Fellow Travelers will premiere October 27

Finally, we get a date. This is gonna be awesome.

Oh we'll all love it but pretend we don't R1!

Bailey is always terrific.

[quote]DL will hate every second of it.

As if I give one single fuck.

r4 = Ron Nyswaner

^ And the hatred begins.

Very excited. Looking forward to it!

Bailey is so hot.

Matt is pretty.

I hope they get some good love scenes

Really looking forward to this.

Here is a link to an old DL thread about this series.

More photos in this Out Magazine article.

Showtime trailer

Wish they'd release a longer trailer!

They will, the clip at r12 is just a release date teaser.

Great pic at R11. Looking forward to this.

Will any other streaming sites show it?

Not in the United States.

A longer teaser trailer was released several months ago.

Looks like seven episodes.

It’s 8 episodes

Photo of Matt as an older man from the series. Still handsome.

Another promo photo

I borrowed the novel from the library but haven’t read it yet.

Older Matt is a silver fox

Thomas Mallon, the author of Fellow Travelers, spent the majority of his life as a rethug. He only left the rethugs in 2016. During the 2016 election he was actively involved in "Scholars and Writers Against Trump," a group of disaffected conservatives.

If we despise the Log Cabin delusional fools, where does Mallon fit?

Sounds like he saw the light. Anyway his book is good. It’s about two men who fall in love and deal with harassment & discrimination against gays in the State Dept during the McCarthy era. It seems the movie is going to progress from there.

Does it have a happy ending? The world is too gloomy for sad endings.

R27, the book doesn't have a happy ending. Not sure if the series will, it appears it won't stick very closely to the book

New sneak preview up on YouTube

I'd never read the book until recently. If the series is as good as the book, I'll be happy.

I have to admit that there is something about watching Bailey and Bomer together that is interesting.

r29 "How MUCH does he want to go to that party?"

Matt Bomer sure makes a lot of films about "Gays of Yesteryear."

Does he ever make any other kind of movie?

R33: He's an openly gay man in Hollywood so it's not like he has a lot of options.

Apparently, they won't be shy with the sex scenes

R30

R31 R32

The problem I have with the clip is that the Bailey part is so transparently written for a younger actor (the character in the book was 21 or 22) and it looks ridiculous coming from 35 year old Bailey who is not a “boy” by any means.

When the project was announced I thought it was obvious the role would go to Froy (24 then).

Bomer has an odd habit of swallowing his words when he does some roles (he talks fine in real life).

[quote]The problem I have with the clip is that the Bailey part is so transparently written for a younger actor (the character in the book was 21 or 22) and it looks ridiculous coming from 35 year old Bailey who is not a “boy” by any means.

I didn't want to say it. I was hoping they'd let go of the age difference as a plot device, but the clip made it obvious we're still supposed to find Tim a just-out-of-college newbie. I'm still going to enjoy it. I would not have liked Froy in the Tim role.

If the story has been expanded to cover decades, then the character would only have been young at the beginning.

As someone who has not read the book, I'll just say that I'd much rather see Matt Bomer fondle Jonathan Bailey than Froy any day.

I think Bailey and Froy are both hot as hell

Bailey as Hawkins and Froy as Tim would have worked.

Have you seen Froy in anything, r43 or r42? (I have not.)

In the vast majority of productions when casting, being a good actor is usually a smarter bet than being the right age and a limited actor.

Stockard is that you?

I'm much more interested in seeing Matt and Jonny together than in how faithfully they've interpreted the age difference. Froy? He's a Datalounge character to me, who exists nowhere else in my memory.

Matt and John are a good couple, which is why I’m sure they were cast opposite each other, but they should have aged up the characters if they absolutely wanted Bailey in this role. It looks ridiculous with this mid-30s man with a chest full of hair playing an ingénue.

It was Bomer’s project so they weren’t going to get anyone else to play the main character. He looks good in the previews.

For some reason, when I read the book I thought Tim was blond.

They could have aged up Hawkins (28 in the book) to 40s for Bomer and it would have been fine but they absolutely needed a younger actor if they wanted the same dynamic as in the novel.

The fact that Robbie Rogers produced this and his last project was stuntcasting Harry Styles in My Policeman, I’m not counting on this creative decision to work well.

I love Bomer and will watch this series without question but that clip was just cringey…. “I’m your boy.” Said by an adult man in his mid 30s.

Bailey’s character is named Skippy?

R52-Oh, please. It's the 1950's. "I'm your boy" sounds pretty accurate.

No it doesn’t.

R52, Skippy is just his nickname

I’m looking forward to watching Bomer and Bailey engage in a wide variety of sex scenes (the article said the writers ran thru every possible sex act they could write into the show). Both of them are good actors and both are hot.

But without context, that dialogue in the clip and the nickname “skippy” came off more silly than sexy.

I believe the series is based on the book, but instead of ending, it follows these characters over several decades. It also introduces a couple of new characters. I’m looking forward to seeing it. Too bad Matt & Jonathan can’t promote it.

[quote]I love Bomer and will watch this series without question but that clip was just cringey…. “I’m your boy.” Said by an adult man in his mid 30s.

Lots of gay partners say that to each other when they're alone, but obviously most, if not all, sweet nothings between lovers are cringe when you see them on the screen. And I don't know why the age thing freaks you out so much, we're all boys underneath the aged exterior.

New article

[quote] And I don't know why the age thing freaks you out so much, we're all boys underneath the aged exterior.

Oh FFS did you write this show?

It’s obvious Bailey is trying to play him “young” which is why the scene is so cringey. He looks 35 and Bomer looks mid 40s.

The problem with this project is based on the scene showing them in what appears to be the 60s and 70s, is that they look exactly the same as they do in this scene. This may have worked onstage but you just can’t age up like this in television, especially when the actors are already older.

Let’s say this scene is in 1968. Army McCarthy was in 1954. If Bomer’s character was 40 in the 50s scene then he would be 54 in this scene. They look their real ages in this scene, so I’m guessing they kept Bailey as 21 in the Bomer as 28 in the McCarthy era scenes, like in the book.

They really needed to hire younger actors for the 50s scenes if they wanted dot do this multi year concept.

Bailey's character dies from AIDS in the book, so thank you, writers, for changing that.

Yes it was the delivery of “I’m your boy.”

Bomer could deliver the line better. Even though he’s in his mid-40s, I would probably believe it. He’s still a pretty boy.

R61 I don’t think that’s true? Hawk assumed he did, but he was wrong. Anyway, we don’t know if he eventually dies in the movie.

I hesitate to ask this, but did the 🦆ling troll die or something? He would usually be all over this thread.

Who do you think started it?

R63 is right. The character does NOT die from AIDS

Bet there won't be much in the way of cocks being shown

Probably some nice ass shots though

[quote]Probably some nice ass shots though

Well, Bailey certainly isn't above a nice ass shot.

Bailey has a great ass

Neither is Bomer. Remember his ass in the normal heart?

I never forgive Matt Bomer for wearing a prosthetic cock in BITB.

Jonathan Bailey is beautiful. He looks like a modern day Gregory Peck. Matt Bomer, on the other hand, looks like a dissociated wax figure. No, thank you.

Bomer did not wear a prosthetic cock, he wore a cocksock.

Wasn’t he in the shower though?

R74 when it looked like he finally showed his big fat cock, I was reliably informed on here it was fake!

Glad the strikes will be over and they can promote this. I want to see Bomer talk about it.

Yes, it will be fun to see all the actors talking about it.

If the SAG Strike is settled.

[quote]Glad the strikes will be over and they can promote this. I want to see Bomer talk about it.

The WGA is settled - they still have to do a little more and sign.

SAG-AFTRA is not and the Video Game Performers are about to join them.

Hopefully SAG will settle by the end of October.

Grown men shouldn't be that skinny. Nothing turns me off me than a slender man who looks like he only eats salad.

more

or less

Will there be surprise anal?

New stills

I will scream if they Bailey playing a 22 year old here.

I could care less if Bailey looks 22 or not as he looks fucking hot in his 50s glasses and hairdo.

^ He's a hot nerd

This will be the gayest TV series in the US since Queer As Folk. England had It’s a Sin a year or so ago. I’m looking forward to it.

“I’m 22!”

He's terribly cute, that's all.

Bomer doing sex scenes and showing his butt - his only talent.

The problem with Bomer is not that he’s a bad actor, but he chooses to implement some “tics” when he acts which are really kind of irritating, the biggest one is clipping his words and speaking from the back of this throat. I have a bad feeling someone told him he had gayvoice and he does this to overcompensate.

If you watch him in interviews he speaks completely normal, but when he acts it’s like he has a sore throat.

His character in this is supposed to be sophisticated & masculine so he’s probably trying to sound that way.

His voice sounds neither.

It sounds like when someone from UK or Australia tries to do an American accent and it just comes out really campy. Like in Difficult People when Julie got mistaken for being retarded. It comes off as an affectation especially when there’s nothing wrong with his conversational voice. He even narrated that International Male documentary and it sounded fine.

Bomer's voice is fine. I swear, people go looking for things to bitch about

We have only seen a tiny snippet from the series so far. I’m going to wait to see more, but then I haven’t already made up my mind.

Trailer just dropped

Looks good!

Sounds like they use the term Queer as an insult as it certainly was at that time.

Love Bomer - trailer looks great. I assume the audience will strictly be gays and fraus who like Bomer?

Hard to imagine many straight men being interested in this, but women will be if QAF is any indication.

Not only Bomer fans but also Bailey fans from Bridgerton.

I hope you mean Jim Bailey, I haven’t seen him in a while

Bailey this week

He is so hot

Jonathan presented Matt for HRC award

Matt’speech at HRC

Bomer is so cute - seems like such a nice guy.

Thanks for posting.

It was nice speech. I admire him for speaking out.

I didn't realize that Jonathan Bailey is out.

See he does talk normally, except when he acts. He brings his voice down much lower and he clips his words off, I thought maybe he’s doing that for his straight roles but he’s doing it in Travelers too.

He’s put on some weight, maybe for a role.

It's hot he said he fell "madly in love" with the husband.

New clip released:

Bomer really needs to stop doing the thing with the bugeyes

[quote]Fellow Travelers will premiere October 27

Only one more week!

Love the new clip.

Wish this strike would settle so we could hear them both publicizing this.

New review from The Hollywood Reporter

Good review from Variety

Another review

Good review from Time

Those are pretty good reviews. Obviously the series differs from Mallon’s book in many ways, but it seems to preserve the poignant relationship between Hawk & his younger lover. Looking forward to watching this weekend.

I wonder how much nudity we'll get..

The sex positivity is exciting. It had better get great ratings.

Not sure about full nudity, but the reviews state that there are plenty of sex scenes

Bomer should really flash his peen at least once before everything goes south. For posterity

Probably just butts.

More reviews:

I saw a screening. It is 🔥🔥🔥.

Good review from A.V. Club

Entertainment Weekly:

Great review from rogerebert.com

This sounds so good! Hope it lives up to my expectations.

It will drop, as they say, at 3:01 am on Friday, eastern time.

^ Cool, can't wait

The Washington Post gave it a good review. Beware. The article may tell you more than you want to know.

Thanks for posting all the reviews. It will be interesting to see how it is received by viewers, gay & straight, male & female. I’m guessing it won’t appeal to everyone.

Interesting that 2 reviews note that Bailey’s character is the heart of the show since Bomer is a producer who helped initiate the project. Perhaps his character is more interesting, if not as sympathetic. Actually, as I recall, that was pretty much true in the book.

