Is Hawkins Fuller A Real Person? Fellow Travelers True Story Inspiration Explained

The historical romance political thriller miniseries Fellow Travelers follows the forbidden romance between Hawkins Fuller (Matt Bomer) and Timothy Laughlin (Jonathan Bailey) and much of the story is taken from the unfortunate history between LGBTQ+ people and the United States government. Fellow Travelers is a television miniseries that premiered on October 27, 2023, on Paramount+ and follows two government employees in the latter half of the 20th century, Hawkins “Hawk” Fuller and Timothy “Tim” Laughlin, who fall in love in the volatile time period.

Set in the 1950s, but jumping around to the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, Fellow Travelers examines how LGBTQ+ individuals were treated during the height of McCarthyism panic, then during Vietnam, and then into the disco and drug-fueled era of the 1980s. Throughout the show, Fellow Travelers returns to a frame narrative in the 1980s during the AIDS crisis, a sobering reminder of how an already tragic story ended for many gay men and other people who identified as LGBTQ+. All of Fellow Travelers may not be historical, but its story was the reality for many at the time.

Fellow Travelers Is Not Based On A Real Story But Set During Real Periods Of U.S. History

Fellow Travelers Is Based On A Fiction Book

Fellows Travelers is based on the 2007 novel of the same by Thomas Mallon and most of the characters in the show are fictional. The situations they find themselves in are very real, however. In the 1950s, Hawkins and Tim are working near and with Senator Joseph McCarthy (Chris Bauer) and Roy Cohn (Will Brill). These two men, and others introduced in the show, are real, as is the Red Scare depicted in the show, a historical period that saw anti-communist hysteria grip the United States (via TheMarySue).

While the anti-communist sentiments of the era and things like the infamous Hollywood blacklist are well-documented and known to the general public with movies like Trumbo and Hail, Ceasar!, the Lavender Scare is a much less discussed part of the time period. The Lavender Scare was a component of McCarythism, specifically targeting LGBTQ+ people in the American government (via DigitalSpy). During the paranoia-fueled witch hunts of the time, some people believed that queer employees of the government could not be trusted with state secrets.

Anyone suspected of being gay or lesbian was closely investigated and their private lives and intimate details were laid bare. There was, of course, no basis to these notions. They were a result of the heightened moral grandstanding of the time combined with a historical hatred and distrust of those in the LGBTQ+ community. The other critical period of Fellow Travelers, the AIDS crisis, was also, tragically, a real story. The first cases of what would become known as AIDS first appeared in 1981 (via KFF) and it was the leading cause of death for young men in the decade.

Hawkins Fuller And Timothy Laughlin Are Fictional Characters

The Main Characters Are Not Based On Any Historical Characters

The main characters in Fellow Travelers are completely fictional, but their stories are emblematic of what many men and women who worked for the government at the time would have experienced. Hawkins’ and Tim’s romance begins in the 1950s in secret and goes through decades, with both men having to pretend to be straight to avoid being pariahs in a homophobic American society. Fellow Travelers‘ penultimate episode of Fire Island shows how someone’s life can split apart after being forced to hide for so long, a sadly relatable story for many people of the time.

Roy Cohn, Joseph McCarthy, And More Are Real-Life Historical Figures

Many Iconic People From History Appear In The Show

Despite most of Fellow Travelers being fictional, there are plenty of real-life figures in the story as well. Cohn, McCarthy, David Schine (Matt Visser), and Stormé (Chelsea Russell) are historical figures in the supporting cast of the series. Linus Roache plays Senator Wesley Smith in the main cast, who is based in part on real-life Wyoming governor Lester C. Hunt. McCarthy and Cohn helmed the House Committee on Un-American Activities, which investigated government employees it suspected of pro-communist sympathies; that definitionally included anyone in the LGBTQ+ community (via Town&Country).

David Schine was an army private who became a consultant on McCarthy’s staff and was a central figure in the Army-McCarthy hearings which are widely acknowledged as bringing down McCarthy. Stormé DeLarverie was an actual performer and activist whose scuffle with the police reportedly began the Stonewall riots. Senator Hunt was an outspoken critic of McCarthy who was blackmailed into not re-running for the Senate after his son was arrested for soliciting a prostitute. He ended up killing himself, shaking the “law and order” image McCarthy had tried to demonstrate to the public.

Other Notable Historical Events Mentioned In Fellow Travelers

Fellow Travelers Covers Important LGBTQ+ Events

There are many notable events peppered throughout Fellow Travelers that were major moments in the history of the United States and the history of the LGBTQ+ push for equality in America. Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office, is shown in the penultimate episode, as is his assassination. The White Night riots that followed the death of the visionary champion of gay rights are also shown via news clips.

Milk is not a major character in the show, but his importance as a formidable opponent to anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment can’t be understated, and his appearance in the miniseries punctuates his influence as a martyr and an icon. Another iconic piece of history featured in Fellow Travelers is the AIDS quilt shown at the end of the series. This quilt, made by Milk protégé Cleve Jones, is a 54-ton tapestry that honors 110,000 victims who have died from AIDS.

The patchwork assortment was planned by Jones, who asked those attending the 1985 memorial march for Harvey Milk to share the names of the people they knew affected by AIDS. The list of names inspired Jones to create the tapestry. Hawkins Fuller and Timothy Laughlin may not be real people, but they and Fellow Travelers represent a critical and oft-ignored piece of dark American history that should be much more well-known as part of the ongoing discussions regarding civil rights in the country.

Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey star in Fellow Travelers, a historical romantic thriller that follows two men who meet in the 1960s and begin a decades-spanning volatile romance. Hawkins Fuller (Matt Bomer) is a careful, financially astute man who keeps himself from romance to focus on his career – but when he meets an idealistic young man named Tim Laughlin (Bailey), the two fall for one another during one of the most tumultuous times in the nation’s history.

Cast

Matt Bomer , Jonathan Bailey , Allison Williams , Linus Roache , Will Brill , Jelani Alladin , Noah J. Ricketts

Release Date

October 27, 2023

Seasons

1

Showrunner

Ron Nyswaner