Out Staff Explores the Importance & Timeliness of 'Fellow Travelers'

The stars of Showtime’s Fellow Travelers — Matt Bomer, Jonathan Bailey, Jelani Alladin, and Noah J. Ricketts — are Out's latest cover stars!

Staff writer Mey Rude stopped by Cover to Cover, a show from Out's sister network The Advocate Channel, to dish about what to expect from the show and the bond the actors formed on set.

The show follows four gay men living and working in Washington DC in the 1950s under McCarthyism. As things progress, the audience watches their lives, careers, and relationships grow and change from the '50s to the '80s.

The chemistry with the actors was immediate, and Rude says they “formed what they said was a found family of their own” that led to their incredible chemistry.

“You can especially see that chemistry between Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey, who play Hawk Fuller and Tim Laughlin,” says Rude. “Hawk sort of becomes a mentor figure for Tim, but then the two also become lovers, and let me tell you, they have some of the most explosive chemistry you’ll ever see and some of the steamiest sex scenes you’ll ever see in TV.”

Outside of the sex, Alladin and Rickett’s characters showcase queer history told through a Black lens from the time period, which isn’t commonly seen in the media.

“While the four main characters are fictional, all of the historical events depicted in the show were unfortunately very real,” says Rude.

Rude also had the fortune of traveling to Toronto to visit the set, which she notes, “Everything on set from the costumes to the sets to the actors to the directors was amazing and I can’t wait for everyone to see what the final production looks like.”

In a behind-the-scenes look at the cover shoot, Bomer noted he wanted to take part in the project because it was a portion of LGBTQIA+ history he wasn’t aware of that still felt really relevant to the current day.

Showcasing their familial bond, Ricketts jokes he “can’t think of anything” he liked about working with his costars before seriously saying the best part was the professionalism they all displayed. “We got the job done and we had some fun afterwards,” he said.

Alladin also noted the relevancy of the show because we are “at a point where our survival is at risk. There are people who aren’t able to love the way they wanna love, live the way they want to live. And the law and the government feel that it’s more important that they control people’s bodies, people’s minds and people’s spirits than to let them love and live. And that’s a crime that if we continue doing that, we will destroy humanity.”

Check out the full interview below and catch the premiere of Fellow Travelers on October 27 on Showtime.