Matt Bomer & Jonathan Bailey tease “explicit” gay romance ‘Fellow Travelers,’ featuring plenty of role play
ever.Since it’s first announcement, we’ve been all aboard Showtime’s upcoming miniseries, Fellow Travelers—adapting Thomas Mallon’s historical fiction novel of the same name—a decades-spanning story that follows the romance between two men, from the ’50s to the ’80s.Out actors Matt Bomer (The Normal Heart, Magic Mike) and Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton, the upcoming Wicked movies) will play the star-crossed lovers, whose relationship begins in the ’50s at the height of McCarthyism, evolves along with the queer liberation movement in the ’70s, and culminates in the ’80s during the AIDS epidemic.If you’ve read the (excellent) source novel, you’re already aware of the story, but we’ve seen precious little of the Showtime adaptation—aside from some leaked set photos that left us soaking wet—until now.Vanity Fair has a first-look preview of Fellow Travelers, which features equally gorgeous and sexy stills from the series, as well as some titillating quotes from Bomer and Bailey about their characters’ intense bond and “explicit” chemistry.Bomer plays Hawkins Fuller, a charming but private political staffer and former war hero, while Bailey stars as Tim Laughlin, a recent college graduate said to be optimistic about the future post-WWII.The pair first meet in the early days of the “Lavender Scare,” a time when Senator Joseph McCarthy was stoking fears of communism and firing anyone from the government suspected of being gay, to devastating effect. (The series title, Fellow Travelers, was a colloquial term from the era, used to describe anyone who might be sympathetic to the ideals of the communist party.)No one was prepared for these hot shots.Hawkins actually hires Tim to work for McCarthy—but with an ulterior motive, to have.
