Love Is Timeless in Showtime’s Heartbreaking Fellow Travelers Trailer

Showtime has released the first official trailer for the new limited series Fellow Travelers. Based on the novel by Thomas Mallon, the adaptation details the time-sweeping romance between two political staffers who meet and fall in love amongst the backdrop of the 1950’s Lavender Scare. Their love gets put to the test over the span of four decades as the two men’s relationships and lives unfold under the weight of their careers.

According to the official synopsis, “Matt Bomer plays handsome, charismatic Hawkins Fuller, who maintains a financially rewarding, behind-the scenes career in politics. Hawkins avoids emotional entanglements—until he meets Tim Laughlin (Jonathan Bailey), a young man brimming with idealism and religious faith. They 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.”

The trailer features a look at the delicate balance the series draws between romance and tension, showcasing glimpses of the lives of these two men as they fight to protect themselves from the rise of homophobic sentiment fostered by the Red Scare and other historical movements.