I think it’s just a result of Bailey, an Olivier Award winner, acting circles around him..

I assumed they were going to cast someone like Froy because Bomer in the EP role wouldn’t want to be out-acted.

R139 We’ll see. Guess you didn’t the reviews. They are impressed with Bomer’s performance.

And without Bomer we probably wouldn’t be getting this series with endless gay sex scenes.

So thank you for your service sir.

I don't have Paramount Plus but I do subscribe to Showtime where it premieres Sunday 10/29 at 9:00 PM. HBO's The Gilded Age also premieres the same night at 10:00 PM. Finally, something to watch Sunday evenings.

Does the whole series drop tomorrow?

r143 It drops at 3:01 am eastern time, October 27, 2023, which is just after midnight, of course, in L.A.

But does the whole series drop or do the dole out one episode a week?

One a week, r145. It will end Dec. 15.

That’s bullshit. Thank God I didn’t subscribe yet, I was going to.

Chicago Sun-Times Review

It’s on now.

It’s nothing Queer as Folk hasn’t already covered

But people in the fifties did not have bodies like the other guys unless they were a professional bodybuilder.

The lighting in this show is gorgeous, best I've seen in ages. Beautifully shot just in general, I forgot I was watching TV at times.

Johnny's forearm veins are something else. Decent American accent, although the Ts trip him up occasionally (parTicular, hypocriTe) and the Os as well when he gets emotional. But what the fuck was with that enormous sock in his briefs, he was balancing a book on it at one point.

McCarthy's fake nose was very well done, almost had me fooled. This type of schnoz can easily come across as comedic if not done just right. Should have been a smidge darker during that presser, though.

So glad they aged the character up, I cannot with yet another needless freakout over this issue, even though obviously it happens all the time in real life.

Allison Williams was the standout of the first episode for me. I just wanted to spend more time with her and her judgemental glances.

Ooof the one frau is “the standout” in a show about gay men?

Maybe I’ll just check out the sex scenes online then. LPSG is already posting gifs of Bomer pounding Bailey and another actor.

[quote]Ooof the one frau is “the standout” in a show about gay men?

I know, I'm as shocked as you are. I have an inherent bias against nepo babies, but this bitch just has IT. By the way, Bomer's assistant(?) is another frau with great screen presence.

Bomer and Bailey are both wonderful, obviously. I knew Bailey would be great and he is. I was expecting the worst from Bomer, but he's really applied himself here and it shows, obviously this project is important to him.

It is beautifully shot, but as far as explicitness this isn’t really any racier than Red White and Royal Blue.

I disagree, this feels a lot hornier – the sweaty pumping with the slapping, the foot scene, the crotch sniffing... RWRB doesn't come close. And we get a cock shot in the first episode, which we didn't get in the movie.

Yea but RWRB gets points for getting his ankles in the air.

I forgot to mention that he tastes his cum after he jacks him off. Glad they did it in a "blink and you'll miss it" kind of way, it could have easily come across as gross had he overdone it.

Vogue article but there's a paywall

I'm loving it. I knew I would. I loved the book and I love these two actors. I'm glad Showtime is parceling it out over eight weeks. Plenty of time to talk about it with two of my friends in particular.

Waiting to watch it on Showtime on Sunday

Right tarts, what's the cock situation? Who flashed what?

The trick did. Although I'm sure many here will be horrified by his hygiene habits because he basically just splashed his cock a bit and called it a day.

Somewhat related, but I'd really like to introduce that beefcake to the joys of a vitamin C suspension for the sunspots on his face. Because he's way too young for those, his skin in that hallway scene looked rough as hell.

They’re really overdoing it. It reminds me of a Colby Keller scene with the cartoonish bellowing. Also the distance shot makes it look like Bomer’s character has a 15 inch penis.

One word: Wow!

Tim is so transparently written for a younger actor. They should have just aged up the character.

“Who’s my boy?” “I AM! I AM!” Bitch you are 35!

As black men in the South can tell you, that word can be – and was indeed in this context – used for domination, it doesn't necessarily refer to one's age. Whatever, I thought it was hot.

One small thing, but it was so cathartic hearing Tim say to the priest that he felt purer than at any other time in his life when he was having gay sex, and then he just walked out of the church. Exactly what I've always wanted to say to my former priest.

Like they are at 100, if they knocked it down to 80, it would have been perfect.

Again, with this hookup they cast a very big guy as the bottom and have Bomer who’s not a big guy overdoing it as the dom top. This needed a twink.

Or they wanted to portray that Bomer's character is a dominant guy, regardless of his size.

This is pretty much a Brian/Justin QAF scene, but Bailey is just too old to pull it off. It comes off as… camp.

I think they were probably conscious about not wanting to recreate the QAF Brian/Justin dynamic, but that’s what the book is.

R171 hot. I'd love to.

Well look at Bomer go in that scene from r168 😂

He’s really going to town pounding that guy. Good for him.

The other actor from the scene. Huge guy.

I am absolutely going to insert this randomly into threads here.

Even though I think they needed a decade younger actor, Jonathan Bailey is absolutely fearless. Even if straights are turned off by all the gay sex, he’ll be getting a ton of offers for being this committed.

Bomer was okay. I thought everyone else acted circles around him.

He should have just used his normal voice instead of trying to deepen it.

Don't get me wrong, I did like the show but I also have a feeling the series is going to be very "horny." As in: there's going to be a lot of sex going around and happening but it will be more about what's implied than what is shown. Blurry nude sex from the leads, partial ass, but all the extras and people who come and go a some point will flash a dick.

I'll give them credit, the armpit licking, the foot licking, the (padded) crotch nuzzling was all very hot and it didn't require either of them to be nude to do it.

I didn't realize till the end that it was written by the guy who wrote Philadelphia. Didn't much care for that either. But Bailey is the best thing in it.

What I disliked about Bomer and several of the reviews brought this up, is that he’s doing Jon Hamm as Don Draper. It’s a lot of checking things off the box. The character is already like Don Draper so he could have differentiated it.

Bailey meanwhile is going absolutely bananas with his physical performance. And even though it looks kinda ridiculous, people respect that. He’s going to get a lot of offers.

But here’s the thing I dislike about this

Why the heck did they film this like this if it was going to be in the distance and blurry. It looks like his dick is going completely out of his ass and back in.

R171 I was reminded of the QAF characters, Brian & Justin, too. Wonder what Gale Harold & Randy Harrison would have looked like in these roles.

My god - some of you are so hard on Bomer 😂 I thought he looked great and he’s doing a fine job. The part is sort of weird. So crazy to think about how these gay men back then had to marry women and breed, while having this secret life. Makes me sad.

Bailey is fantastic. He seems to be elevating the script with his performance.

I wonder if the actors are somewhat relieved they don’t have to do press because of the strike. I would imagine they would have to talk about the sex scenes in every interview and it would get old fast. Neither one seems like an attention whore in real life.

Cumshots?

Shrimping!

I love how Tim is supposed to be this naive little nerd and then he lifts up his shirt and it’s clear he does like 500 crunches a day

Loved the book. Loved the opera. So far, liking this expanded adaptation for a TV series. Details have been changed, characters & scenes have been added, but the two main characters & their relationship appear to be the same. Bomer & Baily are not quite how I pictured them, but they look good and are convincing in their roles. Good chemistry between them.

Does anyone know if future episodes will drop on Fridays or Sundays?

I was hard for Bomer watching this. I admit it.

R187, the episodes are dropping on Paramount Plus on Fridays and will air on Showtime on Sundays

I thought the first episode was superb. The story was engaging, performances were good all around, Bomer & Bailey had great chemistry, and it was sexy as fuck (much more so than I expected it to be).

Now, if they can only keep it up for another 7 hours or so.

Was the McCarthy era scarier than these MAGA times?

It's gone from 8.6 to 6.4 in one day on IMDb, the homophobes have obviously stumbled on this show by now and said hell naw to the homosex.

It says[bold] 8.4[/bold] chez moi, r192. Maybe you're the one saying "hell naw."

I gave it a 10, it's at 6.5 right now, with 351 votes cast.

r194 OIC. I was looking at the rating for episode 1. Sad to say, you're right.

They had to know the show would turn away many viewers who tuned in just because they like the two leads and did not expect to see so much explicit sex.

Can't wait to see this tonight

How do we know Matt's bulge was padded? Imagine getting paid to stick your face in Matt Bomer's crotch!

The show's intimacy coordinator would never allow Johnny's nose anywhere near Matt's real cock. That sort of thing is considered unprofessional these days, you're basically exposing the actors to workplace sexual assault if you don't do your job properly. Whether the actors themselves are up for it is completely immaterial, they don't really get a say on the matter anymore. That's just how much the business has changed in recent years and I think it's for the better.

I don’t think it’s homophobes pushing down the score. I think the audience that they targeted was not expecting the kind of story they delivered.

The direction they went with - and I’m trying to think of a better word but it’s early - is ACIDY. “This is gastric juices churning, this is enzymes and acids!” to quote Angels, to which one critic wrote that it will compare unfavorably. The audience who tuned into this has been weaned on Brokeback Mountain, Call Me By Your Name, and Red White and Royal Blue. Bomer and Bailey are usually cast as benign characters. The majority of people who tuned into this would have been women expecting something sentimental.

This is a project from an eldergay and he may have written it in a way that gay men of his generation remembered the past, which while valid, may only resonate with older gay men, those who have read “Faggots” or “Dancer from the Dance” and would understand why the characters would be so unlikeable.

The Hollywood Reporter critic called this “trauma porn” but I’m going to be a little more nuanced and call it a relic of the age of “feel-bad homosexuality”, of the literary period between Stonewall and AIDS. And the audience for this is going to be very, very small.

[quote]The show's intimacy coordinator would never allow Johnny's nose anywhere near Matt's real cock.

Spoilsport!

And the irony of this is that this novel has been adapted as an opera, which was, unsurprisingly, sentimental.

Even though Bailey is being universally praised for his performance, Jonathan Bailey also almost always plays dislikable weasels who (and this is a testament to his talent) emerge with a redeeming quality by the end of the story (if you can, watch Crashing.) This means he would have been suited to play Hawkins, not Tim. Tim needs to be completely naïve and innocent in order for the story to have the softness that it needs. Again, the obvious choice was Froy Gutierrez.

So I’m going to call this one a casting mistake and the reason for the casting mistake is quite obvious because his previous gay project also had a gigantic casting mistake (Harry Styles), and that is producer Robbie Rogers who is one of the most loathesome species in Hollywood - the nepo-spouse. Not all nepo-spouses are useless, Peter Spears (CMBYN) has an Oscar now but he was also an actor for many years before he married power agent Brian Swardstrom. Robbie Rogers is a former professional soccer player with no training of experience in acting, writing or making any kind of art, and was simply gifted his career by his husband Greg Berlanti so he would have something to do with his soccer career being over, and will probably never produce anything good because producing is a talent your husband cannot buy you.

Babe, you're ranting again.

Article with Ron Nyswaner on casting the show.

I don’t know who Froy is or whether he wanted a part in this show, but I agree with Ron that the cast they chose works very well. In addition to impressive acting, both Bomer & Bailey have considerable fan bases.

Does anyone know what Thomas Mallon thinks about this adaptation of his novel? Has he commented publicly?

“Bomer & Bailey have considerable fan bases”

Who don’t appear to like the show.

[quote]Again, the obvious choice was Froy Gutierrez.

Except that this role requires someone who can act.

