TV Talk: Carnegie Mellon grad Matt Bomer talks ‘Fellow Travelers’

Matt Bomer (“White Collar”), a 2001 Carnegie Mellon University graduate, is winning accolades for his role in the often risqué, queer love story “Fellow Travelers” (9 p.m. Sunday, Showtime; streams on Paramount+ with Showtime). The series is written by Southwestern Pennsylvania native Ron Nyswaner, who grew up in Clarksville, Greene County and was the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of the Tom Hanks-starring 1993 HIV discrimination legal drama “Philadelphia” and writer/director of 1988’s filmed-in-Harmar, Keanu Reeves-starring “The Prince of Pennsylvania.” The Showtime series is adapted from the 2007 Thomas Mallon historical fiction novel of the same name.

“Fellow Travelers” begins in the 1950s and makes its way to the 1980s with Bomer playing Hawkins “Hawk” Fuller, a war hero-turned-government bureaucrat who hides his sexuality by avoiding emotional entanglements. He can’t quite help himself from falling for Washington, D.C., newbie Tim Laughlin (Jonathan Bailey, “Bridgerton”), who feels guilty about his attraction to other men.

In a virtual moderated discussion about the series last month for Critics Choice Association members, Bomer said he never could have imagined something as bold as “Fellow Travelers” getting made when he was a student at CMU.

“Maybe in theater, because we were working on scenes from ‘Angels in America’ and these big landmark plays that were covering a lot of these issues,” Bomer said. “But I never thought it would be in a mainstream manner on episodic television with two openly gay actors getting to tell this story.”

“Honestly, I was so grateful when I had the opportunity to come onto this piece, but there was a part of me that thought, are they really gonna get behind this?” Bomer continued. “This is a period piece, it’s a multi-decade, queer love story. Are the gatekeepers really going to give us the opportunity to do this? I was really hoping that we would do it in such a way that we didn’t drop the ball and that other people will get the opportunity after us. So, no, if you told 18-year-old me that this would be possible, I never would have believed you.”

In addition to airing “Fellow Travelers,” Showtime and the Human Rights Campaign sponsor Queer to Stay: An LGBTQ+ Business Preservation Initiative that gave a five-figure grant to Squirrel Hill’s Stories Like Me bookstore, which seeks to ensure that all kids and all families can feel represented in the stories on their shelves. It was one of two dozen small businesses to receive grants.

Kept/canceled

Netflix renewed “Squid Game: The Challenge” for a second season.

Prime Video will bring back “Harlem” for a third season.

Peacock renewed video game-inspired “Twisted Metal” for a second season.

ABC’s “Station 19” will end with its upcoming seventh season, premiering at 10 p.m. March 14.

AMC canceled Bob Odenkirk’s “Lucky Hank” after one season.

Freeform canceled “Cruel Summer” and “Good Trouble,” which returns for its final season at 10 p.m. Jan. 2.

Channel surfing

MeTV remembers the late TV producer Norman Lear Dec. 10 with the Lear-hosted retrospective “The 200th Episode Celebration of ‘All in the Family’” (6 p.m. Channel 11.2) with episodes of his ‘70s series to follow. … Reminder: “A Charlie Brown Christmas” streams free for non-subscribers to Apple TV+ Dec. 16-17. … Fox celebrates a classic sitcom in a new special, “M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed Television” (8 to 10 p.m. Jan. 1), featuring new interviews with cast members Alan Alda, Gary Burghoff, William Christopher, Jamie Farr, Mike Farrell, Wayne Rogers and Loretta Swit along with executive producers Gene Reynolds and Burt Metcalfe. … Fred Rogers Productions’ “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” debuts a new episode next month (10:30 a.m. Jan. 1 on WQED’s PBS Kids channel, 13.5; 9 a.m. Jan. 3, WQED-TV, Channel 13.1) using the strategy “When your friend comes to visit you, ask what they want to do.” … “Saturday Night Live” alum Aidy Bryant hosts the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards, which will stream live on Film Independent’s YouTube channel and IMDB.com at 5 p.m. Feb. 25. … The KDKA-TV Turkey Fund raised $855,935 for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank this year, surpassing totals for 2021 and 2022. … The threat that WTAE-TV would go dark on Verizon’s FiOS TV systems this weekend was averted when Channel 4 parent company Hearst reached a new retransmission deal with Verizon.

You can reach TV writer Rob Owen at rowen@triblive.com or 412-380-8559. Follow @RobOwenTV on Threads, Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky and Facebook. Ask TV questions by email or phone. Please include your first name and location.