{ "id": "ep28434z64", "slug": "hunting-season", "title": "Hunting Season", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "label": "Web-native and streaming-original series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.lgbt_webseries", "label": "LGBT-related web series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.lgbt_webseries" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "label": "United States · 2001 to 2020: Web-native and streaming-original series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001", "label": "United States · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "label": "Web-native and streaming-original series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Hunting Season is an American LGBT comedy-drama web series (2012–2015) by Jon Marcus, based on The Great Cock Hunt blog, starring Ben Baur as blogging Alex; also the title of a 2025 Mel Gibson thriller and other works.", "snippet": "Hunting Season is an American LGBT comedy-drama web series (2012–2015) by Jon Marcus, based on The Great Cock Hunt blog, starring Ben Baur as blogging Alex; also the title of a 2025 Mel Gibson thriller and other works.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.lgbt_webseries", "markdown": "# Hunting Season\n\n**Hunting Season** is an American comedy-drama web series with LGBT themes, created by Jon Marcus, that tracks Alex, a gay Manhattan writer who is single, and his circle of friends as they navigate romance and careers in New York City; after finding himself unattached, Alex launches a confidential sex blog that he uses to sort out what he truly desires.[1](https://huntingseason.tv/about-the-show/) 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.[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/hunting-season) The same title has also been used for a 2025 American action thriller starring [Mel Gibson](https://www.edgepedia.org/mel-gibson), an Argentine drama released internationally as *[Hunting Season](https://www.edgepedia.org/hunting-season-2025-film)*, a Turkish crime film, a Dutch game show format, and other works, which are listed at the end of this article.\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Format | Two seasons: Season 1 of 8 ten-minute episodes on LogoTV.com; Season 2 of 4 half-hour episodes on Vimeo on Demand[1](https://huntingseason.tv/about-the-show/) |\n| Run | 2012–2015; 12 episodes; status ended[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/5544/hunting-season) |\n| Creator | Jon Marcus, who also wrote and directed; writer Adam Baran contributed to 8 episodes[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/5544/hunting-season) • [4](https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/68151-hunting-season/cast?language=en-US) |\n| Season 2 funding | A $150,000 Kickstarter campaign; episodes expanded from about 10 to about 20 minutes[5](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/hunting-season-new-tv-10428/) |\n| Principal cast | Ben Baur (Alex), Marc Sinoway (Tommy), Jake Manabat (TJ), Jack Ferver (Nick), Tyler French (Reese), Walker Hare (Lenny)[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/5544/hunting-season) |\n| Reception | IMDb rating 7.3/10 from about 1,200 votes[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2368518/) |\n| Awards | Best Comedy Ensemble at the 7th Annual Indie Series Awards; Outstanding Composer, Producer, and Sound Design at LA Webfest 2012[1](https://huntingseason.tv/about-the-show/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Content and intent\n\nThe series follows Alex (Ben Baur), a writer for Gawker who chronicles his sexual encounters on an anonymous blog, with his friends Tommy (Marc Sinoway), a skilled cruiser; Nick (Jack Ferver), the older member of the group who wants a relationship; and TJ (Jake Manabat), in a long-term relationship that appears headed for trouble.[5](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/hunting-season-new-tv-10428/) • [12](https://thejkreview.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/hunting-season/) In season 2, Alex runs into someone from his past and reconsiders the consequences of his freedom, Tommy confronts someone who despises him, and TJ and his husband explore non-monogamy in their marriage.