The first full-length trailer for Fellow Travelers has arrived.
Matt Bomer (The Normal Heart) and Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton) respectively lead the historical gay drama as lovers Hawkins Fuller and Tim Laughlin, with the series chronicling their “volatile romance” in the “shadow of McCarthy-era Washington”.
Laughlin is described as “young man brimming with idealism and religious faith” who is optimistic about a post-WWII world, while Fuller “maintains a financially rewarding, behind-the-scenes” political career.
Based on the novel of the same name from Thomas Mallon, Fellow Travelers has been hailed as “an epic love story and political thriller”.
“They begin a romance just as Joseph McCarthy and Roy Cohn declare war on “subversives and sexual deviants,” initiating one of the darkest periods in 20th-century American history,” reads the official synopsis.
“Over the course of four decades, we follow our five main characters – Hawk, Tim, Marcus Lucy, and Frankie – as they cross paths through the Vietnam War protests of the 1960s, the drug-fueled disco hedonism of the 1970s and the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, while facing obstacles in the world and in themselves.”
Showtime
Directed by Oscar nominee Ron Nyswaner, the eight-episode drama also stars Jelani Alladin (The Walking Dead: World Beyond) as Marcus, Allison Williams (Get Out) as Lucy and Noah J. Ricketts (American Gods) as Frankie.
The first official trailer sees Fuller interrogated with a “series of questions”, such as his marital status and whether he’s had “inappropriate physical contact” with another man.
After replying “no”, the clip shows Fuller and Laughlin in various states of intimacy. The trailer also includes Williams’ character questioning Fuller’s commitment to her, as well as McCarthy warning the country about “communists or queers” in a media briefing.
Fellow Travelers premieres 28 October in the US on Showtime and UK on Paramount Plus.
You can watch the trailer here or below.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Bomer and Bailey discussed the series, with the former revealing that Fellow Travelers was “marinating with Ron for a solid decade before I ever came on board.
“Ron had an almost religious zeal about this project, this world and these characters that just washed over everyone involved, and made it the profound experience that it was.”
Nyswaner directed the screenplays for Philadelphia (1993), which earned him an Academy Award nomination, and My Policeman (2022).
Bailey opened up about the series’ intense and emotional sex scenes, which he described as a “meticulous examination of power”: “The nuance of a complicated, volatile queer relationship is the power balance – and that is what is amazing about Tim and Hawk.”
Bomer added: “There’s a level of trust and intimacy that’s even more valuable when society is against you. You keep your secrets together.”
Check out the brand new Fellow Travelers cast photo below.
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