Showtime series ‘Fellow Travelers,’ which is also available to stream on Paramount+, has been deemed as one of the best shows of 2023. It also earned three Emmys nominations, two in acting for Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey, and one for creator Ron Nyswaner in outstanding writing for a limited or anthology series or movie.
In ‘Fellow Travelers,’ Bomer and Bailey star as Hawk and Tim, two male political staffers who fall in love in the 1950s during the Lavender Scare, and their four-decade romance. In supporting roles, Jelani Alladin and Noah J. Ricketts play Marcus and Frankie.
The series is based on the 2007 book by Thomas Mallon, but it expands its characters. And while the eight episodes tell a complete story, it seems like there’s potential for a spin-off, according to Nyswaner. Here’s what he said.
Nyswaner is interested in a spin-off of Marcus and Frankie
(Spoilers ahead!)
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter about the Emmy nominations, Nyswaner revealed that he is interested in developing a spin-off centered around Marcus and Frankie. The characters, both Black gay men, also develop a relationship over the decades, which, unlike Tim and Hawk’s, ends in a more positive light.
Asked about a potential spin-off involving Alladin and Ricketts in an interview published on Aug. 25, Nyswaner responded: “And we’re going to have all our fans write to Paramount to ask them for it. We’ve been pitching it. They haven’t come through yet, so let’s put the pressure on them.”
Marcus, played by Alladin, is an African-American reporter chafing at the unofficial segregation of 1950s Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, Frankie (Ricketts) is a self-assured drag queen. The two men don’t always see eye to eye, but they find a way to make their relationship work.
“He ends the series miles from where he began, in love with himself, able to love another, and able to take a stand for his suffering community,” Alladin told Blavity about Marcus’s journey in an interview back in December. “He accepts his responsibilities as a Black elder and as a queer elder,” he adds.
While Nyswaner didn’t give any details about in which time period the spin-off could be set, fans could watch the couple after the 1980s (the time it ends). Or, maybe, even explore their relationship outside what it was shown in the original series.