[13](https://www.attitude.co.uk/culture/film-tv/watch-first-trailer-for-hunting-season-series-two-284485/)\n\nMarcus's stated aim was to show gay characters with full sex lives, in the same way straight characters have them, at a time when he felt broadcasters had lost interest in gay-led shows after *Queer as Folk* and *The L Word*. The uncensored cut includes frontal nudity; Marcus said the point was not pornography but refusing to cut away when characters have sex, and he described the show as comparable to *Sex and the City* for gay men.[5](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/hunting-season-new-tv-10428/) • [14](https://www.out.com/entertainment/popnography/2012/10/31/hunting-season-ben-bauer-jon-marcus-logo) Reviewers made the same comparison, calling it a gay *Sex and the City* about a blogger dealing with sex, New York, and his three best friends.[12](https://thejkreview.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/hunting-season/)\n\n## Origin and production\n\nJon Marcus, a producer on films including *Boys Don't Cry* and *Hedwig and the Angry Inch* and the ABC series *Scoundrels*, conceived the series after a dispute with ABC's standards and practices department while working on *Scoundrels*. He acquired the rights to *The Great Cock Hunt*, an anonymous blog about one gay man's sexual life in New York City, about five years before the show's debut, and pitched an adaptation to the gay networks Logo, Here, and Q; all three declined.[5](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/hunting-season-new-tv-10428/) • [7](https://www.fastcompany.com/1681581/the-gay-web-series-too-real-for-tv-not-racy-enough-for-porn)\n\n**Self-financing and the Logo deal.** Marcus left his job as a TV producer, sold most of his belongings, moved from Los Angeles to New York, and self-financed a season of eight episodes. Just weeks before the planned online launch in 2012, Logo contacted him and offered a contract to broadcast the series on LogoTV.com.[7](https://www.fastcompany.com/1681581/the-gay-web-series-too-real-for-tv-not-racy-enough-for-porn) • [8](https://www.havasedition.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/best-of-protege-1.pdf) The show premiered on September 12, 2012, in two versions: an edited, safe-for-work cut on Logo's website and an uncensored cut for paid download on HuntingSeason.TV, with new episodes on both platforms each Wednesday.[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2368518/) • [7](https://www.fastcompany.com/1681581/the-gay-web-series-too-real-for-tv-not-racy-enough-for-porn)\n\n**Season 2.** Logo was unable to back a second season, so the production turned to [Kickstarter](https://www.edgepedia.org/kickstarter) with a $150,000 campaign that closed on December 6, 2013.[9](https://www.out.com/entertainment/popnography/2013/11/25/fund-hunting-season-web-series-ben-baur) • [10](https://www.queerty.com/watch-gay-webseries-hunting-season-producers-plan-even-sexier-second-season-20131121/) The funded season brought functional changes: episodes grew from about 10 minutes to a sitcom-length average of around 20 minutes, and the business model changed from a free censored version plus a paid uncensored version to an uncensored-only version that viewers could buy for $4.99 or rent for $2.99 per episode on Vimeo on Demand.[5](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/hunting-season-new-tv-10428/) The four half-hour episodes premiered beginning May 5, 2015, with the final episode airing May 26, 2015.[11](https://vimeo.com/125793510?p=1t) • [3](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/5544/hunting-season)\n\n## Reception and recognition\n\nThe first season drew press attention for its frank treatment of gay sex; BuzzFeed listed it among six stand-out gay web series of 2012, and *The Guardian* described it in 2013 as a sexually frank show about a 20-something gay man exploring the sexscape of New York, part of a wave of gay-themed web dramas flourishing while mainstream networks stayed cautious.[15](https://www.buzzfeed.com/stacylambe/6-gay-web-series-you-should-have-watched-in-2012) • [16](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2013/mar/05/gay-web-dramas-television-networks) The show's own press page records coverage in *The New York Times*, *Entertainment Weekly*, *Fast Company*, *The Guardian*, and *The Wall Street Journal*, among others.[17](https://huntingseason.tv/press/)\n\n**Awards.