Rarely have our timelines been so blessed: the teaser trailer for Jonathan Bailey and Matt Bomer’s new period drama romance hit screens yesterday, and it looks epic.
The show, titled Fellow Travelers, will be hitting TV screens in autumn and tells the story of Tim Laughlin and Hawkins Fuller, who begin a romantic relationship in McCarthy-era Washington: an era when witch hunts against LGBTQ+ people were at an all-time high.
Bailey, who became an overnight sensation in 2020 due to his role as the Viscount Anthony Bridgerton in the hit Netflix series, will be playing the ultra-religious, idealistic Laughlin.
Bomer (who is perhaps best known for his recurring role as a stripper in Magic Mike), will be playing the older Fuller, a charismatic politician. He is described in the show’s synopsis as a man who “maintains a financially rewarding, behind-the scenes career in politics” but “avoids emotional entanglements.” Until... you guessed it.
The show will follow the lovers the course of four decades, alongside three other characters, Marcus, Lucy and Frankie – about whom we currently know very little – through the turbulent McCarthy era, the Vietnam War protests of the 1960s, the drugs-and-disco 1970s and finally the AIDS crisis of the 1980s.
The trailer itself has everything a period drama connoisseur could wish for: the pair approach each other in a corridor, and as they lock eyes, time slows down.
As is only proper, we then smash-cut to scenes showing them kissing in an alleyway, cuddling in bed, laughing at the beach and even some very unsubtle firework displays. Plus, what looks like a police raid on a venue the pair are in. At the end of the teaser, we’re back in the corridor as they walk past each other, but this time they’re smiling.
The eight-part series, which is based on a book by Thomas Mallon, has been created by Oscar-nominee Ron Nyswaner and also stars Allison Williams (Get Out), Jelani Alladin (The Walking Dead) and Noah J Ricketts (American Gods).
2023 is set to be a big year for both Bailey and Bomer: in addition to Fellow Travelers, Bailey, who stole the show in Marianne Elliott’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s Company in the West End in 2018, is currently filming a big-screen adaptation of the musical Wicked, due to air in 2024, while Bomer’s upcoming film Maestro is set to be released later this year.
Starring Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan, the film tells the story of composer Leonard Bernstein – Bomer plays a clarinettist with whom Bernstein was romantically involved.
