Jonathan Bailey Joins Matt Bomer In Queer-Led Showtime Series “Fellow Travelers”

Netflix’s Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey has been cast in a lead role in the upcoming queer-led Showtime limited series titled Fellow Travelers. For those wanting Matt Bomer and Bailey to hook up onscreen, your wish has finally been granted!

Announced by Variety, Bailey will play Tim Laughlin in Fellow Travelers. The show is based on the novel of the same name by author Thomas Mallon. Along with Bomer and Bailey, the cast also includes Allison Williams. Variety previously reported that the series had been greenlit back in April 2022.  

The story, set in the 1950s in the novel, involves the relationship drama between Hawkins Fuller (Bomer) and Tim Laughlin. Hawkins has been described as a character who is into politics but stays away from emotional entanglements. However, things change for him when he meets Tim, who is quite religious. The two begin a romance but things become more complicated when Joseph McCarthy and Roy Cohn declare war on “subversives and sexual deviants”.

The show will follow the main characters over the course of four decades as they cross paths with each other through the Vietnam War protests of the 1960s, the drug-fueled disco hedonism of the 1970s, and the AIDS crisis of the 1980s. 

Now, I haven’t read the novel, but I did go over some of the reviews. Originally published in 2007, certain reviewers have shared that the overall plot is trope-filled, showcasing the two leads being riddled by internal homophobia while trying to deal with the pressure of being queer men living during those particular times. Apparently, the story doesn’t have a happy ending. So, it will be interesting to see if the live-action limited series adaptation will change some of the plot points. 

As far as the casting is concerned, I like both Bomer and Bailey. Due to the story being set in the past and going over some important queer-centric times, I appreciate the project deciding to cast two out queer men in the lead roles.

The upcoming series will consist of eight episodes. The adaptation will be written by Oscar-nominee Ron Nyswaner (Philadelphia). Nyswaner will also serve as an executive producer along with Bomer.

Take note; Nyswaner also wrote the screenplay for the upcoming Harry Styles and Emma Corrin starring queer-led movie My Policeman. It is also set in the 1950s (even jumping to the 1990s) and deals with the relationship drama between a queer man named Tom (Styles), his wife Marion (Corrin), and Tom’s fair with another dude named Patrick (David Dawson). That film recently shared a teaser trailer. From what I could gather, after getting a limited release on October 21, 2022, it will be available to stream on Amazon Prime Video come November 4, 2022.

Coming back to Fellow Travelers, the first two episodes will be directed by Daniel Minahan (Netflix’s Halston). Minahan is also an executive producer along with Robbie Rogers. Fremantle and Showtime will co-produce. As of now, the project is getting ready to go into production in Toronto later this month. A release date hasn’t been announced yet.

I’m not into sad queer storytelling that features relationship drama for the sake of being messy. So, at this point, I think I’ll wait to see how the trailer for Fellow Travelers makes me feel.

Are you excited about the limited series?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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