This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The star of "Please Like Me" doesn't have fond memories of appearing at the Television Critics Association press tour 3 ½ years ago.

"I get quite nervous at TCAs," said Josh Thomas, "because the first TCA I went to was the Pivot launch and you guys were, like, mean. Right?"

Mean? Us?

"Someone would put up their hand, and they'd go, '[Expletive] you,'  " Thomas said. "And then [Pivot general manager] Evan Shapiro would be, like, 'Well, I'm not sure if that's the situation.'  "

I checked the transcript of that 2013 session, and at no time did any critic curse at the panelists. Although it was, no doubt, a difficult experience for Thomas — an Australian comedian who is the star and writer of "Please Like Me," a series about a young, gay man navigating life as best he can.

There was a great deal of skepticism in the room, but — to be clear — it had little if anything to do with "Please Like Me" or Thomas. A number of critics, including yours truly, weren't buying into the need for another cable channel targeting young viewers ages 18-34. Or the claims by Pivot staffers that they were going to do television in an entirely new way to appeal to those viewers.

"That was a very difficult half-hour," Thomas recalled. "It was me, two gang members, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Meghan McCain."

Gordon-Levitt was the producer/host of "HitRecord"; McCain hosted a short-lived show titled "Raising McCain" … and there were no gang members. But there was a whole lot of skepticism.

"You guys were all just explaining why Pivot is a bad idea … which, congratulations, I guess," Thomas said.

After three years on the air, Pivot shut down on Oct. 31. And Thomas has re-evaluated the behavior of those of us who were in the room three-plus years earlier.

"At the time, I thought you were mean," he said. "And now I am sort of like, 'Well, maybe we should listen to what these people have to say.'  "

Ha! As a group, we're always skeptical. In this case, the skepticism turned out to be well-deserved.

But the death of Pivot left "Please Like Me" without an American outlet for its fourth season.

"Of course I had concerns," Thomas said, "because when the people who give you the money to make the show stop existing, where are you going to get your money from?"

How about Hulu, which is now streaming not only Season 4 but Seasons 1, 2 and 3.

Although Thomas has mixed feelings about the whole streaming thing.

"I don't know about binge watching," he said. "I like people being able to watch it all together, but then someone will tweet me, and they will be, like, 'I watched all four seasons in two days.'

"And then I'm, like, '[Expletive]! That took me five years to fill that two days.' "

Scott D. Pierce covers TV for The Salt Lake Tribune. Email him at spierce@sltrib.com; follow him on Twitter @ScottDPierce.