** The series won Best Comedy Ensemble at the 7th Annual Indie Series Awards, with nominations for Best Comedy Series, Best Actor (Ben Baur), Best Writing, Best Soundtrack, and Best Sound Design; it won Best Soundtrack at the 4th Annual Indie Soap Awards; and it took Outstanding Composer, Outstanding Producer, and Outstanding Sound Design at LA Webfest 2012. It screened at Outfest, NewFest, the Rainbow Film Festival of Ogunquit, and the Palm Springs Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. In January 2016, *Out* named Alex one of its \"30 Most Eligible Gay TV Characters\", after naming Baur to its Out100 list in 2015.[1](https://huntingseason.tv/about-the-show/)\n\nOn IMDb the series holds a 7.3/10 rating from about 1,200 votes, with season 2 episodes rating between 7.1 and 8.0.[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2368518/) • [18](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2368518/ratings/) The series is currently on hiatus while its makers seek financing and distribution partners; the censored first season has been streamable free on Vimeo, with the uncensored version and DVDs sold through the show's site.[1](https://huntingseason.tv/about-the-show/)\n\n## Other works titled Hunting Season\n\nSeveral unrelated productions share the title:\n\n- **Hunting Season (2025 film)**, an American action thriller written by Adam Hampton, directed by RJ Collins, and starring Mel Gibson, Sofia Hublitz, Shelley Hennig, and Jordi Mollà. A reclusive survivalist and his daughter rescue a wounded woman from a river and are pursued by a drug lord. It was released in limited theaters and on streaming on December 5, 2025, by Samuel Goldwyn Films, runs 93 minutes, and scored 53% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer and 5.8/10 on IMDb.[19](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hunting_season_2025) • [20](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32537226/) • [21](https://www.samuelgoldwynfilms.com/hunting-season/)\n- ***Temporada de Caza* (Hunting Season, 2016)**, an Argentine-Uruguayan-Qatari drama directed by Natalia Garagiola in which a violent teenager, after his mother's death, must spend three months with the hunter father he has not seen in over a decade in southern Argentina. The 92-minute film won one award with one nomination at the [Venice Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/venice-film-festival).[22](https://media.dohafilm.com/sites/default/files/prod/2025-04/GrantsCatalogue-DFI2014.pdf) • [23](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/hunting-season/)\n- ***Av Mevsimi* (Hunting Season, 2010)**, a 140-minute Turkish crime drama written and directed by Yavuz Turgul about three homicide detectives whose lives are upended during a murder investigation, starring Şener Şen, Cem Yılmaz, and Çetin Tekindor.[24](https://pro.imdb.com/title/tt1668191/)\n- **Hunting Season (game show)**, a 2021 format from Talpa Studios and StukTV in which a celebrity duo flees three prison guards for four hours while wearing GPS transmitters; it aired on SBS6 and Amazon Prime Video and was sold to broadcasters in Belgium, Spain, Lithuania, Poland, and Serbia.[25](https://talpastudios.com/format/hunting-season/)\n- **\"Hunting Season\" (SOKO Cologne episode)**, a 45-minute German crime episode, distributed by ZDF Studios, in which detectives investigate the shooting death of a young animal-rights activist with a hunting gun.[26](https://www.zdf-studios.com/en/program-catalog/international/drama/series/crime-suspense/soko-cologne/hunting-season)\n- **The Hunting Season (1935)**, a Van Beuren *Rainbow Parade* animated short directed by Burt Gillett and Tom Palmer with music by Winston Sharples.[27](https://3863-21905.el-alt.com/iad_entries/history?shortID=1741)\n- ***The Hunting Season* (play)**, a play by Magaly Colimon presented by Conch Shell Productions at the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity, about a Haitian mother who has a premonition that her son will be killed by police on his 18th birthday.