Congratulations are in order for Matt Bomer (Ben Reade, Guiding Light), who will lead the cast of Showtime's latest series, Fellow Travelers. As reported by Variety, the project, which is based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Mallon, is an epic love story and political thriller that chronicles the volatile romance of two very different men who meet in the shadow of McCarthy-era Washington.
Bomer is set to play handsome, charismatic Hawkins Fuller, who has a financially rewarding, behind-the scenes career in politics. Hawkins tends to avoid emotional entanglements -- but that changes when he meets Tim Laughlin, a young man brimming with idealism and religious faith. The pair begin a romance just as Joseph McCarthy and Roy Cohn declare war on "subversives and sexual deviants," initiating one of the darkest periods in 20th-century American history.
Over the course of four decades, Hawkins and Tim cross paths through the Vietnam War protests of the 1960s, the drug-fueled disco hedonism of the 1970s, and the AIDS crisis of the 1980s while facing obstacles in the world and in themselves.
In addition to starring, Bomer will also executive produce alongside Robbie Rogers. Philadelphia writer and Oscar nominee Ron Nyswaner is adapting the book for the screen and will also executive produce. Meanwhile, Daniel Minahan, who recently directed Halston for Netflix, will direct the first two episodes and executive produce. The series will go into production in Toronto this July.
"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," said Jana Winograde, co-president of entertainment for Showtime Networks. "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."
Bomer starred as Guiding Light's Ben from 2002 to 2003 before going on to find success on primetime series like Chuck and White Collar. He was nominated for an Emmy for playing a closeted writer in The Normal Heart, about the rise of the AIDS crisis in New York. He currently stars in HBO Max's Doom Patrol and is set to star in the Netflix limited series Echoes and in the feature film Maestro alongside Bradley Cooper.
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