Bailey is getting tremendous notices.

It’s simultaneously possible for someone to give a great performance by putting all his effort into the role, and nevertheless be miscast. John Malkovich is Dangerous Liaisons, for example.

Bailey is miscast in the role the role that exists onscreen, but they could have rewritten the character to be more suitable to his age. The character is clearly written for a much younger man, and the cognitive dissonance takes the series into camp. The casting eliminated the older man/younger man dynamic, but because they didn’t change the dialogue, it veers the relationship into DOMINATION/SUBMISSION. And several critics have noticed this, which makes me the Nyswaner is actually into that. And there’s nothing wrong with domination/submission, but you aren’t going to get a bunch of fraus who loved Red White and Royal Blue to enjoy this. The Daily Beast critic (I think) even called it pornographic. So the question remains - who is this series for?

I expect the gay crossover hit of the season to be All of Us Strangers (I predict a Best Picture nod, and a longer shot but both actors getting nods) because it does deliver what the non-gay audience will accept from gay movies. Soft lighting, Mescal’s big facing leaning in to kiss Andrew, both actors having very soft features. You can sell this to straight people.

I've just tried to torrent this and realised it isn't spelt the British way.

Travellers is spelt with TWO Ls thank you very much.

Very interesting points made.

I do think fraus enjoy watching filthy gay sex. They might not admit it but there is endless explicit fan fiction written by fraus. Pure filth. Especially the gen Z crew. They might watch this.

Somewhat older fraus seem to love trauma porn. Look at the obsession with that absurd book “a little life” where it’s gays getting tortured for 800 pages. The fraus couldn’t put it down. They sobbed and sobbed and loved it. They might watch.

Don’t underestimate the amount of women who will watch good looking gay guys.

Plus the gays will watch.

Also - for those who are saying Bailey is miscast - doesn’t the show span decades? Maybe he seems a bit off when he’s playing the character in the beginning, but will settle in as the characters age.

I love his performance so far (and I was a naysayer), but just a thought.

None of the characters seem to age much in this. 45 years later, Bomer just has a bit of gray in his hair. Wish I had aged so well.

I think a lot of the Million Mom and MAGA types swoop in to downvote stuff they don’t “agree with” on IMDB. There was a concerted effort by MAGAS to downvote The Conners in support of Roseanne, despite the fact that it remains ABC’s top sitcom. I see this trend occasionally on gay-themed productions. Then you’ll see MAGA productions like The Sound of Freedumb with overly high ratings. I usually find IMDB to be a pretty good gauge whether I’ll like something or not, but don’t usually trust it on mainstream gay-themed stuff. Plus MAGA types would probably welcome targeting gays like McCarty did.

[quote] Bomer doing sex scenes and showing his butt - his only talent.

How dare you?!!! I won a GOLDEN GLOBE!!! It is a coveted honor and only serious thespians of estimable talent can ever even hope to win one -- just ask Sharon Stone, Madonna, Lady Gaga and Jacqueline Bisset

Fraus will watch kinky gay sex to an extent, like the peach fucking scene in CMBYN (which was not even explicit.) Mescal licks the cum off Andrew Scott's chest in AOUS, but it's very romantic, bathed in moonlight, etc.

The difference with Fellow Travelers is that it clearly ventures into domination/submission. This is something gay men have not put onscreen, at least since Rainer Fassbender. It's not something that's really going to go over easy with the straights. I mean I find this hot, but I also have videos of guys pissing in each other's mouths on my computer. We are used to seeing this, they are not. That's why the Beast critic called it "Medium Core Pornography." Queer as Folk was explicit but it unless my memory serves me incorrectly, they did not show outright domination/submission. Or the aspect was neutered by the age differentiation of Brian and Justin, and it became more of a sexual pedagogy. Which is how Thomas Mallon wrote it in the book. But Nyswaner clearly is into d/s, which would explain why they did not alter the erastes/eromenos dynamic of the characters despite them looking almost the same age.

And I'm not trying to kink shame, I'm just trying to think like a producer. Who is the audience for this? Is Emily Grace from Marketing, who loves Taylor Swift and loves her gays and paints her nails for Pride Month, going to watch this for eight hours? Nope! "Why are they being so mean to each other?" It's why straights struggle with something like the original "Boys in the Band." We understand the trauma, they do not. Nicholas Galitzine and Paul Mescal's gigantic Disney eyes win the day.

Ultimately my verdict is that this was a missed opportunity to have continued to mainstream gay stories, from a boomer director with an agenda who has listened to "We Didn't Start the Fire" and watched "Cruising" one too many times.

But on the bright side, the GIFs will live forever!

R216 that fall could have broken that guy's boner!

He came seconds earlier, so he was already getting soft at that point. I paused it at just the right moment and you can actually see a piece of fabric covering his cock.

I want to overlay the clip of him pushing him onto the bed with Lana Turner saying “Get away from my table!” in LA Confidential.

R214, the MAGAts were purposely giving low scores to The Little Mermaid for being "woke"

Here's a clip of Thomas Mallon promoting his latest book, towards the end he talk about Fellow Travelers a bit. He basically said he doesn't know much about screenwriting or filmmaking, so he took a hands off approach with the adaptation

It’s on Showtime. They’re okay with niche audiences. They never expected the popularity of QAF but they may be hopeful. It was shocking at the time. So far there seems to be praise for Bomer & Bailey fans on Twitter. I don’t see many complaints. A lot will depend on the appeal of the rest of the drama and word of mouth. Not many people have seen it yet.

Mallon is a hard right-winger who wrote Dan Quayle's autobiography.

Typical self-hating log cabinette.

The tumblr fraus have already devoted pages to gifs of the characters fucking.

Don’t underestimate the number of straight women who objectify gay men. Unless there is scat involved - they can handle dom/sub content.

I love that we get a dom with a smooth chest paired to a sub with a hairy one. Like seeing a top with his bottom partner who's (much) taller than him. I've always found it hot when these signifiers of masculinity don't correspond with the roles guys play in their relationship and/or in the sack.

[quote] I love that we get a dom with a smooth chest paired to a sub with a hairy one.

Whatever, bitch! Anyone can grow chest hair!

R224, if tons of straight women "objectified" gay men then there would be tons of out actors playing leading man roles. There would be tons of gay-themed projects. But there aren't. Fag hags who write fan fic don't represent the typical straight woman

So if women enjoy this movie, they’re perverse fag hags, but if they don’t enjoy it, they’re homophobic?

It should surprise no-one that the fool saying Froy should've been cast is also the frau saying Red White and Royal Blue was sexier. Also the same frau crying that there's too much gay sex in this.

[quote]who is this series for?

Gay men, you stupid cunt. No wonder you don't like it.

R228 right?

Women will watch this. Both actors have large female fan bases. I don’t understand why we are arguing over this point 😂

Funny that so many upthread are complaining about Bailey being too old but for me the issue is Bomer being too young and pretty. Hawk needs to be played by a real man, somebody you'd NEVER believe was gay, not a youthful softie like Bomer. The sex scenes are sexy but too imbalanced with the physical similarities between Bailey and Bomer but would be absolutely mouth watering had Hawk been played by someone like Michael Fassbender, Colin Farrell or even Ben Affleck or Jason Statham. Someone more macho.

They will watch episode one, but will they watch two, three, four?

I'll take gay over macho, thank you very much. Their chemistry is remarkable, r231.

LOL youthful softie Bomer is 45.

The character of Hawkins is an arrogant 28 year old prettyboy in the Mallon book. Because I had seen him in Mrs Maisel recently, I pictured him looking like Nolan Gerald Funk when I read the book. Handsome but radiates arrogance.

Ben Affleck or Jason Statham? God no.

I loved it.

R236, me too

[quote] Gay men, you stupid cunt. No wonder you don't like it.

NOTHING is made for gay men. For one, most queens can't stand to watch gay guys do overtly gay stuff. They'd much rather watch straight guys do gay-suggestive stuff. All of these things are made for a female audience. So some tasteful gay erotic stuff where a gal can picture herself as one of the dudes is OK. But it can't be intensely gay in a way that repels women.

Think Bomer is much better than I expected, and his slickness and beauty (he is a dead ringer for Jeffrey Hunter, the ‘50s movie heartthrob) work very well for his character of a Golden-Boy-With-A-Secret on the way up in his career.

Think Bailey is terrific. Yes, he’s playing up the naivete and gawkiness quite a bit in this episode but he’s a fine, expressive actor. You can see him falling in hopeless love with Bomer’s character. And complaining about his age is ridiculous. He is going to be playing Tim when he’s into his 30s and 40s. Better to have a good actor than a callow, inexperienced one in the role.

So far, Rotten Tomato scores are 90/100.

Older Hawk looks like Gregory Harrison and Tim Robbins made a baby.

People have been demanding that only gay actors play gay characters. That is the case here. Now are they going to insist that only gay audiences can appreciate them?

Must have filmed this before the strike

As the box office failure of “Bros” proved, there is simply a ceiling to the kind of gay film that will have crossover appeal. And I thought “Bros” was phenomenal. It said things about gay trauma that I thought I’d never see in a Hollywood movie. But the audience for this kind warts-and-all gay film simply does not exist beyond the small percentage of the population that is actually gay.

A gay film (or limited series) that wants to achieve crossover appeal has to essentially function as a kind of propaganda. Is it honest? No. Do straight people enjoy them? Yes. Is it important that straight people enjoy them? Extremely. They are the people who are going to be raising the next generation of gay men.

The upcoming Jeffrey Wright film American Fiction is about a black academic author who cannot get his work published because the publishing industry only wants Black stories that are trauma porn, including a new bestseller called “We’s Lives in Da Ghetto.” So he writes an even more offensive one called “My Pafology” which, Producers-style, becomes a literary sensation.

“Fellow Travelers” the novel was a fairly pedestrian, sentimental doomed romance written by a gay Republican. Ron Nyswanner saw it and decided to turn it into the gay “We’s Lives in Da Ghetto.” This does not discount the validity of the experiences that the series portrays, but I merely question what they were expecting in terms of at-large audience reaction.

Sometimes, it’s better to just go with what works.

So Bros was good for dealing with gay trauma....but when Fellow Travelers does the same it's trauma porn? I'm confused 😕

But Bros was always marketed as an outrageous, caustic comedy

Bros was most foul.

Was a lot of this filmed in Canada? There are very few actors I recognize in the supporting roles. As a matter of fact, besides Matt, Jonny and Allison, I don't recognize any of them. Well, there's Linus Roache, but isn't he Canadian?

Not that there's anything wrong with being Canadian.

I'm liking Linus Roache in this

Yes had a long shoot in Toronto

R229 fuck froy! Whoever or whatever it is. I’ve seen countless threads on froy here on the DL for years but never, ever stopped to read any of them because the name “Froy” is ridiculous! I can’t stand stupid shit perpetuated by gay trolls being foisted upon me.

Matt Bomer as a top? Um, okay.

beautiful bodies! lurid and lush art direction.

253 is that your synopsis of it? I’ll pass if that’s all it is.

r238 Don't try and pretend your issues are widespread throughout the gay community, we're not all self-loathers like you.

r244 Frau, fuck off with your 'you need to care about straights more than yourselves' bullshit.

The blatant homophobia of airing this on the same day as The Gilded Age. Can Biden do something about this?!

Bros was the worst gay movie that ever was and so insanely hyped up to be groundbreaking and wonderful. And I can’t believe someone actually thinks it was better than Fellow Travelers !!! What a total miscast Bros was and a real film career ender for Billy Eichner.

