Prepare for political intrigue and a forbidden love as we head back to the era of McCarthyism for an adaptation of Thomas Mallon's novel Fellow Travelers. The show, which hails from Oscar nominee Ron Nyswaner (Philadelphia) and stars Emmy nominee Matt Bomer (The Normal Heart), was given a limited series order by Showtime and will start production this July in Toronto. Directing the first two episodes will be veteran television director Daniel Minahan (Halston) who executive produces alongside Nyswaner, Bomer, and Robbie Rogers (All American).
The series is equal parts love story and political thriller as it follows star-crossed lovers Hawkins Fuller (Bomer) and Tim Laughlin whose relationship blossoms in the controversial McCarthy era of America. Fuller is a handsome, well-off man making his way in Washington as a background player out of the public eye who generally stays away from any emotional attachments until he meets Laughlin. As a young, ambitious, and religiously stout college graduate looking to help beat back the Communists, Laughlin enters a whirlwind romance with Fuller while, in the background, Joseph McCarthy and Roy Cohn begin their crackdown on "subversives and sexual deviants." The two men try to keep up their double lives across four decades that include the rise of disco and the Vietnam War all while the dark era of McCarthy's gay purges threatens to destroy them.
Showtime is teaming up with Fremantle to bring the love story to life. It's a bit of a familiar character for Bomer, whose Emmy-nominated performance in The Normal Heart had him play a closeted gay writer amidst the AIDs crisis. Bomer's biggest recent role came in Doom Patrol as former U.S. pilot turned negative energy hero Larry Trainor, though he's also had recurring roles in Will & Grace, The Sinner, Chuck, and American Horror Story. He was also the star of the white-collar crime series White Collar and appeared on the big screen in The Magnificent Seven, Magic Mike XXL, and The Boy in the Band.
Nyswaner, meanwhile, is best known for his smash hit Philadelphia which won both Tom Hanks and Bruce Springsteen an Oscar for Best Actor and Best Original Song respectively. He's received plenty of love for his other work though, earning his most recent Spirit Award nomination for The Painted Veil in 2006. Fellow Travelers reunites him with Showtime for whom he wrote both Homeland and Ray Donovan and it re-pairs him with Minahan who directed episodes for each series.
Jana Winograde, the President of Entertainment at Showtime Networks Inc, shared a statement celebrating the adaptation and the talented team behind it:
As a thrilling and deeply moving exploration of character and American life in the latter half of the past century, Fellow Travelers shines an unprecedented light on stories that are as urgent today as ever. The series delivers us directly into an insider world of Washington rife with national consequences, while drawing out the intimate moments that are profoundly personal and often heartbreaking. We are beyond thrilled to have Ron, Matt, Robbie and Daniel take us on this suspenseful and romantic journey.
Fellow Travelers still needs to find its Laughlin to go with Bomer's Hawk, so stay tuned here at Collider as this highly-talented political thriller gets underway and brings more cast members on board.