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Showtime has made it official that its forthcoming limited series, Fellow Travelers, is all set to premiere this month. The eight-episode political thriller is set against the backdrop of one of the most tumultuous times for the United States, spotlighting a deep romance that brews amidst mayhem.
Based on Thomas Mallon’s celebrated novel of the same name, Fellow Travelers will make its debut this Friday, October 27, 2023, on Showtime and Paramount+ streaming platforms. Ahead of the series premiere, the network has released details about the cast list, plot, and official trailer.
Everything we know about Fellow Travelers
Fellow Travelers follows the story of Hawkins Fuller, played by Matt Bomer, a man who is involved heavily in behind-the-scenes politics. His relatively fulfilling and financially stable life is turned upside down when he meets a young man named Tim Laughlin, played by Jonathan Bailey, who is full of faith and idealism.
A whirlwind romance strikes up between the two while America goes through an especially dark time where LGTBQ+ relationships as theirs are met with intense hatred and aggression. With Joseph McCarthy and Roy Cohn declaring war on subversives and s*xual deviants, this marked the beginning of one of the darkest periods in 20th-century American history.
Panning across four decades, the series takes viewers through the lives of Hawkins, Tim, Marcus, Lucy, and Frankie as they live through a chaotic period in America in the midst of Vietnam War protests in the '60s, the AIDS crisis in the '80 and the drug-fueled disco hedonism of the '70s, while also facing obstacles in the personal lives.
Watch the trailer of Fellow Travelers here
The trailer begins with Hawk being brought in for questioning regarding his political affiliations and his personal life under the guise of "risk to national security". He is put under a lie detector test and asked not only about his affiliation to the Communist Party but also about his marital status and whether he had any inappropriate physical contact with a man. While he claims there is a "special lady" in the picture, he denies any same-sex relations.
The trailer then introduces us to Tim and the affair between the two in short clips interspaced with scenes showing the rising hatred towards LGBTQ+ people as well as the urgency of seeking out communists. Relationships such as theirs face danger at every turn.
In the midst of the turmoil, a romance blooms between the couple, and the trailer offers us a glimpse at the extreme measures that the government takes to curb homosexuality.
In the trailer, we see Hawk saying,
“We lie about who we sleep with.”
But Tim corrects him with:
“Not who we sleep with. It‘s who we love.”
Fellow Travelers promises an intensive look into the tumultuous late 90s in America through the lives of the young couple and their friends and associates.
Who stars in the Showtime series?
Fellow Travelers is created and executive produced by Oscar nominee Ron Nyswaner, who is known for Homeland and Ray Donovan.
The series is executive produced by Matt Bomer, Robbie Rogers, and Dee Johnson, with Daniel Minahan as director for the first two episodes.
The series stars Matt Bomer, Jonathan Bailey, Jelani Alladin, Allison Williams, and Noah J. Ricketts.
Catch Fellow Travelers on Showtime or Paramount+ this October.