[quote] [R238] Don't try and pretend your issues are widespread throughout the gay community, we're not all self-loathers like you.

And yet, r255, a malodorous cloud of self-loathing f@ggotry envelopes us whenever you let rip one of your idiotic brain farts.

Well, this thread has been a veritable disaster thus far. Is anyone going to discuss the actual show, or is there another thread somewhere that I'm missing where such a discussion is taking place?

R259, I second that demotion!!!

I think Matt Bomer is doing a credible enough job but, sadly, he's just not a very interesting presence beyond his generic good looks. There's no depth, no soul, behind the eyes.

Which is perfect for the soulless Hawk.

There’s soul behind the eyes

Granted the soul as Aspergers.

The problem with Bomer is that he never did what James Marsden did which saved Marsden’s career, and that was to reinvent himself as neurotic. Marsden got very boring roles off his looks (X-Men, The Notebook, Superman Returns), reinvented himself as neurotic with Enchanted, and has gotten great roles in comedy and drama ever since. Marsden also turned down Magic Mike because the role (went to Bomer) was not well written and inconsequential.

Bomer seems content with “what you see is what you get” prettyboy roles. He did make some attempts to branch out but they were both really, really ill advised (the rent-a-Mexican comedy Papi Chulo and the offensive transgender drama Anything.)

Well, of course this was shot in fucking Toronto with its relentlessly bland actors in day player roles, like the one who played that doomed trick Eddie. Blecccch.

I fully realize this is not a documentary, but a) those are not ‘50s men’s bodies (mind you, I’m not complaining), b) pious Tim would never confess to a random priest in the middle of a sanctuary like that, c) that gay nightclub was waaaay too fancy and obvious for the era and d) Bomer’s greying temples were done by my high school drama department—with toothpaste. I’m watching this mainly for Bailey, who I’ve enjoyed since Crashing (it’s on Netflix), although I couldn’t make it through 15 minutes of the first episode of Bridgestone, but that’s not his fault.

That actor is named David Tomlinson which is the same name as the actor who plays the father in Mary Poppins

But despite the killer body he does have that “It was the best we have up here” look that a lot of Canadian actors have.

Of the actors who haven’t made it down to Hollywood, probably only Steve Lund or Greyston Holt could make it in Hollywood.

Really? I think he's hot. But I've always had a thing for gingers.

He has the body of Hercules and the face of a 10 year old boy

R259 Let us know if you find a thread that actually discusses the series content. This one seems to be mostly be about the actors. Maybe when there are more episodes it will evolve?

It’s actually shocking how old Bomer looks in the little clip on Tomlinson’s IMDB because a couple of years ago he had his face basically rebuilt from the ground up

But I’m assuming that’s because he wanted to get cut (the shirtless shots of him are ludicrous because nobody looked Iike that in the fifties) he whittled his body fat down to 0 and gave him those huge hollows in his eyes.

The old Hollywood maxim that you reach an age and have to choose between face or body still applies.

Bomer’s 50s doppelgänger Jeffery Hunter (29 when he filmed The Searchers) should have been the fitness goal

What work was done to rebuild Matt's face "from the ground up"?

Bomer's looked too thin for awhile now, he could use 15 or 20 lbs. on him.

We can rebuild him!

Because I liked most of the first episode I got the novel down from our bookcase to check out how the beginning compared. I remember when I first read it years ago feeling rather stupid for not knowing much of the myriad of political references of names, places and events with which Mallon overwhelms the reader. He takes for granted you know the history.

I thought having just watched the episode it would be easier. But - NO! I couldn't get past the first couple of pages. He is not for casual readers. I don't really know how I managed to finish the book the first time. I have found that to be true of most of his books. I start them because the historical period interests me, but never finish them because I get lost and wind up not caring about the characters, real or fictional. Admittedly, I may just not be educated enough.

However, I did love his recent novel UP WITH THJE SUN which is set in the world of mid-century American show biz. Got all the references there.

Why is that frau secretary so invested in outing Bomer? Is she just frustrated he hasn't MeToo'ed her by now, is she a true believer, or both? I know she had a line early on about ratting out the Reds, but she seems too young for that nonsense; I've always imagined this to have been an older generations' crusade at the time. Probably just naïve.

Johnny's best line of the episode was "I didn't realise you had ulterior motives." His American accent was so on point there, he sounded like a completely different actor.

The secretary is a cunt. They are timeless. I don't understand your conception of anti-commie or anti-homo crusades being for the old.

I mean, there *was* a surge of it specifically during the McCarthy era, wasn't it? It wasn't as bad before or after him. And there's progressively less homophobia in younger generations, back then and now, so I don't know why you're confused by my conception of anti-homo crusades being mainly for the old. The older folk are – at any given point in time in the 20th and the 21st century – the most homophobic generation.

A really good history of homophobia in Washington is The Secret City by James Kirchick.

Interestingly both Thomas Mallon and James Kirchick are conservative gay Republicans.

I believe Mallon voided his Republican registration status when Trump won.

R281 Both books are unflinching regarding homophobia and the threat it posed to government workers and officials. There doesn’t seem to be a political bias.

[quote]that gay nightclub was waaaay too fancy and obvious for the era

I thought the same. It's my understanding that gay bars/clubs in that era were dingy little hole in the wall places due to how illegal they were. There was nothing posh about them. The Stonewall was like that.

And did white and black gays mix together in the same spaces back then?

Elder Gays, tell me about the Chicken Hut. The Hawk character was critical to the guy in the Dept of Education for going there because ‘even his grandmother knew about it’.

Still doesn't make sense that someone above thinks homophobia was mostly expressed by old folks. I grew up surrounded by homophobes among my peers. A typical experience.

You've got to be taught to hate and fear.

It's got to be drummed in your dear little ear.

R277, in the book it's pretty clear that she has a crush on him and feels betrayed when she finds out he's gay. Though she's pretty right-wing, too

For those who have read the book (without spoiling it for those who haven’t), I suspect the reason for Tim & Hawk’s estrangement is the same as the one in the book , except Tim didn’t find out about it until much later. Just a guess.

Looking forward to Friday.

Did it get good ratings?

R291 It did and a bunch of them are posted above in this thread.

Rotten Tomatoes 94% and viewers 98%.

Great interview with author Thomas Mallon on 10/24/23 episode of New Yorker Radio Hour podcast. He talks about his novel, the series, and his politics.

The link r294 didn't provide:

Details about how the scenes were created to fit the story.

R284, gays did mix across racial lines at a time when Washington was segregated. That alone upset people like McCarthy and Hoover nearly as much as the sexual deviance.

You're referring to a moment when, after Hawk gives Tim a handjob and Tim ejaculates, Hawk almost absentmindedly licks his own hand. Was that something you planned out or was that a "grace note"?

DM: That's something Matt just did. And when you're directing on set, you ask yourself, Do I praise it? Or will he feel like he has to do it again? Or will he not do it because he feels self-conscious? It was a natural, spontaneous note to hit. He was just being a dirty bird. [laughs]

One wonders whether Matt was granted full access to Jonny's penis for the jerking him off scene. I hope so.

Any new horny scenes?

The next episode will be out tomorrow (Friday).

Wonderful and poignant second episode. That interrogation scene enraged me, can't believe this was actually a thing at one point. Honestly, this might already be the best gay show I've ever watched. At least the most polished one when it comes to the writing and the production values, if not the most entertaining.

We get opening credits, and they are unabashedly and relentlessly homosexual. I like to imagine this was the extent of Robbie's exec producer gig – they gave him a shitload of archival footage and he got to choose a handful of the more erotic ones for the credits sequence. They gave him a pat on the back when he was done and that was that.

Bomer technically didn't show hole, but you can catch a glimpse of it if you take a screenshot and turn the brightness up at just the right moment when he's being serviced. Just sayin'.

Johnny's skin looks so healthy in closeups, good for him. He should just keep doing what he's doing, skincare- and diet-wise. His boyfriend better count his lucky stars the first thing he wakes up each morning.

This is going to end up being Bomer’s In Memoriam photo isn’t it

I thought it was good, too. There was a lot going on, but it was an expressive picture of how difficult life was for gays in that time and the various ways they handled the pressure. The actors are doing a great job, very believable. Looking forward to seeing more next week.

Tell me a gay man was directing or writing this because the hookup scenes with domination felt the most real and true of any gay show, especially content directed by women. That was sexy, brought me back to some fun hookups (minus the toe sucking), and the drama felt real.

Episode 1 was great. Very happy to add this to my weekly viewing.

[quote] Tell me a gay man was directing or writing this

No Rose, it was written by Nora Ephron and directed by Elaine May.

A woman actually wrote episode 2, but it’s directed by a gay man.

Has anyone seen the new episode?

[quote]Has anyone seen the new episode?

I'm guessing R302 did, since he gave us his impressions of it.

Episode 2 dropped at about 1:00 this morning. More story development and slightly less hot sex. Loved the reunion scene at the end. Both Bomer & Bailey are giving riveting performances and the supporting actors are very good, too.

Second episode is also great. Their chemistry is very strong.

There is no butthole. It was edited out during post production and you can see a smudge where it should be.

It's actually quite disconcerting, like someone without a bellybutton.

Intense, harrowing second episode, less sexy and “fun” than the first, but very effective in capturing the isolation, paranoia and gut fear re the gay D.C. witch hunts of the period.

I don’t know how realistic it was, but I wanted to cheer when Bomer told off his dying father, rather than kow-towing to him. The way homophobia permeated the culture then was driven home again and again in this episode, it was terrific, and should be instructive to gay youngsters.

Oh honey young gay people aren't going to watch this.

R303 thanks for the pic, he has a beautiful bum. If the acting is as good as some people are saying I hope they get serious recognition for this.

Gay producers, writers, directors, and actors. A story about gay history and forbidden love. This series deserves all the praise it is getting. It will be a classic in the tradition of QAF, L-Word, & Looking.

Guy-on-guy kissing in this show looks so true to real life, is something I realised during this episode. Comparing it to how actors kissed in the movies from that era cracks me up. Or the robotic mashing of the lips you see when straight guys play gay roles.

Skippy's confession at the very end... does that mean no more nookie with Hawk? He celibate now? Because that padre is not going to be a happy camper if he keeps coming back confessing to the same sin over and over again.

Was that gay guy with the crutch walking into the SF bar disabled, or was it AIDS-related stuff? Why did that make Hawk shut up? Did he realise what a (relatively) charmed life he's lived so far, or was he afraid of what he might see when he gets to Tim's?

[quote]Was that gay guy with the crutch walking into the SF bar disabled, or was it AIDS-related stuff?

That's what I figured.

[quote]Why did that make Hawk shut up? Did he realise what a (relatively) charmed life he's lived so far, or was he afraid of what he might see when he gets to Tim's?

The latter, I supposed.

Tim’s reaction to Hawkins walking into his apartment showed that no matter what happened between them and kept them apart, they obviously still love each other. I assume a betrayal (like the one in the book) is what caused their long separation.

r319 Thanks for the spoiler, asshole.

And R317 wasn’t? What is R319 revealing? Speculation about what might happen may or may not be correct. It’s already been pointed out that the book & the series differ in many ways.

That scene in the SF gay bar where the two lunkheads tried to pick up Bomer was both badly written and badly acted. I thought, Oh, please don’t say… And then he did.

r322 see r307

R317: The key to the episode is when thise two younger guys snidely try to pick up the Matt Bomer character in the gay bar, and he asks if they aren’t nervous about AIDS, and the one guy says not really, he works out and is healthy. And Bomer comments that one thing he has learned is that not eveyone feels strong and impervious to sickness, heartbreak, decay. He’s learning the repercussions his dishonest life has had on others.

