length |episodes=

{{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 1 |EpisodeNumber2 = 1 |Title = Episode 1 |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2012|09|12}} |Aux4 = 9:40 |ShortSummary = |LineColor = 960018 }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 2 |EpisodeNumber2 = 2 |Title = Episode 2 |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2012|09|12}} |Aux4 = 11:20 |ShortSummary = |LineColor = 960018 }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 3 |EpisodeNumber2 = 3 |Title = Episode 3 |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2012|09|12}} |Aux4 = 11:54 |ShortSummary = |LineColor = 960018 }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 4 |EpisodeNumber2 = 4 |Title = Episode 4 |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2012|09|19}} |Aux4 = 11:22 |ShortSummary = |LineColor = 960018 }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 5 |EpisodeNumber2 = 5 |Title = Episode 5 |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2012|09|26}} |Aux4 = 10:35 |ShortSummary = |LineColor = 960018 }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 6 |EpisodeNumber2 = 6 |Title = Episode 6 |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2012|10|03}} |Aux4 = 9:06 |ShortSummary = |LineColor = 960018 }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 7 |EpisodeNumber2 = 7 |Title = Episode 7 |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2012|10|10}} |Aux4 = 10:18 |ShortSummary = |LineColor = 960018 }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 8 |EpisodeNumber2 = 8 |Title = Episode 8 |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2012|10|17}} |Aux4 = 11:51 |ShortSummary = |LineColor = 960018 }}

}}

===Season 2 (2015)=== {{Episode table |background=#000000 |overall=5 |season=5 |title=25 |airdate=20 |country=US |aux4=10 |aux4T=Length |episodes=

{{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 9 |EpisodeNumber2 = 1 |Title = Episode 201 |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2015|05|05}} |Aux4 = 21:05 |ShortSummary = |LineColor = 000000 }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 10 |EpisodeNumber2 = 2 |Title = Episode 202 |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2015|05|05}} |Aux4 = 27:56 |ShortSummary = |LineColor = 000000 }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 11 |EpisodeNumber2 = 3 |Title = Episode 203 |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2015|05|05}} |Aux4 = 24:28 |ShortSummary = |LineColor = 000000 }} {{Episode list |EpisodeNumber = 12 |EpisodeNumber2 = 4 |Title = Episode 204 |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2015|05|05}} |Aux4 = 29:30 |ShortSummary = |LineColor = 000000 }}

}}

==Development and production== Creator Jon Marcus was inspired to produce his own web series after watching ''The Guild'' (2007–2013) and later ''Web Therapy'' (2008–2014).<ref name="HP 2012-10">{{cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-marcus/personalized-tv-why-i-made-a-gay-web-series_b_1933877.html |title='Personalized TV': Why I Made a Gay Web Series |work=The Huffington Post |first=Jon |last=Marcus |date=October 2, 2012 |access-date=March 23, 2016}}</ref> He said in 2012: {{Blockquote|Show after show in development at American networks is a remake of something that was on the air first in another country ... Has the industry completely lost confidence in its own ability to come up with new ideas? The world of the Web was exciting to me. It reminded me of the ‘90s, when I started my career in indie film; when you could see filmmakers like Todd Haynes, Eddie Burns, Spike Lee, and Ang Lee telling unique stories with characters who hadn’t been given screen time before; and when there was a reliable audience who would show up to financially support them. I think the time is right now for audiences to be able to do that through the Web, and to support an entertainment economy that takes risks and tells original stories.<ref name="HP 2012-10"/>}}

