This is our first favorite of the year 2024. Broadcast on Showtime in the United States and offered in France on Canal+, Travel friends follows the meeting, in the 1950s, in the midst of McCarthyism, between the charismatic Hawkins Fuller (Matt Bomer), a war hero who works behind the political scenes of Washington, and the younger and idealistic Tim Laughlin (Jonathan Bailey), a fervent Catholic who sees his values put to the test. It’s love at first sight. The two men begin a high-stakes relationship, while Senator McCarthy and his henchmen hunt down communists and “deviants.”
If Hawkins is a master in the art of dissimulation, thrives in places of power and chooses to marry a friend, Lucy (excellent Allison Williams in a thankless role), to keep up appearances, Tim becomes militant against the Vietnam war, then militant social worker in San Francisco. The star-crossed lovers meet and break up until the 1980s, when Hawkins goes to the bedside of Tim, an AIDS patient.
The homophobic repression of the McCarthy years
At the helm of this adaptation of the novel of the same name by Thomas Mallon, we find Ron Nyswaner, the screenwriter of the film Philadelphia (1993), which marked a turning point in gay representation in Hollywood. Travel friends is in good hands, the hands of a concerned person: Nyswaner is gay and has used LGBTQ+ casting to play LGBTQ+ characters.
Consisting of eight episodes, the series remains classic in form, the story progresses through flashbacks. Careful reconstruction of the different eras. We spend four episodes in the heart of the 1950s, in the corridors of Washington and in the courts, where a paranoid and suffocating atmosphere reigns. Like a gay Don Draper, with an individualistic line of conduct, Hawkins moves with ease in this nest of snakes, where everyone denounces their collaborator. Tim has a much harder time hiding his true nature and making morally terrible decisions to save his own skin.
The paranoia culminates in an unbearably atmospheric interrogation scene, during which Hawkins must take a lie detector test. History lessons from this period focused on the hunt for “reds,” but too little on the terrifying hunt for homosexuals. Travel friends is carrying out important revitalization work at this level.
The love story between two African-American secondary characters, Frankie Hines (Noah J. Ricketts), a proud and determined drag queen, and Marcus Gaines (Jelani Alladin), a journalist committed to civil rights, opens the doors of the underground to us the strange places of the 1950s and the brutal police raids. The story of this intersectional couple, who face homophobia and racism throughout their lives, serves as a mirror to the secret couple of Hawkins and Tim.
The early episodes also feature a lesbian couple suffering the ravages of McCarthyism. Decades and political battles pass by as Tim and Hawkins reunite. We move from McCarthyism to the war against Vietnam, to the murder of Harvey Milk followed by the San Francisco riots, to the birth of associations fighting AIDS…
Innovative sex scenes
Although particular attention was paid to the secondary characters, the series relies on the performances of Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey. Perfect in their respective roles, they sparkle together. Their chemistry explodes in particularly daring and successful sex scenes. Role plays dominated by the dominant, blowjob, foot fetishism, masturbation for two without touching each other, moments of sweeter intimacy, cruising filmed like in a gay Garden of Eden…
Gay sexuality is represented in all its variety and sensuality. Tim and Hawkins’ story evolves over time and illuminates the changing dynamics of their romantic relationship. “Sex scenes are very important to me. Of course, we had intimacy coordinators to make sure the actors were safe. Every sex scene in our series advances the story. It’s a love story wrapped in a political thriller.” explains Ron Nyswaner to Pinknews.
The series doesn’t shy away from less sexy topics. The risks of addiction, higher among LGBTQ+ people, are addressed through the character of Hawkins, who struggles with his lifelong alcoholism. The HIV epidemic, which decimated generations of gays in the indifference of the Reagan years, is at the center of the heartbreaking final episode. We dare you not to shed a tear while watching it Travel friendsa magnificent story of thwarted love in the great American LGBTQ+ history.
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Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