It was just the “young, dumb and full of cum” guy who was trying to pick up Hawk, a threeway wasn’t being proposed. He said “I’m on a date but I’ll be free later.”

Good casting for the mother. She was very sympathetic and believable. But did they feel the need to cast a guy with dark hair who sort of looked like Jonathan Bailey as the brother? In the subsequent scene of Hawk getting blown and then the shot high above the bed I thought Hawk was getting it on with the brother.

Why did they make such a big deal of Hawk missing out on his inheritance by his father since it’s clear he’d eventually get the moolah from his mother, anyway?

I don’t like the looks of the Black Courier reporter (his nose is kind of hideous) but the drag performer guy he ended up with at the end of the episode is adorable.

The actor playing Cohn is also doing a good job. Jesus, Cohn was such a scumbag.

I like the addition of the black reporter & the drag queen, which are completely different from the book. Not sure what to think of Mary as a lesbian, but I guess it’s okay. Obviously, they tried to make the series more inclusive, which is definitely a good thing.

Interesting comments by author Mallon and show creators.

I’m loving this show. Finally, something worth watching.

Thanks r327.

“Mallon was happy to take a hands-off approach to the series. “I never asked to see a scrip, and I never asked to go up to the set, even though all my gay friends were saying, ‘Are you out of your mind?’ You’re going to pass up a chance to meet Matt Bomer?” said Mallon.”

Bet their were some DLers in that group 😂

There ^

Oh dear sorry

His real friends would have chastised him for not wanting to meet Jonny Bailey. Matt Bomer is hot. But Jonny is stratospherically gorgeous. I want to lick his chest hair until he cums.

The reactions by the two main characters to the witch hunt for deviants, is overwrought. They could just leave government jobs, as they are intelligent, handsome, educated, white men. The scene where Bomer forces Bailey to write the fake break up letter is too melodramatic. It's played like his life is on the line and he'll be tried and executed like the Rosenbergs for sucking cock.

Because the private sector was just oh-so-welcoming to gays in the 50s

Especially gays who just got kicked out of the government for being gay!

Also they both seem to genuinely want to work for the government. It seems wrong they should have to give that up.

The whole situation was horrible.

Hawkins was probably afraid that if Tim got caught, he would too.

I'll have to check this out. Does anyone know if they whole series has been released or is it just an episode each week?

I'll wait until the whole series is ready to watch.

r337, an episode each week

Thanks R338. I'll wait until it's been all released and watch it then.

[quote]The scene where Bomer forces Bailey to write the fake break up letter is too melodramatic.

Not at all. As we see, the letter not only provides cover for Tim, but also for Mary, who definitely uses it to her advantage.

So Cohn, McCarthy AND Hoover were all gay?

Truly wild.

R335 Of course it was horrible and unfair. And of course they wanted to work for the Government. I'm just saying the drama and tone was overwrought in the series. Late night storm and drang. They made it feel like it was life or death.

The content of the letter Hawk dictated to Tim reflected his own feelings toward him. That’s why they were so emotional.

Ah ha, r343 that's insightful and observant.

Any other eldergays here who were certain there'd be a shot at the end of the episode of Mary's lover's limp body swinging from a rope a la Shirley MacLaine at the end of The Children's Hour?

Though nicely produced, authentically designed and photographed and generally well-acted, I'm finding it all just a little dull and predictable and lacking in tension. It feels like the story as told here could be accomplished more successfully in 2 hours.

There are no surprises. The novel, as I remember it, was far more complex about the complicated politics and difficult allegiances. That's probably, just me. I'm old and seen it all.

The failure of peak television of which Fellow Travelers comes at the very tail end, is that no one recognizes what needs to be a movie anymore. They all want 8 episode Limited Series and as a result you have 2 hour stories pushed out into eight hours and they just go on and on. HBO ‘s adaptation of Angels in America was 5 hours 50 minutes; this will probably be an hour longer.

I wondered how the book could be stretched to 8 episodes, but I imagine the answer is that they added additional decades to the story. I’m looking forward to see how those work out.

Also, I'm not sure the Black characters are in the novel.

The book takes place mainly in the 1950s, opening and closing in 1992 or thereabouts. And the black characters are not in the novel.

The whole cast should’ve been black, what this KKK mess?

[quote]So Cohn, McCarthy AND Hoover were all gay?

Cohn and Hoover were 100% without a doubt gay. McCarthy's orientation is a matter of debate.

Roy Cohn was truly evil. There are two documentaries worth watching: "Where's My Roy Cohn?" and "Bully. Coward. Victim: The Story of Roy Cohn." You'll get the full story of how awful he was.

20% of the 353 posts in this thread are from that annoying ASPERGERS! troll.

PS - Asperger is no longer a stand-alone diagnosis.

Is the Roy Cohn we see in this show the same guy who groomed Trump into the deplorable beast we know today? I recall hearing that name a couple of years ago in connection to the rise of the orange calamity.

[quote] So Cohn, McCarthy AND Hoover were all gay? Truly wild.

Those more in the closet are more likely to hate the gays.

Yes r354. Cohn was like a mentor to Trump. Explains a lot!

I wonder who in turn groomed Cohn and how far back that line goes and if you could trace it to a particular Founder.

Why did Tim say to the reporter in that hallway scene that he admired his boss? Was it a reflexive remark, a lie, or does he agree with McCarthy's politics? I'll have to rewatch the premiere, I've forgotten already why he even took that job in the first place.

In this series Tim believes in the need for a witch-hunt/purge of "communists".

I think the lack of a clearer motivation for why Tim (Skippy) is working for McCarthy is a failing of the writing here. There needs to be more about how McCarthy (and Cohn) seduced so many Americans into thinking Communism was an evil threat.

But the series is more interested in Skippy and Hawk in the bedroom (which IMHO should have come more gradually into the storytelling - not in the first 1/2 hour of E1).

R359 respectfully, I’ll take less of discussing the evils of communism and more of Bomer and Bailey fucking.

R353 given your obsessiveness of going into other threads and looking for posts from the Aspergers Troll,

have you considered you may be on the Spectrum?

[quote]I think the lack of a clearer motivation for why Tim (Skippy) is working for McCarthy is a failing of the writing here.

Irish Catholic guilt was the motivation in the book.

Twentieth-century Catholic boys and girls were schooled in the evils of Communism from the time they could talk, think, read and write, etc. I would be surprised if someone Tim's age and of his background had any other attitude towards the red menace. I'm sure Father Coughlin was required listening at home, augmenting what he heard in school and at church.

It's really eye-opening to be reminded of how SUPER FUCKING CATHOLIC Catholics were back then. All of the Catholics I know today are not anywhere close to being devout. Back then the Church ruled people's lives, in many cases.

My father was raised in one of those super catholic homes with 9 total kids. He finally rebelled in the late 50s when he was in the SEMINARY and he gave up most of the culture and his faith, but remained very polite to his family and didn't lecture anyone about the folies of the church and their faith. And even let my mom raise us as quite lapse catholics. I never even went to confession. When I was coming to terms with being gay in the 70s I never had any faith based obstacles - just general cultural - to overcome.

Tim is just so twisted with guilt.

Twisted with guilt? I can relate

Ad campaigns & photo shoots for Todd Snyder, Nobleman’s, Vanity Fair are a strategic way for Matt to get publicity for the series without violating the actor’s strike.

He looks damn good for 45 or whatever he is. Still quite youthful.

R368 the v-neck should hang over, unless his character is slutting around.

Matt Bomer: “My goal is to play a queer character from every decade of the 20th century... a queer Dekalog.”

Remember when DL pronounced sadly Bomer can only get gay roles now? Seems he has embraced it.

New promo for episode 3.

Comments are funny….

“HE DID NOT JUST SLAPPED MY SKIPPY😭😭😭”

More Todd Snyder poses

Is Mat Bomer singlehandedly trying to make pleated pants happen again?

Maybe Tom Snyder is….

I like Todd Snyder’s clothes, though they are very expensive. And Snyder himself used to be a Daddy hunk, quite fetching in jeans that fit just so.

Alden Ehrenreich was the cover boy of the last Todd Snyder catalog, which ran day and date with “Fair Play” on Netflix.

Both Matt & Jonathan make Out Magazine’s sexiest man list. They’re #7 & #8 out of 11.

Out still exists?

Speaking of, that list R337, it's shady to put Zane Phillips on the list but use the photo WITH Froy. Who is not on the list.

Strike is over - now they can do interviews.

God, I love Jonathan Bailey.

First discovered Jonny Bailey as the young reporter Olly on the first season of BROADCHURCH. And then had the pleasure of seeing him three times on the London stage - in his Olivier Award-winning performance in COMPANY, in a drama at the intimate Donmar Theatre opposite DOWNTON ABBEY's Mrs. Patmore (I've forgotten the name of the play but it was good!) and just last year in the West End in COCK opposite Taron Egerton. He played a gay character in all three plays and was fabulous onstage,

This show is so good, what the actual fuck. The writing, the production value, the old-age makeup... could put many a movie to shame Had to pause the scene in Frankie's dressing room towards the end because the set design looked like a million bucks.

Love how we weren't hit over the head that black gays had it so much worse – the writers simply put the two experiences of one evening next to each other and let that speak for itself. The quiet rage on the reporter afterwards was heartbreaking. His ass is enormous though, I had no idea he was built like a shit brickhouse.

I wish I had the task of digitally blurring out the holes on this show.

Agree, R383. This show is fantastic. Matt and Jonny together are magic. They play these complex characters so convincingly. It gets better every episode and keeps you eagerly anticipating the next one.

Great third episode, deeply layered, full of incident, making points about homophobia, prejudice and repression over and over again without being preachy or off-putting.

But what I may have enjoyed most in the latest episode was the sly exploration of the sexual tension in the McCarthy/Cohn/Schine relationship — the dyke drama was delicious. I was first impressed with the detail that Roy Cohn’s mother took a knife to his nose when he was 1-year-old, presumbly to make it smaller, and then a visual line was drawn from his resentment of his mother to his cold-blooded persecution of Ethel Rosenberg.

And while I was turned on by another S&M scene between Hawk and Tim (Hawk sould have spanked him, Tim so wanted him to) I was delighted with the other dominance-and-submission scene: David Schine, in a snit about getting drafted, coldly rejects Roy Cohn’s gesture of affection, leading Cohn to go on an all-night tear through his files. The next morning he invites Schine back to learn how he’s decided he is going to keep Schine out of the army — by launching the Army-McCarthy hearings, accusing the military of harboring pinko-liberals (sound familiar? Republicans have no new ideas).

Meanwhile, as Roy reveals his plans to spare David, he lovingly lights a huge cigar, moves over to David’s side of the desk and takes an inhale, then holds the cigar out at crotch level, inviting David to take a puff. Schine, fully understanding that he’s endebted to Cohn, considers for a second, bends down, puts the cigar in his mouth and starts sucking . . . wonderful and hilarious.

SPOILER ALERT ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Anybody following this thread should expect that people are going to be discussing the show. If someone posted content from future episodes that haven’t aired yet, that would be a spoiler.

[quote]I was turned on by another S&M scene between Hawk and Tim (Hawk should have spanked him, Tim so wanted him to)

I got halfway to hard. A bare-bottom spanking would have taken me all the way there.