The story is inspired by and largely based on the 2005–08 blog ''The Great Cock Hunt'' and the 2008 novel of the same name published by Kensington Books.<ref name="Observer">{{cite web |url=http://observer.com/2012/08/hunting-season-gawkers-faux-lumni-gets-web-series-shoots-in-gawker-offices/ |title=''Hunting Season'': Really Old Sex Blog Gets New Life as Web Series |work=New York Observer |first=Drew |last=Grant |date=August 30, 2012 |access-date=March 23, 2016}}</ref><ref name="EW 2012-07">{{cite magazine |url=http://popwatch.ew.com/2012/09/07/hunting-season-clip/ |title=A gay ''Sex and the City''? New web series ''Hunting Season'' tackles sex lives of gay New Yorkers |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |first=Emily |last=Rome |date=September 7, 2012 |access-date=March 23, 2016 |archive-date=November 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141118034939/http://popwatch.ew.com/2012/09/07/hunting-season-clip/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Next 2012-09">{{cite web|url=http://www.nextmagazine.com/content/tis-season-hunting-season-creator-jon-marcus-and-star-ben-bauer-talk-about-shows-nudity-new |title='Tis The Season: ''Hunting Season'' creator Jon Marcus and star Ben Bauer talk about the show's nudity, New York locales and what's coming up next |work=Next Magazine |first=Will |last=Pulos |date=September 19, 2012 |access-date=March 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021121630/http://www.nextmagazine.com/content/tis-season-hunting-season-creator-jon-marcus-and-star-ben-bauer-talk-about-shows-nudity-new |archive-date=October 21, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="About">{{cite web|url=http://huntingseason.tv/about/|title=About: ''Hunting Season'' |publisher=HuntingSeason.tv |access-date=March 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001061500/http://huntingseason.tv/about/ |archive-date=October 1, 2015}}</ref> A fan of the blog as it was being published, Marcus told ''Next Magazine'' in 2012, "My friends all passed it around. It was really hot, it was really fun and it reminded us all of being in New York, which I had been in my 20s and it was just addictive."<ref name="Next 2012-09"/> During the period of the blog's run, three cable TV networks directed at LGBT viewers had been launched: Q, Here! and Logo.<ref name="AE 2012-10">{{cite web |url=http://www.newnownext.com/interview-jon-marcus-declares-hunting-season/10/2012/ |title=Interview: Jon Marcus Declares ''Hunting Season'' |first=Ed |last=Kennedy |publisher=AfterElton |date=October 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104111841/http://www.afterelton.com/people/2012/10/interview-jon-marcus-hunting-season |archive-date=November 4, 2012 |access-date=March 23, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Noting the popularity of the racy gay drama series ''Queer as Folk'' (2000–05) on Showtime, Marcus thought one of these networks would be interested in a show about single gay men in New York.<ref name="Next 2012-09"/><ref name="AE 2012-10"/> He contacted the anonymous writer of the blog and optioned it for development as a series.<ref name="Next 2012-09"/><ref name="AE 2012-10"/> Marcus said in a 2012 AfterElton interview:

{{Blockquote|I loved the characters. I loved Alex’s voice. I thought he was as smutty, but he was also really funny and really smart. I thought that there was something about the way that he was so unabashed and shameless about his sex life. An unrepentant slut. A lot of people that I know are like that, and certainly I had a phase like this. We all went through this period in our twenties of, you know, being quite taken with the complete availability of hot single gay men in New York. But I think that there’s real shame that accompanies that period for a lot of people. People don’t like to talk about it, and here was Alex writing gleefully about all the sex he was having. A lot more sex than I had, certainly, but I really identified with him and sort of felt great about the fact that he could just reach out and celebrate it and make it okay. Alex just flings open a second closet door that I think a lot of gay men have about being sexually active.<ref name="AE 2012-10"/>}}

Marcus shelved the idea for a few years when he found that "no one in the business wanted to make the show I wanted to make".<ref name="Next 2012-09"/><ref name="AE 2012-10"/> He revisited the project in 2010 as he noticed the increased popularity and accessibility of online programming.<ref name="AE 2012-10"/> Marcus enlisted Adam Baran, and the two began adapting the blog into scripts, while also fleshing out certain characters and expanding the concept to both appeal to a wider audience and to avoid stereotypes.<ref name="AE 2012-10"/>

