Jonathan Bailey and Matt Bomer tease ‘extraordinary’ queer sex scenes in gay epic Fellow Travellers

Fellow Travellers is a new gay drama epic starring Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey – and if the first snaps from Showtime’s minseries are anything to go by, things are going to get steamy.

Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey both command an undeniable hold over the queer community. Bomer has been a mainstay in the Ryan Murphy-verse of TV smashes for a while, solidifying his status as veritable sex icon in stripper flick Magic Mike, and British darling Jonathan Bailey’s role as Bridgerton‘s biggest heartthrob has perhaps only just been topped by his turn as Fiyero in the upcoming Wicked adaptation.

Basically, they’re both very talented (and very sexy) actors, stealing focus in any project they appear in. Put the two together in an even sexier romance epic spanning decades and it may just be the final straw.

Based on a novel of the same name by Thomas Mallon, that’s exactly what Showtime’s Fellow Travellers is doing. Bomer and Bailey are set to star as lovers, Hawkins Fuller and Tim Laughlin respectively, in a romance that spans decades, set against everything from McCarthyism and the Vietnam War to the AIDS crisis.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, the pair dished on their onscreen chemistry – including the “extraordinary” nature of queer sex onscreen.

“I will be so interested to see how people respond to it,” Bailey started.

“To me, being queer also is about, as two men, how you negotiate your giving of your body to the other person. That is something that I’ve always yearned to see properly done because I know how extraordinary it is to experience it.” 

Bailey, 35, went onto describe “every single sex scene” between Tim and Hawkins as a “meticulous examination of power.“

“The nuance of a complicated, volatile queer relationship is the power balance.”

“There’s a level of trust and intimacy that’s even more valuable when society is against you,” added Bomer, 45. “You keep your secrets together.”

Producer Robbie Rogers has vouched for the pair’s words too, saying that some Showtime viewers may be taken aback upon watching:

“Not that it will be shocking to people, but I hope when people watch it, they’re like, ‘Oh, wow. They really went for it.'”

We’re certainly looking forward to it.

Fellow Travellers premiering this fall on Paramount+ with Showtime