Showtime Releases A Teaser For Upcoming Miniseries 'Fellow Travelers'

The miniseries stars Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey

Showtime has released a teaser trailer for its upcoming miniseries Fellow Travelers, starring Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey. It features quick-cut glimpses of the decades-spanning romance between the earnest and bright-eyed Tim Laughlin, played by Bailey, and Bomer’s charismatic and intimacy-hesitant Hawkins “Hawk” Fuller, It is based on Thomas Mallon’s novel and adapted by Homeland and Ray Donovan alumnus Ron Nyswaner.

An epic love story intertwined in a political thriller, the limited series spans 8 episodes and follows Hawk and Tim across their 35-year relationship, beginning 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. It endures the Vietnam War protests of the '60s, the '70s disco scene, and the AIDS crisis of the '80s. The fact that that is the last item mentioned does not bode well for the couple as the AIDS virus ravaged the gay community. The sex scenes are said to mark “uncharted territory for mainstream" television and "a meticulous examination of power".

Executive producer Robbie Rogers said "Not that it will be shocking to people, but I hope when people watch it, they’re like, ‘Oh, wow. They really went for it,’" while Bomer added "I will be so interested to see how people respond to it. To me, being queer also is about, as two men, how you negotiate your giving of your body to the other person. That is something that I’ve always yearned to see properly done because I know how extraordinary it is to experience it." 

Bomer is known for his roles on White Collar, American Horror Story, and as Negative Man in Doom Patrol. In film, he's known for the first two Magic Mike films and is the voice of the Barry Allen Flash in the direct-to-video DC films Tomorrowverse continuity. Bailey meanwhile has mostly starred in British productions, but might still be known to American audiences for his roles in Broadchurch, Crashing, and three episodes of Jack Ryan, before breaking out as Lord Anthony Bridgerton on Bridgerton. The cast also features Allison Williams as Lucy Smith, Noah J. Ricketts as Frankie Hines, Jelani Alladin as Marcus Hooks, and Linus Roache as Senator Wesley Smith.

Fellow Travelers will of course stream on Paramount+ with Showtime, but it's unclear whether the Showtime channel will have taken on the name by the time it premieres. Unlike other recent videos on the YouTube channel, there's no voiceover to make it clear. On the visuals alone it would look like "Showtime is becoming Paramount+ with Showtime". However, both Entertainment Weekly and Vanity Fair indicate the rebrand will happen by then, while TVLine did not. It is unknown whether the shift in programming strategy means this kind will continue as the change is undergone.

Sources: TVLine, Entertainment Weekly, Vanity Fair