''Hunting Season'' is set and filmed in New York City.<ref name="Next 2012-09"/> Marcus financed the first season himself with "very, very little money",<ref name="AE 2012-10"/> and a 2013 Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign to finance season 2 of the series raised $151,406.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1419627651/season-2-of-hunting-season/|title=SEASON 2 of ''Hunting Season'': the Hit Gay Comedy Series|publisher=Kickstarter |date=December 6, 2013 |access-date=March 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323153504/https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1419627651/season-2-of-hunting-season/ |archive-date=March 23, 2016}}</ref>

==Broadcast== The first three episodes of ''Hunting Season'' were released online on Wednesday, September 12, 2012.<ref name="About"/> Five more episodes followed, one released every subsequent Wednesday until October 17, 2012.<ref name="EW 2012-07"/> An uncensored edition of the series, containing nudity, was available for paid download at HuntingSeason.tv, while a censored edition was freely available LOGOtv.com.<ref name="EW 2012-07"/><ref name="Next 2012-09"/><ref name="About"/> In August 2013, the uncensored version of season 1 became available for paid download from Vimeo On Demand,<ref name="Vimeo Ssn 1">{{cite web |url=http://vimeo.com/ondemand/huntingseason/48428703 |title=''Hunting Season'' (Season 1) |publisher=Vimeo On Demand |date=August 28, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205060936/http://vimeo.com/ondemand/huntingseason/48428703 |archive-date=December 5, 2014 |access-date=March 23, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> with the censored version free for viewing at HuntingSeason.tv.

Season 2 premiered on Vimeo on May 5, 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.out.com/truman-says/2015/5/04/mancrushmonday-ben-baur |title=#ManCrushMonday: Ben Baur |work=Out |first=Julien |last=Sauvalle |date=May 4, 2015 |access-date=March 23, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Next 2015-04">{{cite web |url=http://www.nextmagazine.com/content/preview-gay-sexcapades-hunting-season-season-2 |title=Preview the Gay Sexcapades of ''Hunting Season'' Season 2 |work=Next Magazine |first=Brandon |last=Voss |date=April 30, 2015 |access-date=March 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160406191426/http://www.nextmagazine.com/content/preview-gay-sexcapades-hunting-season-season-2 |archive-date=April 6, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Vimeo Ssn 2">{{cite web |url=https://vimeo.com/ondemand/hs2/126528348 |title=''Hunting Season'' (Season 2) |publisher=Vimeo On Demand |date=May 4, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312063603/https://vimeo.com/ondemand/hs2/126528348 |archive-date=March 12, 2016 |access-date=March 23, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Season 1 consists of eight short-format webisodes of between 9 and 12 minutes in duration,<ref name="Vimeo Ssn 1"/> and the four episodes of season 2 are between 21 and 30 minutes long.<ref name="Vimeo Ssn 2"/>

==Reception== Emily Rome of ''Entertainment Weekly'' called the series a "gay ''Sex and the City''", and noted its "full-frontal nudity".<ref name="EW 2012-07"/> ''Next Magazine'' called ''Hunting Season'' "sexy" and "racy",<ref name="Next 2012-09"/><ref name="Next 2015-04"/> noting that "the series has also gained attention for its large amount of nude scenes".<ref name="Next 2012-09"/> In January 2016, ''Out'' named Alex as one of its "30 Most Eligible Gay TV Characters",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.out.com/out-exclusives/2016/1/22/30-most-eligible-gay-tv-characters |title=30 Most Eligible Gay TV Characters |work=Out |date=January 22, 2016 |access-date=March 23, 2016}}</ref> after previously naming Baur to its ''Out''100 list in 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.out.com/out100-2015/2015/11/09/out100-ben-baur |title=''Out''100: Ben Baur |work=Out |date=November 9, 2015 |access-date=March 23, 2016}}</ref>