[28](https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/8d889578-db34-495b-a3ac-079351363913/downloads/1cjeg9r69_11274.pdf?ver=1742248562931)\n\n## References\n\n1. [About the Show, Hunting Season official site](https://huntingseason.tv/about-the-show/)\n2. [Hunting Season, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/hunting-season)\n3. [Hunting Season, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/5544/hunting-season)\n4. [Hunting Season (2012) cast and crew, The Movie Database](https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/68151-hunting-season/cast?language=en-US)\n5. [It's 'Hunting Season' for New TV, Backstage](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/hunting-season-new-tv-10428/)\n6. [Hunting Season (TV Series 2012–2015), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2368518/)\n7. [The Gay Web Series Too Real For TV, Not Racy Enough For Porn, Fast Company](https://www.fastcompany.com/1681581/the-gay-web-series-too-real-for-tv-not-racy-enough-for-porn)\n8. [MARS 2016 – Publics de niche et média LGBT en ligne, Havas Éditions](https://www.havasedition.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/best-of-protege-1.pdf)\n9. [Fund This: 'Hunting Season' Web Series, Out.com](https://www.out.com/entertainment/popnography/2013/11/25/fund-hunting-season-web-series-ben-baur)\n10. [WATCH: Gay Webseries \"Hunting Season\" Producers Plan Even Sexier Second Season, Queerty](https://www.queerty.com/watch-gay-webseries-hunting-season-producers-plan-even-sexier-second-season-20131121/)\n11. [Hunting Season – Season Two Trailer, Vimeo](https://vimeo.com/125793510?p=1t)\n12. [\"Hunting Season\" Puts Gay Sex (and Relationships) in the City, The JK Review](https://thejkreview.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/hunting-season/)\n13. [Watch: First trailer for Hunting Season series two, Attitude](https://www.attitude.co.uk/culture/film-tv/watch-first-trailer-for-hunting-season-series-two-284485/)\n14. [What Makes 'Hunting Season' Special?, Out.com](https://www.out.com/entertainment/popnography/2012/10/31/hunting-season-ben-bauer-jon-marcus-logo)\n15. [6 Stand Out Gay Web Series Of 2012, BuzzFeed](https://www.buzzfeed.com/stacylambe/6-gay-web-series-you-should-have-watched-in-2012)\n16. [Gay web dramas flourish as TV networks cling to the status quo, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2013/mar/05/gay-web-dramas-television-networks)\n17. [Press, Hunting Season official site](https://huntingseason.tv/press/)\n18. [Hunting Season ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2368518/ratings/)\n19. [Hunting Season (2025), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hunting_season_2025)\n20. [Hunting Season (2025), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32537226/)\n21. [Hunting Season, Samuel Goldwyn Films](https://www.samuelgoldwynfilms.com/hunting-season/)\n22. [Doha Film Institute Production Grant catalogue, Spring 2014](https://media.dohafilm.com/sites/default/files/prod/2025-04/GrantsCatalogue-DFI2014.pdf)\n23. [Hunting Season reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/hunting-season/)\n24. [Hunting Season (2010) / Av Mevsimi, IMDbPro](https://pro.imdb.com/title/tt1668191/)\n25. [Hunting Season, Talpa Studios](https://talpastudios.com/format/hunting-season/)\n26. [Hunting Season (SOKO Cologne), ZDF Studios](https://www.zdf-studios.com/en/program-catalog/international/drama/series/crime-suspense/soko-cologne/hunting-season)\n27. [The Hunting Season (1935), Internet Animation Database](https://3863-21905.el-alt.com/iad_entries/history?shortID=1741)\n28. [The Hunting Season press kit, Conch Shell Productions](https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/8d889578-db34-495b-a3ac-079351363913/downloads/1cjeg9r69_11274.pdf?ver=1742248562931)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Web-native and streaming-original series › LGBT-related web series*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/hunting-season", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/hunting-season.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Hunting Season\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/hunting-season. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Hunting Season](https://www.edgepedia.org/hunting-season)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/hunting-season](https://www.edgepedia.org/hunting-season). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Hunting Season\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/hunting-season. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Hunting Season is an American LGBT comedy-drama web series by Jon Marcus, based on The Great Cock Hunt blog, starring Ben Baur as blogging Alex; also the title of a 2025 Mel Gibson thriller and other works." }