Summary
- The new Showtime series "Fellow Travelers" follows a secretive romantic affair set during McCarthyism in 1950s America, based on a 2007 novel by Thomas Mallon.
- The series chronicles the hidden romance between Hawkins Fuller (Matt Bomer) and Tim Laughlin (Jonathan Bailey) over several decades, navigating through various historical events such as the Vietnam War protests and the AIDS crisis.
- The talented cast also includes Allison Williams, Chris Bauer, Jelani Alladin, Noah J. Ricketts, and more, bringing their own expertise and experience to their respective roles in the series.
The new Showtime series Fellow Travelers chronicles the secretive decade-spanning romantic affair between the fictional Howard Fuller and Tim Laughlin. Set during the height of McCarthyism in 1950s America, Fellow Travelers is based on the 2007 novel by Thomas Mallon. The romantic political thriller miniseries is set to premiere on both Showtime and Paramount+ on October 27, 2023, and will run for eight episodes, concluding on December 15, 2023.
The series will follow Fuller and Laughlin's hidden romance over the course of several decades that begins in Washington D.C. and continues throughout the Vietnam War protests of the 1960s, the disco-inspired 1970s, and the AIDS crisis of the 1980s (via Variety). Matt Bomer (White Collar, The Normal Heart) stars as Howard 'Hawk' Fuller alongside Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton, Crashing) as Tim Laughlin, setting the stage for a volatile and passionate affair between the two characters who are forced to live double lives in order to keep their love alive.
Matt Bomer As Hawkins 'Hawk' Fuller
Matt Bomer takes the lead role in Fellow Travelers as Hawkins 'Hawk' Fuller, an attractive and charismatic man who avoids emotional attachments out of principle until he finds himself entangled with the earnest Tim Laughlin. Bomer began his acting career in 2005 with his feature debut Flightplan starring Jodie Foster before gaining prominence with 2011's In Time and 2012's Magic Mike. Bomer's most notable works include 2016's The Nice Guys starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe and his frequent appearances on various installments of American Horror Story. Bomer also has an upcoming role in Bradley Cooper's film Maestro.
Jonathan Bailey As Tim Laughlin
While arguably best known for his portrayal of Lord Anthony Bridgerton on the Netflix series Bridgerton, Jonathan Bailey has also gained popularity for his highly-anticipated role as Fiyero Tigelaar in the upcoming Wicked films. Bailey will play Tim Laughlin in Fellow Travelers, who meets Bomer's Fuller as a young and idealistic college graduate in the series. The English actor first gained prominence for with role as Olly Stevens in Broadchurch before starring in Phoebe Waller-Bridge's 2016 series Crashing. Bailey is also an accomplished theater actor who won a coveted Oliver Award in 2019.
Allison Williams As Lucy Smith
Allison Williams stars as Lucy Smith in Fellow Travelers. Aside from being the daughter of news anchor Brian Williams, Allison Williams gained prominence from her recurring role as Marnie Michaels in Lena Dunham's HBO series Girls. Williams also starred in Jordan Peele's instant horror classic Get Out in 2017 and in the recent critically acclaimed horror movie M3GAN. She also starred as Kit Snicket in Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events alongside Neil Patrick Harris. After her appearance in Fellow Travelers, Williams is set to reprise her role as Gemma in 2025's M3GAN 2.0.
Chris Bauer As Senator Joseph R. McCarthy
Chris Bauer portrays the real-life U.S. Senator Joseph R. McCarthy in Fellow Travelers. Bauer is a decorated television actor with credits in The Wire, True Blood, and The Deuce. He starred as Detective Andy Bellefleur in 81 episodes of True Blood and 12 episodes of The Wire as Frank Sobotka. Bauer also has an impressive list of movie credits including 1997's Face/Off, 2006's Flags of Our Fathers, 2015's Tomorrowland, and 2016's Sully. Bauer has recently starred in two seasons of the Starz boxing drama Heels, nine episodes of Apple's For All Mankind, and has a slew of one-episode TV guest appearances including The Office, Parks & Recreation, Modern Family, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Homeland.
Jelani Alladin As Marcus Gaines
Jelani Alladin plays newspaper reporter Marcus Gaines in Fellow Travelers who becomes aware of Fuller's secret affair. Alladin is a relatively new and inexperienced actor in Hollywood who gained prominence with his performance in his Broadway debut, the 2018 musical Frozen. He also appeared in the Broadway musical Hercules before making his film debuts with 2021's Respect and Tick, Tick... Boom! Before joining the cast of Fellow Travelers, Alladin also appeared on the television series FBI, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and The Walking Dead: The World Beyond.
Noah J. Ricketts As Frankie Hines
Noah J. Ricketts plays Frankie Hines in Fellow Travelers. Ricketts also started his acting career on the stage, which led him to appear in the Broadway production of Beautiful The Carole King Musical. He also gained regional credits in Dreamgirls, Tarzan, and La Cage before making his television debut in 2020 in an episode of the Hulu television series High Fidelity starring Zoë Kravitz. He also appeared as Kai in the Starz series American Gods before taking a key supporting role in Fellow Travelers.
Fellow Travelers Supporting Cast & Characters
Linus Roache As Senator Wesley Smith - Roache has recently starred in the MGM series Billy the Kid and the Netflix series The Recruit. He has also appeared in multiple seasons of Vikings, Homeland, and Law & Order. In 2005, he portrayed Thomas Wayne in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins.
Erin Neufer As Mary Johnson - Neufer has notable acting credits in the 2017 Netflix series Gypsy as well as one episode of Amazon's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in 2019. She also recently appeared as Marian Morash in the acclaimed MAX series Julia in 2022.
Will Brill As Roy Cohn - Brill starred as Noah Weissman in several seasons of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. He was also featured in 12 episodes of Netflix's The OA and has one-episode guest appearances in The Blacklist, The Knick, Person of Interest, and Gotham.
Matt Visser As David Schine - Visser had a few notable credits in television such as one episode of Supernatural, two episodes of Netflix's The Order, two episodes of The Detour, and one episode of A Teacher starring Kate Mara.
Brittany Raymond As Kimberly Fuller - Raymond has appeared in the USA television series Dare Me as Cori Ross as well as the Hulu series The Hardy Boys as Lola Burton. She is set to be featured in the upcoming thriller Sway which is currently in production.
Ben Sanders As Bobby Kennedy - Sanders appeared in an episode of What We Do in the Shadows, Mayor of Kingstown, Locke & Key, In the Dark, Transplant, and Murdoch Mysteries before portraying real-life politician Bobby Kennedy in Fellow Travelers.
Andy Milne As Andre - Composer Andy Milne will make his acting debut in Fellow Travelers as Andre. In addition to appearing in five episodes, Milne served as musical director on the Showtime series. He has also received credits as a composer on the 2023 CBC documentary Black Life: Untold Stories as well as William Shatner's series The Captains Close Up.
Source: Variety