===Awards and nominations=== {| class=wikitable style="width:100%" ! style="background:#960018; color:#ffffff;"| Year ! style="background:#960018; color:#ffffff;"| Award ! style="background:#960018; color:#ffffff;"| Category ! style="background:#960018; color:#ffffff;"| Nominee(s) ! style="background:#960018; color:#ffffff;"| Result ! style="background:#960018; color:#ffffff;"| {{abbr|Ref.|References}} |- | rowspan="6" align="center"| 2012 | rowspan="3" align="center"| 4th Indie Soap Awards | Best Actor — Comedy | Ben Baur as Alex | {{nominated}} | align=center | <ref name="4th Indie">{{cite web |url=http://www.welovesoaps.net/2012/12/4th-indie-soap-award-nominations.html |title=4th Annual Indie Soap Awards Nominations Announced |access-date=December 24, 2012 |work = We Love Soaps |date = December 17, 2012 |first=Kevin |last=Mulcahy Jr.}}</ref> |- | Best Ensemble — Comedy | | {{nom}} | align=center | <ref name="4th Indie"/> |- | Best Soundtrack | | {{won}} | align=center | <ref name="4th Indie"/><ref name=isa2012win >{{cite web |url=http://www.welovesoaps.net/2013/02/winners-4th-annual-indie-soap-awards.html |title=WINNERS: 4th Annual Indie Soap Awards |access-date=November 13, 2013 |work = We Love Soaps |date = February 20, 2013 |first=Roger |last=Newcomb}}</ref> |- | rowspan="3" align="center"| LA Webfest Awards | Outstanding Composer (Dramedy) | Jake Monaco | {{won}} | align=center | <ref name=lawf2012win>{{cite web |url=http://www.lawebfest.com/2013-LAWEBFEST-AWARD-WINNERS.html |title=Complete List of LAWebfest 2013 Winners |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130702035502/http://www.lawebfest.com/2013-LAWEBFEST-AWARD-WINNERS.html |archive-date=July 2, 2013 |access-date=March 22, 2016}}</ref> |- | Outstanding Producer (Dramedy) | Jon Marcus | {{won}} | align=center | <ref name=lawf2012win/> |- | Outstanding Sound Design (Dramedy) | Roman Chimienti | {{won}} | align=center | <ref name=lawf2012win/> |- | rowspan="6" align="center"| 2016 | rowspan="6" align="center"| 7th Indie Series Awards | Best Web Series — Comedy | | {{nom}} | align=center | <ref name="7th Indie">{{cite web |url=http://www.indieseriesawards.com/2016/02/nominations-announced-for-7th-annual.html |date=February 3, 2016 |title=Nominations Announced For 7th Annual ISAs |publisher=Indie Series Awards |access-date=March 22, 2016}}</ref> |- | Best Writing — Comedy | Jon Marcus | {{nom}} | align=center | <ref name="7th Indie"/> |- | Best Lead Actor — Comedy | Ben Baur as Alex | {{nom}}

| align=center | <ref name="7th Indie"/> |- | Best Ensemble — Comedy | | {{win}} | align=center | <ref name="WLS 7th Indie">{{cite web |url=http://www.welovesoaps.net/2016/04/winners-7th-annual-indie-series-awards.html |title=WINNERS: 7th Annual Indie Series Awards |work=We Love Soaps |first=Roger |last=Newcomb |date=April 7, 2016 |access-date=April 8, 2016}}</ref> |- | Best Soundtrack | Grant Pavolka | {{nom}} | align=center | <ref name="7th Indie"/> |- | Best Sound Design | Roman Chimienti and Jay Pellizzi | {{nom}} | align=center | <ref name="7th Indie"/> |}

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==External links== * {{Official website|http://huntingseason.tv/}} * {{IMDb title|2368518|Hunting Season}}

Category:2012 web series debuts Category:American comedy web series Category:American drama web series Category:American LGBTQ-related web series Category:Gay-related television shows