Matt Bomer Is 'Grateful' Shows Like Fellow Travelers 'Could Exist' Today: 'We've Been Around at a Time When It Couldn't' (Exclusive)

Fellow Travelers may be another step forward for LGBTQ+ onscreen representation, but Matt Bomer had doubts the ambitious drama would see the light of day.

For the actor, who also served as executive producer on the Showtime series, adapting Fellow Travelers from Thomas Mallon’s 2008 novel into an eight-episode limited series was a years-long passion project with emotional ups and downs.

“I was really cynical about the prospects of the show going into production from the get-go,” he tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “A period piece is very expensive. And I think I was protecting my own heart, but I was cautious about whether or not it would actually come to fruition."

"Oftentimes, the notes you get from executives can be kind of restrictive, like, ‘Well, let's pull this back,’ or ‘maybe don't do that,’" Bomer continues. "But their whole ethos was, no, go further, push yourself further, go as far as you can, see how far can you take it. And those are the kind of dreamy situations you hope for as an artist.”

In Fellow Travelers, Bomer plays Hawk Fuller, a State Department official hiding his sexuality who is swept up in a decades-long relationship with Tim Laughlin (Jonathan Bailey). The period drama — which spans the 1950s Joseph McCarthy communist trials to the 1980s AIDS crisis — unflinchingly portrays the complexities of Hawk and Tim’s romance as it’s rocked and buffeted by the pressures of society and those around them.

Both Bomer and Bailey snagged a 2024 Emmy nomination for their roles, with Bomer receiving a nod for outstanding lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie and Bailey earning a nomination for outstanding supporting actor in a limited anthology series or movie. (Ron Nyswaner also earned a nod for best writing for a limited anthology series or movie.)

“When I was nominated, I was so grateful and happy, obviously, but I was also mostly just grateful that a show like Fellow Travelers could exist in the world today, because we've all been around at a time when it couldn't, and we could be on the precipice of a time when it couldn't again,” he says. “So I'm just really thankful that we were able to get the show made.”

While their characters had a complex onscreen relationship, Bomer and Bailey meshed well professionally right from the start — from their Zoom screen test to their coffee five days before they began filming.

For more on Matt Bomer, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribe here. 

“We were pretty focused on set,” Bomer recalls. “But Jonny being Jonny — one of the funniest people I know — whenever we had time or we'd finished a day or before we'd started a day, he'd have me laughing quite a bit.”

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Fellow Travelers is available to stream on Paramount+ with Showtime.