Matt Bomer Led Queer Series Fellow Travelers Is Heading To Showtime

Your future must-watch series has officially been green-lit at Showtime. Fellow Travelers, which is set to star out actor Matt Bomer, has been given an eight-episode order at the premium cable network, reports Variety.

Fellow Travelers is based on a novel by the same name by Thomas Mallon and is both a political thriller and an epic love story between two very different men over the course of four decades, beginning in McCarthy-era Washington. Hawkins Fuller (Matt Bomer) is handsome, charismatic, and financially successful in his career in politics. He has intentionally avoided romance until he meets Tim Laughlin, who is the polar opposite of his pragmatism. Laughlin is an idealist, who has a deep sense of religious faith.

While their connection is powerful, it's also set against the backdrop of Joseph McCarthy and Roy Cohn's war on "subversives and sexual deviants," a dark and terrifying time in American history -- particularly for LGBTQ+ people.

Over the course of the next four decades, the two cross paths repeatedly, through the Vietnam War protests of the '60s, the sexual liberation of the '70s, and the AIDS crisis of the '80s, all the while facing their own issues and obstacles.

The book was adapted for television by Oscar nominee Ron Nyswane (Philadelphia) and will be directed by Daniel Minahan (Halston). The pair will serve as executive producers alongside Robbie Rogers.

While the story spans the latter half of the 20th century, it's one that's just as relevant today, Jana Winograde, co-president of entertainment for Showtime Networks, said in announcing the show. "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."

The project will go into production this July in Toronto.