[quote]Anybody following this thread should expect that people are going to be discussing the show. If someone posted content from future episodes that haven’t aired yet, that would be a spoiler.

IOW, don't read the thread if you don't want to know yet what happened in the [italic]current[/italic] episode.

The Black storyline doesn’t work at all. Eminently fast-forwardable.

I would assume that small mark on Hawk’s forehead in the 1980s scenes mean something.

Jonathan Bailey in a bondage scene, did Stephen Sondheim write this episode?

Also, the scene where Hawk and his buddy are looking for the evidence in Cherney's hotel room - neither of them thought to look in the cupboard?

Senator Smith just randomly decided to take care of an injured vet? Are we meant to read more into that? Or did I miss something which explained why Smith would've done that specifically for Hawk?

Loved Tim's sarcastic "congratulations" about the Milan posting.

Agree r389 I fast forwarded.

Truly obnoxious when Hawk told poor AIDS ridden Tim that he finally got his “posting in Milan.”

Do they fist each other in a leather bar?

R389: I think that’s meant to be a liver spot, a sign of ageing skin.

Leave it to the lily-white DLers to fast forward through the black gay scenes and not grasp what they're about, then brag about it. Even though most homos here are closer to Frankie in demeanour than they are to either Hawk or Tim, lmao.

I actually liked the black gay scenes for the different perspective they provided.

Still really, really impressed with this show. Bomer and Bailey should be rightfully proud of their work here. (And the 'rough trade' scene in the hotel was haf.)

Any cock or bum in the new ep?

Though the black characters and storyline are apparently not in the novel, and would seem to have been tacked on to provide diversity, I have to say I think they’ve been well integrated (if you’ll excuse the expression) into the basic themes and storylines. While I’m not sure the butch top reporter would go for the drag queen (they don’t have the chemistry Bomer and Bailey have) the points made about the double whammy of racism and homophobia are very much on point and of a piece re the main narrative.

I didn't know Johnny couldn't sing, that makes him so much more relatable to my tone-deaf ass. The way he powered through that song in the diner scene was adorable, with the little botched high note and everything.

The scene where Hawk responded to the questions before giving blood for an HIV test was raw and revealing about his character's life. Bomer did a great job with that.

Yeah, that was great, but I had to watch it twice because the old-age makeup was just so good, I got distracted by the craft of it all. Also, that leathery sun-damaged skin made his blue eyes pop out so much more.

I did chuckle when they showed older Tim in the bathroom and there was not a single gray hair on his chest. The youth jumped out!

Also his skin looked so young in the bathroom when he was on the floor. Like he still had the body of a 35 year old.

It reminded me a little of that horrible normal heart scene where Bomer is in the shower sick and covered in lesions. Much less traumatic but shades of that.

I liked the dynamics on display in the hotel restaurant and "SM" sex scene. Tim turned the situation around by inviting Hawk to dominate him when Hawk was just about finished with Tim, due to his pathetic needy whining.

Still, I don't necessarily buy that a guy like Tim would waste his whole subsequent life pining for the married man. Even if he is a submissive.

Some can just never get over their first cock. I know I can't. Doubly hard when that guy looks like Prince Charming as Bomer does.

Hawk isn't Tim's first cock.

You think so?

Bomer looks amazingly youthful for an older guy.

I hope the rope sex scene was in the book and not conjured up by Robbie. The thought of Berlanti going all BDSM on him with the crib right next to them makes me want to puke a little.

And I cannot believe so many of these pinko hunters were homos themselves. What is it with closeted guys relieving their frustrations by spreading misery like that? I wish there was a hell, so they'd be answerable for this shit.

Robert Bazzocchi has never looked more beautiful than in this episode, straight hair definitely suits him better than curls.

Oh, and Matt Visser is a cutie. He looks like the butt baby of the actor John Reynolds and the now-disgraced writer Chris Kelly.

[quote]And I cannot believe so many of these pinko hunters were homos themselves. What is it with closeted guys relieving their frustrations by spreading misery like that? I wish there was a hell, so they'd be answerable for this shit.

I've also been taken aback by this. It's perplexing to me.

It's a mystery, R409.

It's really weird that a repressed, closeted gay man would embrace right-wing politics!

But was McCarthy GAY gay? And was it RAPE rape?

It's still perplexing in the modern day.

“Active. Always active.”

I wonder if we will see Hawk get passive at any point…

r398 Of course he can sing, he was acting

I want to see Matt Bomer in an origin story of the character Richard Chamberlain played in The Towering Inferno. One where he fucks around with guys a lot until he’s stuck with Susan Blakely’s character, this time played by Sydney Sweeney.

[quote]Though the black characters and storyline are apparently not in the novel, and would seem to have been tacked on to provide diversity,

The idea is that they are .... Fellow Travelers .... throughout history with Bomer and Bailey's characters.

As Nyswaner and Robbie Rodgers mentioned in that EW interview, the hope is that this series becomes an anthology about queer friend groups over the course of their lives possibly even focusing on characters from this series that weren't featured and exploring them more in depth in the next one.

One big criticism of Showtime’s original QAF was the lack of diversity. This show is more inclusive. I wish there could be more overlap of the stories, but maybe that will happen in future episodes.

How much more overlapping do you want, r418? Tim and Hawk, our protagonists, are involved with practically every other character.

I like the black journalist a lot. I find his partner quite unappealing.

And I’m fast-forwarding the communism shit when Bomer and Bailey aren’t present. I watched the Roy Cohn documentary and I’ve seen Angels in America several times. I’ve had sufficient of him (and disgusting McCarthy).

There are only so many hours in a day.

To each his own.

I did see the actor who plays Cohn in a play recently and he was fantastic. Played a hetero British drunk in a rock band and he played the guitar. Very talented.

Loved getting re-acquainted with Jonathan Bailey’s versionof “Not Getting Married Today.” He deserved that Olivier award.

The Black storyline doesn’t work at all. Eminently fast-forwardable.

Same here. Episode 3 was too Woke for me, and took me out of the series. Same goes for the party scene with "Luis" and other Hispanice friends.

I absolutely HATE when period pieces apply a 2023 sensibility to them, just for the sake of being PC. It's so fucking irritating.

Why did the black reporter have to have a trans sex partner? Oh, because that's what 2023 dictates.

Why did the two lesbians have to have a diverse group attending their party? Oh, because that's what 2023 dictates.

Bullshit! Especially since we all know that would not have been the case in the early 1950's.

I want to see something true to life in THAT period, without being tainted by the socially accepted norms of OUR period.

White gays and lesbians wouldn't be interacting that much with minorities in 1950. I mean, for fuck's sake, that barely happens NOW.

And I hightly doubt that a trans person would be so highly visible (and have such an attitude) back in the 1950's. They wouldn't be "fierce" as they are in the 2020's. They'd be terrified and scared shitless of being discovered.

It's just so FALSE.

That's what takes me out of these types of stories, and it really bugs me.

[quote] I did chuckle when they showed older Tim in the bathroom and there was not a single gray hair on his chest. The youth jumped out!

This was really annoying in episode three.

Tim actually looked YOUNGER to me in 1986, than he did in the 1950's. Whoever did the makeup, did a bad job.

And the same goes for Matt Bomer's character.

These guys would be in their 50's and 60's in 1986, but they absolutely did not look like it.

I also didn't really get the suffering aspect from Tim's character, that I've seen in other movies with AIDS patients in the 1980's.

He just seemed like 1950's Tim with a bad wig and terrible clothes.

[quote] The character of Hawkins is an arrogant 28 year old prettyboy in the Mallon book

Miles Teller.

Whenever I think of a masculine, arrogant, and good looking young guy, I think of Miles Teller.

There's just something about him.

[quote]I also didn't really get the suffering aspect from Tim's character, that I've seen in other movies with AIDS patients in the 1980's.

Well, he did have a bloody accident in the bathroom, presumably the result of his illness affecting his motor functions. Plus, he's not on his deathbed just yet. I think the thing that comes through more is the bitterness that many with this illness experienced. I went through something similar last year and this year with my cancer – I became all cold and curmudgeonly and just wanted the body to fucking die already.

r415 You're telling me he was acting out the shitty singing? God damn, this guy is going places.

I recall an article from a couple of years ago talking about how he came to his photoshoot for Attitude or some similar gay mag. He immediately took over the props and the direction and had every detail figured out. Extremely hungry and extremely talented is a good combo for success, I wish him all the best. I hope his boyfriend dies in a grease fire, however.

Doing the age mathematics, Hawk looks too young in 1986. I’d estimate he’d be around 66 (64-68) based in the storyline. He made it sound like he joined up for WWII straight away when it started, so I assume he was at least 18 in 1940.. The tennis doubles trophy for him and Kenny says 1936. He mentioned that was high school when this happened, so let’s say he was 16 then and born in 1920ish. Based in this, it also seems kind of old to have a first overseas posting and moving to Milan. Anyway, he’s looking good for his age, lol.

[quote]Doing the age mathematics, Hawk looks too young in 1986. I’d estimate he’d be around 66 (64-68) based in the storyline.

In the book, it says he was born in 1925, so 61.

Damn, now I want Daddy Bomer to smack me around a little and fuck me raw.

[quote] Damn, now I want Daddy Bomer to smack me around a little and fuck me raw.

He's so convincing in this role, because he has had a lot of practice with Simon Halls smacking him around for all these years.

Oh, and Matt Bomer deserves an Emmy Award for Best Actor in portraying a TOP.

The elegant black tranny speakeasy is PURE fantasy and kind of pisses me off. How dumb do they think we are? Also I agree with the above, the tranny lover is way overplayed and anachronistic. I find it condescending they forced tranitude on the spiced in black characters.

The black characters are both gay men, but one of them does drag. It's a whole thing in the gay community going back ages and spanning different cultures. You're getting upset over nothing, but then you do come across as someone who is angry most of the time.

Also, some fantasy is good, I don't want to watch these characters experiencing relentless misery. We found joy under Trump and these people also found joy during McCarthy's witch hunts.

You extrapolated your response so you could be outraged and snarky. We know there have been drag queens and trannies throughout 20th century. White Christine Jorgensen was a 1950s story. But black Delisa Newton was a late 60s story. And this character is more than a drag queen. My point was they didn't need to layer that on top of invented characters to make the story diverse and they put the "bull dyke" on the lesbian the "tranny" on the negro, so that's kind of a power play so the white gay men can stay sexy and "normalish". That's my take, anyway. And my issue with the POC queer cabaret space is that it is far too luxurious to be realistic for the down-low times of the 50s. I think you'd need to go back to Harlem Renaissance or the decade before that, to PERHAPS find a posh space for queers of color.

[quote] Also, some fantasy is good, I don't want to watch these characters experiencing relentless misery. We found joy under Trump and these people also found joy during McCarthy's witch hunts.

I disagree.

If you're going to tell a story about the hardships gay people experienced under McCarthyism, then tell the truth.

Show the actual hardships, like they did in the lesbian story. Where one ratted out the other, even though they were deeply in love. Now that was heartbreaking, and that was truthful.

But to show some black trans performers (one F2M and one M2F, naturally) singing in a white club, and then the M2F trans coming out to the front of the club to help her boyfriend and then cursing out the white bouncer at the front door? And the black reporter fighting with the white bouncer at the front door?

No, that would not have happened. The real truth is that the black performer would have stayed at the back of the house (like Tina Turner and Aretha Franklin did when they were on the road) and shut his/her mouth.

