Anyone who’s ever tried to write off history as “boring” is going to be eating their words once they see Fellow Travelers, Showtime’s upcoming historical fiction series that reminds us: You can’t spell “annals” without… well, you’ll see…
Based off Thomas Mallon’s 2007 novel of the same name, Fellow Travelers is, at its core, a decades-long romance between two men: Hawkins “Hawk” Fuller (Magic Mike‘s Matte Bomer) and Timothy Laughlin (Bridgerton‘s Jonathan Bailey). But it’s also a fascinating “travelogue,” of sorts, tracking the shifting cultural attitudes around queerness from the Midcentury to the early ’80s.
The men meet in DC at the dawn of McCarthyism, when U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy stoked fears of Soviet Russian influence, attempting to sniff out left-leaning individuals considered to be partial to communist ideals. That movement encompassed the Lavender Scare, too—a time of moral panic around homosexuality.
But just because gay men like Hawk and Tim had to stay buttoned up in public, that doesn’t mean they were holding themselves back behind closed doors.
In fact, according to a new preview piece from EW, it sounds like Fellow Travelers is about to get real and raw when it comes to bedroom politics, giving viewers “some of the most erotic depictions of same-sex sex ever put to screen on a premium television network.”
Speaking with the cast and creatives behind the series, the EW feature gives us a sense of the very specific sexual chemistry between Bomer and Bailey’s characters. “What sets [the series’] sex scenes apart is that they are moving the story forward,” shares Daniel Minahan, who directs the first two episodes. “The way they’re moving the story forward is by the transference of power that happens between [the characters].”
To be a bit more blunt, what Minahan’s trying to say is that it’s pretty obvious from the jump who’s the top and who’s the bottom in this relationship, but their dom/sub dynamic is ever-changing and even drives the narrative of the series.
Related*
From ‘Fellow Travelers’ to ‘Elite’: 15 queer TV shows we’re most excited about this fall
There are new shows, returning favorites, and way more seasons of ‘Drag Race’ headed your way this fall.
It seems like every other week folks are arguing online whether or not sex scenes are “necessary” in film and television, so we’re already curious to hear what those folks will have to say about Fellow Travelers, where it sounds like sex is the point, in so many ways.
A brand new clip offers a tantalizing glimpse at exactly that. Amidst some rather serious work discussion, Hawk begins playing with Tim’s chest hairs—and even gives him a little nipple tweak. Tim’s trying to get the more connected Hawk to invite him to a social event, and he knows just the trick:
“I’m your boy, right? Hm? And your boy wants to go to the party,” he demands as he gets down on his knees between Hawk’s legs.
“How much does he want to go?,” Hawk asks as his “boy” slides down further and further.
Well, alright then! They weren’t lying about Fellow Travelers getting hot and heavy!
Elsewhere in the EW piece, series creator Roy Nyswaner (who also wrote last year’s Harry Styles-starring gay romance, My Policeman) shares that one of their only rules about depicting sex in the series is that they would never do the same thing twice.
“[The rule] was that we wouldn’t do the same sexual act more than once, or the same combination,” Nyswaner reveals—which sounds like it was harder to follow than they realized. “I remember when we were writing episode 8, my co-writers and I said, ‘What haven’t we done?'”
As if this wasn’t already one of our most anticipated TV shows of the year! Now we have (at least) eight more reasons to tune in.
Related*
Jonathan Bailey and Matt Bomer making out on the beach has sent everyone into overdrive
No one was prepared for these hot shots.
Of course, it’s not just about the sex, although everyone involved seems acutely aware that sex sells—they even admit that last year’s leaked set photos of Bomer and Bailey frolicking shirtless on the beach was “not a bad thing.”
But Nyswaner and his team sound pretty confident they’ve got an “emotional and powerful show” on their hands, one that queer people of all ages will be able to see themselves in.
We’ll find out October 27 when Fellow Travelers premieres on Showtime, with episodes streaming simultaneously on Paramount+.
Don't forget to share:
bachy
Seems to me he was already AT the party — and it was just getting started.
Carabalda
Looking forward to this a lot. But come on, Queerty… does your possibly AI-powered writer or copy-editor not understand the different between “(Magic Mike‘s Matte Bomer)” and the properly-spelled “(Magic Mike‘s Matt Bomer)”? I have seen him in the studio halls of shows we have worked on. Believe me… there is NOTHING Matte about Matt.
bachy
Matt Bomer is “glossy” if he’s anything…
Mary Jane
Ouch! If they gave str8s Kerr and Lancaster–why not Matt and Jonathan?
Diplomat
Totally insulting they don’t correct it, “automatically”.
MaineBear
Also it’s Ron Nyswaner not Roy. Such lazy sloppy journalism – Queerty is too busy writing like horny teens to care about accuracy.
Thad
It’s just auto-correct. And it’s Ron Nyswaner…
Pietro D
Now This looks like a real winner unlike other “good” gay films or series that have, at times, been rather on a fantasy level………. “Rustin”, which I saw at TIFF, earlier September 2023 is a film on Bayard Rustin, the gay Civil Rights Activist essentially squeezed out of the movement and largely forgotten because he was GAY and would not compromise either his gay views or views on ‘Communism’. Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin is a revelation and WILL get an Oscar Nomination as Best Lead Actor for a 2023 film. I urge you all to be an advocate for this film. It is essentially a “paint-by-numbers” Civil Rights Narrative, but you must see Domingo’s work and support this ‘main stream’ gay “themed” film, a two sided story:
1) the Civil Rights Movement and 2) Bayard Rustin’s personal tragedy.
Kangol2
Queerty has highlighted it and I’m looking forward to it.
greekboy
Y’all need to leave my boyfriend Fatt Boner alone. Oops, autocorrect
BrokebackBob
The entire cast of the American queer as folk which was also shown on Showtime just said hold my beer.
mz.sam
Excited when Fellow Travelers airs. Paramount+/Showtime will get a new subscriber in October and will immediately unsubscribe after it’s airing.
dmarcus
I’m so excited for this show. I’m not into the young adult gay shows even tho I do find them charming, I’m happy it’s an adult queer show. Also I’m glad they hired actual gay actors. Both are talented and we need to show Hollywood that not all LGBTQ characters are the same and we need to be starring in these projects. The premise also looks interesting. Millennials and Gen Z need to be reminded what older queer ppl went through. If schools refuse to teach LGBTQ history then shows & movies needs to be a guild line.
james7
Will happily watch Matt B in anything. There are also two hot men in gay subplot on BODIES on Netflix. When they finally get naked and lay down together I started licking the screen on my laptop.