Jonathan Bailey and Matt Bomer to Play Secret Lovers
Showtime’s forthcoming series is billed as “an epic love story” that follows two queer men as they embark on a turbulent romance across four decades.
Jonathan Bailey’s latest television endeavor will see him travel from breaking hearts in Regency-era England to romancing Matt Bomer across four decades.
The “Bridgerton” actress has agreed to appear in Showtime’s upcoming series “Fellow Travelers.” Tim Laughlin, a devoutly religious college graduate who catches the eye of Hawkins Fuller (Bomer), a State Department officer in the 1950s, will be played by him. Lucy Smith, a senator’s daughter who has known Hawkins since they were teenagers, is played by Allison Williams of HBO‘s “Girls.”
“Fellow Travelers,” based on Thomas Mallon’s 2007 novel, is advertised as “an epic love story and political thriller” that chronicles Tim and Hawkins’ turbulent and decades-long romance.
According to press notes, the two men begin their relationship in secret and subsequently “cross paths through the Vietnam War demonstrations of the 1960s, drug-fueled disco hedonism of the 1970s, and the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, while battling hurdles in the world and in themselves.”
Production on the eight-episode series will begin this month in Toronto. A release date has not been set.
After news of their “Fellow Travelers” casting broke Monday, both Bailey and Bomer shared their enthusiasm for the project on social media.
“Epic story. Incredible team,” Bailey wrote on Instagram. “THRILLED to be on board.”
Added Bomer: “I’ve been holding this one close to the vest for a minute. I could not be more excited to be sharing the experience of ‘Fellow Travelers’ with an actor I respect and admire more than I can say.”
Best known for playing Lord Anthony Bridgerton on the Netflix smash “Bridgerton,” Bailey recently opened up to GQ about the pressure he felt to keep his sexuality private during the early days of his career.
He claimed he was told at the time, “There are two things we don’t want to know: if you’re an alcoholic or if you’re gay.”
“All it takes is for one of those people in positions of authority to say that, and it ripples through,” Bailey explained to the outlet. He eventually “reached a point where I decided, ‘Fuck this, I’d much rather hold my boyfriend’s hand in public or be able to put my own face image on Tinder and not be so concerned about it than obtaining a part.”
Since 2011, Bomer has been married to Hollywood publicist Simon Halls. He recently finished production on Netflix’s “Maestro.” Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan also appear in the film, which is a biography of “West Side Story” composer Leonard Bernstein.