And the black reporter would have been rejected, and then walked away quietly, probably cursing under his breath.

I don't know why the writers are not afraid to show the hurt and pain experienced by white characters, but with black characters, they have to use kid gloves and always make them out to be some kind of "hero."

That's just not the way it was in those days.

For fuck's sake, they couldn't even use the same water fountains or restrooms as white people, much less walk in the front door of a white club and then fight with the doormen. That's ridiculous. And not truthful.

In those people, black people just sucked it up when they were treated badly. Because that's the way the world worked.

Just like gay people had to suck it up, when they couldn't live together in the same home. Or had to have bearding relationships, because anything otherwise would land them in jail. Or the red light came on at the bar, where gay couples had to immediately partner up with someone of the opposite sex so that the cops didn't arrest them.

And nobody fought back, because that's just the way it was.

To pretend that black people always fought back when they were mistreated - especially in the 1950's, and especially being gay - is just revisionist history.

Cold Case had a good depiction of a seedy gay bar in the "bad old days."

Later in the episode, they talk about how the bartender brought out a red light for the bar when the lookout person alerted him to cops raiding the place. That's when the gay couples switched to opposite sex partners.

Isn't it crazy how every thread abut a gay show descends into tranny panic these days, courtesy of the usual suspects. This is why we can't have nice things anymore.

Yeah, R434, the black trans performer coming out was a bit of a stretch.

It would appear that the fucking annoying troll from the Theatre Gossip threads has found a new home.

You are more than welcome to him.

[quote]the fucking annoying troll from the Theatre Gossip threads

His r___, please.

Where did this rumor come from about Halls smacking Bomer around? Is it just the troll who said he used to hit him with a bag oranges, or is there some story about him being violent?

R440 I did a google search, and there appears to be over 10 "Matt Bomer and Simon Halls" threads from years ago, each filled with 600 replies.

Which means there are at least 6000 comments on Matt Bomer and Simon Halls, archived on Datalounge.

I was going to help you by reading through the posts, but it's just too much.

You'll have to look it up yourself.

Here's a link to Part 10, which has previous threads linked within.

Have fun going down the rabbit hole!

Go back and look at old threads if you want to, but we’ve managed to get this far in this thread without all the vicious posts trashing Matt Bomer, so can we please not ruin it now?

R422, that was beautifully put. This thing has got a serious case of the “wokes.” You forgot to mention the singer in the club who woukd not have looked like that. She would have been far more fabulous and distinct looking, not a dreary Canadian.

R431, drag queens aren't "trannies"

Drag queens and gender non-conforming gays existed back then, too

I recall Bomer was in an abusive relationship with someone before Halls. It was another actor who was smacking him around.

And, I’m sorry, “Mad About the Boy” is SO cliche for the club. There are thousands of other songs which can convey the same thing without being so cringingly obvious.

r438 You're going to have to be more specific, the theatre threads have about a dozen annoying trolls

R446: This is set in 1953-54, Noel Coward’s “Mad About The Boy” would absolutely have been a favorite at an underground gay club. That passed as subversive in those days.

No one should be abusive to Bomer. Seems like a very gentle soul.

LOL at anyone being shocked that a closet case would turn on anyone weaker and more vulnerable. That's the whole theme of the story. All the bullies I knew who called me a sissy, fairy were really just well adjusted future corporate executives.

The best show online in my opinion. incredible acting. Don't believe the black guy would be with a drag queen.

[quote] Don't believe the black guy would be with a drag queen

Me either.

Especially since they established that he and Hawk were an item once. (I guess it didn't work out because they're both tops, indicated by the line "I don't bottom")

I'm guessing that's why they were forced to add in the conversation where Hawk sees the DQ Frankie hitting on Marcus the reporter, and says to him "Variety is the spice of life."

Since they both know that's not his type.

R451, I don't believe he would today but back then - slim pickings.

[quote]Where did this rumor come from about Halls smacking Bomer around?

There's a troll that keeps saying it over and over again. They have for about 10+ years -- just waiting for someone to actually believe it.

I'm bummed that I watched tonight's episode On Demand on Friday.

Now I have a whole week for a new episode!

Me too R454. I actually went back & watched the first 3 episodes again.

Excellent post r422, I agree 100%. I also can't stand it when modern sensibilities are incorporated into period pieces. A man of Hawkins' class and background would not likely have had a black friend in the 1950s. It's also more than likely Hawkins would be rather racist about blacks, as most people of his class and background were in that era.

And FFS why does every goddamned gay-themed production have to have a goddamned drag queen in it?

I also agree that the drag queen never would've gone out in public in drag in that era, that was totally anomalous for the time period. It was illegal to cross dress in public, you were thrown in jail for that.

Actually, right wingers were extra incensed about gays because they socialized across racial lines. Especially in DC, which was segregated. Reading an actual historical account may reveal lots of 21st century assumptions and prejudices that are not true.

Matt Bomer looks well-hung in the toe-sucking scene where he's just in his underwear.

Does anyone know what the ratings are so far?

The black reporter has a hot ass!

The guy playing Cohn is good. Appropriately slimy.

Who are the Roy Cohn and G. David Schine of the 2000s?

Some people are talking about it here R462.

R463, thanks!

[quote] I didn't realize till the end that it was written by the guy who wrote Philadelphia.

Me neither. "Philadelphia" made me wretch. "Do you like opera?"

Let's move beyond AIDS porn and stereotypes.

[quote] England had It’s a Sin a year or so ago.

Garbage.

[quote] Grown men shouldn't be that skinny.

My, aren't we bitter?

Really liked the first two episodes- saving the 3rd until the 4th one drops on Friday. That Jonathan Bailey/Tim (Skippy) is adorable! Yes, Matt B. is attractive but J.B. is cuter (to me) and has really beautiful eyes - so expressive compared to Matt's 'high beam' stare. Matt is quite aloof compared to Jonathan who seems more cuddly and sensitive - he has a slight hint of Matthew Broderick w/glasses and the hair (when M.B. was younger, not the bloated house Frau he is now).

Enjoyed watching w/o commercial interruptions and NO co-starring CELL PHONES!!! unlike today when they are in nearly every program/movie where the participant always has a phone in his/her hand!

Skippy is a very 50s name as was Skip.

My heart broke for "Skippy" when he started singing "Perhaps"

[quote] My heart broke for "Skippy" when he started singing "Perhaps"

I don't know.

I thought he was being overly dramatic and a bit obnoxious in the restaurant.

If I were Hawk, I would be pissed at that little outburst.

After all, Skippy knows the situation between them, and if he didn't like it, then he should just leave Hawk.

But he keeps running back to him. So it's kind of his fault for choosing to be with a closet case.

In my naiveté it didn't totally register with me that it had to be some sort of stuffing.

Nice to look at, nonetheless.

Dear r471,

Wouldn’t want to know you,

Wouldn’t want to blow you.

So I'm assuming Jelani Alladin is gay?

This is the second time he's playing gay. The first was opposite Nico Tortorella in Walking Dead: World Beyond.

He's kind of on the downlow about it, though.

Has Marcus the black reporter ever interacted with Tim/Skippy in any scenes?

Marcus reports to Hawk about Tim quite a bit, such as "Tim is a good guy," or "You missed Tim's birthday," but how would he know that? Is he close friends with Tim?

Because I've never even seen them speak on camera together.

R471 wasn’t everyone a closet case back then?

There's a scene in episode 2 (or is it episode 1?) where Marcus warns Tim that what he (Marcus) and Hawk have in common is a preference for sex without emotional entanglement. He finishes by telling Tim, "You've been warned."

Marcus is the one who took Tim out of that party Cohn shows up at, and to the drag bar where he meets up later with Hawk.

Interesting costume details

(May contain spoilers if you haven’t watched)

Trailer for next episode

r475 Fuck off. In your other posts you admit to fast forwarding scenes, so don't then come here and ask to be caught up.

The soundtrack is up on Spotify. The score is quite good.

Seems viewers are loving the sex.

“In Fellow Travelers, the sex scenes are intrinsic to understanding not only the relationship between Hawk (Matt Bomer) and Tim (Jonathan Bailey), but understanding the two of them as singular people.”

I can't recall if Hawk has been seen wearing a hat, men wore hats during the 50s. It wasn't until JFK became president that they fell out of favor since he never wore one.

Hawk definitely wore one in the first episode

Interview with Roy Cohn and Gore Vidal from the 70s

This is delicious, Gore outs both Roy and McCarthy

R486 - awesome interview. A civilized catfight.

Matt is promoting Fellow Travelers and Maestro in New York. He’ll be on Kelly Rita’s show tomorrow.

I was confused when Hawk said something like “oh, you want me to treat you like trade?” and then starts slapping Skippy around. Wouldn’t the trade be the one doing the slapping?

Is there gay sex? Is it explicit?

[quote]Bros was the worst gay movie that ever was

Obviously, R257, you've never seen "Adam & Steve". It's only is the worst gay movie ever made, but could also be one of the worst movies (gay, or otherwise) ever made...

R490 It's hot but you don't see cock.

Opening video sequence

r493 Looks gay to me.

Yeah, R493, the credits are great. And very, very gay and sexual.

Love the opening sequence. I always skip intro but will watch this sequence this episode. It is unashamedly gay, sexual, and lets you know just where the series is. I also like the way everyone surrounding the gay characters orbit are the strange and weird ones. From the repressive government personnel, the press, to the hateful father to McCarthy and Cohn, to the casually homophobic secondary characters. The humanity and fullness lies in within the gay characters.

We're halfway done and this show remains awesome. When's the last time we had such a well-written gay show, and with such steamy sex scenes on top; I swear it outdoes itself with each new episode. This one featured possibly the deepest kiss I have ever seen on television and the fact that it also involved snowballing will probably fly over many people's heads. Again, such a naughty show.

I expressed some annoyance previously with them giving Michael Therriault that damn mole, but it makes perfect sense in the context. Sorry for doubting you, Robbie!

I'm happy to report my crush on Matt Visser is developing nicely.

So good! These characters feel so real and the suspense is killing me.

People are pointing out that Hawk wore the tie Tim gave him to the lie detector test and to the party he escorted Lucy to. This show pays so much attention to detail. Probably will have to go back and watch the whole series again after all the episodes have aired. The set, costumes, camera work, direction, and acting are all so impressive. Definitely award worthy.

Have you fickle bitches forgotten about us already???

Stylish

r501 I really like that shade of turquoise velour on Matt.

Is Matt Bomer a smoker IRL? His voice sounds like it.

I have thought at various points, r503, that the man has never smoked a cigarette in his life. He looks so unnatural, so artificial, doing it.

What are we, chopped liver?

He’s a smoker. Might have quit now but definitely on and off.

Jacket does not fit at R501.

I remember Nomad Village

Pretty good BJ scene in episode 4.

I spotted him with a pack in his back pocket once. If he does it now, he probably does to "stay thin."

I don’t get why the psychologist said “You passed with flying colors” to Hawk when he was clearly trying to “catch” him after Hawk’s remark the day before about someone possibly murdering him rather than committing suicide.

And yes, I, too, put a visual of Mamie Eisenhower in my head if I need to rid myself of my boner.

r511 Stylish like Helen Keller dressed them.

Matt Bomer hit the jackpot when it comes to faces.

Is anyone having trouble watching the latest episode through prime? I'm getting a "video unavailable" when I go to the series page. Everything else through Paramount+ is playing.

Prime SUCKS. Their platform is horrible.

The latest episode (4) [italic]belongs[/italic] to Matt Bomer. It's practically his Emmy reel. Very, very impressive work.

The snowball scene was great. EAT YOUR OWN CUM BITCH!

r514, why are you going through Prime? I go to paramountplus.com to watch Showtime. AFAIK, that's the only way to watch it on Fridays.

I didn't read the snowballing as a domination sort of thing, I thought it was a very romantic and intimate moment, it's about as close as you can get to another man. But, I've always perceived that particular act that way, so maybe I'm just the odd one out.

A small detail I really loved: Michael Therriault saying "oh hell, it's Christmas" and telling Hawk the results of the test, but Hawk replying with the secular "happy holidays" when he leaves – it subtly shows there's a disconnect between these two men.

Cackled at the "he's as passionate about left-wing causes as he was about McCarthy." The converts are always the biggest zealots, aren't they.

[quote]I, too, put a visual of Mamie Eisenhower in my head if I need to rid myself of my boner.

Why the fuck would you want to rid yourself of a boner?

I go to paramountplus.com to watch Showtime. AFAIK, that's the only way to watch it on Fridays.

I have digital cable with Showtime, so I get the episodes early On Demand.

However, I'm waiting until Sunday to watch it with everyone else.

I watched it early last week, and by the time Sunday came around, there was nothing to watch.

[quote]and by the time Sunday came around, there was nothing to watch.

What am I, chopped liver?

It’s a bit surprising to me that Hawk isn’t more paranoid about AIDS in 1986. He’s wandering into backrooms of San Francisco leather bars and taking his dick out? Didn’t seem THAT alarmed with Tim was bleeding in the bathroom everywhere?

Bomer was great this episode. Lie detector scene was fantastic.

Loved the top panic he experienced when that top tried to top him.

r500 r505 That show might be even better than this one. Both of these shows definitely have set a new standard for gay shows going forward.

Except, r524, I have zero interest in vampires. IWTV is the first Tom Cruise movie I didn't see.

To be fair, shows aren't greenlit with your particular tastes in mind. You watch the genres you like, that's fine. Someone in another thread said he doesn't watch this show because it's too self-serious. Whatever, we all have our preferences. But objectively speaking, both of these shows are incredibly well made and raise the bar going forward.

The kid playing the adopted son of the Black couple is a very weak actor. As a result that last scene where his character broke the bad news about Tim to Hawk lost some of its intended impact.

The Interview With the Vampire series is shit. It's a bastardization of Anne Rice's fantastic story.

Nah, R528. It’s an interpretation that I think works for today.

It's shit r529

Don’t say that about yourself, R530.

I'm saying it about the show r531. They should've just created their own vampire show instead of fucking with a classic.

R528, the movie made quite a few changes from the book as well.

R523 in 1986 safesex was very well known and established. Getting a blowjob, which is what he wanted, was not a risk.

There is a lot of misinformed panic about about AIDS transmission from the fraus online. You would think people would know the facts by now.

I wish the producers had splashed out and filmed the show on location. (More expensive/difficult with period pieces, I know.) That San Francisco strip of storefronts where Tim lives looks nothing like any part of SF I've seen (and I live there). Rehoboth Beach looked like Lake Ontario, and, man, they are working that '40s office (courthouse?) building hard for every office and hallway scene. Also, that gay-bar backroom was awfully *bright*.

Was this the first “snowball” on a mainstream TV show since Succession?

Who got snowballed on Succession? I don't remember that.

Tom at his bachelor party in the first season. Straight guys generally aren't into that, plus he did it with a complete stranger he just met, which is doubly crazy and usually a no-no even for the gays who are into that.

The sashaying test made me wonder whether I myself would pass it. I think I'd be on the cusp. It's the speed of my walking that would betray me because a lesbian nurse told me that's what tipped her off when I was at the hospital a couple of months ago.

Did anyone else have difficulty accessing E3 on their TVs? Finally gave up after several days waiting for it to show up and watched on my laptop. No issues accessing E4. Anyway, just catching up with this thread now. Apologies if this has been covered upthread.

Uhhh, R536, the Rehoboth Beach sequences were actually filmed in Virginia. The end credits listed a Virginia crew on that episode.

The opening scene was really heartbreaking

I wanted to scream "Mary!" when Roy Cohn was doing the "I'm not gay" interview

I imagine Roy Cohn wanted a snowball moment with Mr. Schine but the lad recoiled.

Why do I watch a series that I know will end in tears? Because I'm an idiot, that's why.

Did we miss that Hawk lost a son at some time?

What did Hawk mean when he was at the office party after his secretary outed him, and he whispered in her ear "I hope you're suffering."

Why would she be suffering? She turned him in, and she could totally out him to everyone.

That part didn't make sense to me.

She's clearly been pining after him for the longest time and reported him out of vindictiveness because he wouldn't as much as flirt with her. You're supposed to fuck your secretary if she's into you and you're a single guy, otherwise you're sending a signal that there's something wrong with her. He basically told her "I'm a 10 and I'm never ever going to fuck you, even though I know you want me to, so just suffer away, bitch".

Ah, got it.

Thanks, R548!

I had no idea she had a crush on him.

Guess I didn't pick up on that.

It was nicely mirrored by that lesbian employee who was reported by her coworker for refusing his constant advances.

He did NOT say "I hope you are suffering".

He said "You're right, Miss Addison. I am wonderful. So why don't you just suffer." Which he spit out with menace and cruelty. It was delicious.

Sex talk. Johnny's hair looks so nice.

When they film scenes together, is Matthew standing on an apple crate?

Was that really Bomer's foot, or did they fly in Johnny's boyfriend to awkwardly stick his foot out for that one scene? Whatever the case, I feel like an actor should get a plaque of some sort from SAG-AFTRA if they put someone's foot in their mouth on camera.

Thanks for explaining the “suffer” line. I also didn’t get what he meant.

[quote]Was that really Bomer's foot...?

Yes, you can see Bomer's head in the frame.

In the extras on Paramount+, there's a short interview with director/exec producer Daniel Minahan about that scene. He says that 2 days before filming, Matt stubbed his toe and thought he broke it, so he had a big bandage on it. As a result, they had to use his other foot. Also, Minahan says how, as Matt was walking around the room between takes, they had to wash his feet because "poor Johnny's got to do that scene a number of times." Poor Johnny.

Bailey deserves an Emmy for the toe-sucking alone

I've noticed in casual photos of Matt and Jonny standing side by side that Jonny seems an inch or two taller than Matt which really surprises me. I've seen them each in person (separately) and neither is short, both around 5'10" I'd guess.

Bailey said they offered him a wax foot to suck, but he preferred the real thing.

Fellow Travelers was also an opera. It was first performed in 2016, but I saw a touring company last year. There are excerpts on YouTube.

Would love to see the opera

Bet productions of it will be coming up soon.

Is there a toe-sucking scene in the opera?

There will be now!

What scene is slide 7 prepping for??

That's his personal travelling collection

Video clip of Matt Bomer topping David Tomlinson:

R564 Those are prosthetics they put between the actors so they are not actually touching each other’s actual dick.

Awww, that's terrible, r567. What if they want to touch each other's dick?

I feel sure arrangements could be made.

Jonathan Bailey is being pushed in the supporting actor category for the Golden Globes, while Matt Bomer is being pushed for lead

r570 That promo shot cracks me up every time, they both run so homosexually. I do as well, so I relate.

The fraus discussing this show on Reddit are... [quote]intense,[/quote] to say the least. Anone else notice that?

*The fraus discussing this show on Reddit are... [italic]intense,[/italic] to say the least. Anone else notice that?

Link to the reddit forum?

r/FellowTravelersShow

Oh dear god, this week's episode is written by Robbie Rogers and his sister, rather ironically titled "Promise You Won't Write"

[quote]Jonathan Bailey is being pushed in the supporting actor category for the Golden Globes, while Matt Bomer is being pushed for lead.

Guess that only has to do with the fact Bomer is more of a name (personally, I'd never heard of Bailey before this as I've not seen any of his other work), but truth be told, they should both be submitted for lead. Their parts are equal in my opinion.

Nah, I think that this series is centered more around Hawk's life, than it is around Tim.

We know Hawk's boyfriend, his wife, his boss, his secretaries, his mother, his father, his friends, etc.

We don't know very much about Tim. His whole character's existence is based on Hawk.

I think that's the reasoning behind how the nominations are being submitted.

r577, I agree

I think they want to avoid the possibility of them canceling each other out, if they were both nominated in the lead actor category. Both are doing some of their best work and are highly deserving. I’m not sure, but I don’t think an openly gay actor has won an Emmy award in the leading actor category. It might be a history making win. Even more remarkable if both actors won in their respective categories for a film showcasing a gay love story of such sweep.

R580. FUCK YOU FAGGOT!!!!!!!

The only faggot around here is Matt Damon

R581 is why everyone HATES Billy Porter.

[quote]I’m not sure, but I don’t think an openly gay actor has won an Emmy award in the leading actor category. It might be a history making win.

if we're talking leading actor in a drama series, I think the first may have been Billy Porter when he won for "Pose" a couple of years ago. If Matt and/or Jonathan were nominated and won for leading actor in a limited series or special, perhaps that would be a first (not sure, of course, just a guess).

Is this a one time deal series or will there be more seasons?

Hard to see how there can be more seasons if Tim dies (as I think he does).

More seasons with the same title but entirely different stories and characters.

They will both be nominated in lead; neither will win. The reason: there’s no way in hell the Television Academy won’t extend the eligibility period because of the strike, as there will be almost no new programs going to air until fall of next year at the very least. No new programs, no nominees, no stars at the ceremony = abysmal ratings, further irrelevance for already troubled awards shows.

Expect the new eligibility period to go from this June til the end of 2024 and the Emmys realign to the calendar year instead of moribund network fall to summer calendar, which even the networks are abandoning (along with scripted content.) So that means by the time the Emmys nomination process begins at the end of 2024, it will have been a year since this will have aired, and a bumper crop of new programs will have dropped all at once starting in fall which will dominate the conversation.

Fellow Travellers in different decades is an interesting concept. I’d love to see how stone-age homosexuals dragged each other off to their caves.

But would it work with different leads? They should go back and change the ending if he dies in it.

[quote]“I’m your boy.” Said by an adult man in his mid 30s.

Skippy/Tim is supposed to be 22 or 23 in this scene. He's just out of college.

And that’s why this won’t win the Emmy.

R589 maybe Fred and Barney on the down low.

The second Robbie's and his sister's (she only ever did Supergirl) names popped up as writers, I thought to myself "this is some high nepo bullshit" and I admit it coloured my experience of the episode. But, it was fine, if a bit melodramatic. Beautifully shot, but that's nothing new for this show.

Loved McCarthy's little monologue, presaging Trump's rise to power. The braindead will eat up absolutely anything, if delivered by a power-hungry charismatic authoritarian.

Just watched the new one on Demand. Lots of twists/changes, and a very sweet moment over DC near the end.

The external and internal homophobia illustrated in the fifties is gut wrenching. It’s just everywhere all the time. No wonder the characters were warped by it.

There could still be series based on Hawk and Tim (leading separate lives, I suppose) in the 1960s and 1970s.

New Thread

Thanks for starting the new thread

I'm a guy and Diddy raped me with his eyes in the VIP lounge at Pacha Ibiza, 2002.

I'll settle for 10 million.

I'm going to miss that delightful shot of them running faggily on the beach. Cheered me up every time this thread got bumped.

Anyway, see you all in the new thread!