In its steamy premiere, historical drama Fellow Travelers had its work cut out for it: There were main characters to introduce, there were two different timelines to set up, there were toes to suck…
In all seriousness, the time-hopping romance did an excellent job of establishing a sense of time and place—particularly 1950s D.C., when Senator Joseph McCarthy began stoking anti-communist paranoia—and the very physical relationship between jaded war hero Hawkins “Hawk” Fuller (Matt Bomer) and green idealist Tim Laughlin (Jonathan Bailey).
With the table firmly set, this past weekend’s second episode, “Bulletproof,” had some breathing room to flesh out more of this world, beyond Hawk and Tim’s bedrooms.
*Spoilers ahead for Fellow Travelers Episode 2, “Bulletproof.”*
As McCarthy announces his intentions to sniff out suspected “deviants” working for the government—a.k.a. queer people, who he paints as sympathetic to communist causes—we learn much more about Hawk’s secretary, Mary (Erin Neufer), who it turns out is a lesbian and even lives with her partner under the guise that they’re roommates.
Image Credit: ‘Fellow Travelers,’ Showtime
We also spend some quality time with Black journalist, Marcus Hooks (Jelani Alladin), who we learn is not out at work and, like Hawk, has some pretty clear-cut rules about hook-ups—why get attached?—in order to preserve his idea of masculinity.
Still, Marcus can’t keep his eyes off of drag performer Frankie Hines (Noah J. Ricketts) every time he walks into The Cozy Corner, a safe haven underground bar for queer folks. Frankie appeared in the background a few times in the premiere, but “Bulletproof” lets us get to know him a bit better, just as Marcus does.
By the time Marcus and Frankie start making out at episode’s end, it’s pretty clear their romance will be an important parallel to Hawk and Tim’s in Fellow Travelers. As the years march forward, we’ll see how unfolding history shapes the latter couple’s lives as closeted gay men, but also how Black, queer individuals might’ve experienced that history differently.
Naturally, a lot of press around the series thus far has focused on Bomer and Bailey—they are the de facto leads of this story, after all, and both have appeared in some pretty high profile projects in recent years.
But as Fellow Travelers‘ second episode proves, Alladin and Rickets are every bit as compelling on screen, and are poised to breakthrough in a big way with this series.
So, who are Jelani Alladin and Noah J. Ricketts, are where might we have seen their work before? Let’s get into it—and don’t worry, we’ll include plenty of photos to show you why these two are well worth a follow!
Who is Jelani Alladin, Marcus from Fellow Travelers?
A native New Yorker, Alladin went to high school in Connecticut where he was both an athlete and a star of student musicals. After graduating from NYU’s Tisch School of The Arts, he began performing Off-Broadway and other regional theater productions like Sweetee and The History Boys.
In 2018, Alladin made his Broadway debut as Kristoff in Frozen, the musical adaptation of the blockbuster Disney animated movie, leaving after a year to take the titular role in the short-lived Hercules musical (which makes total sense once you see him with his shirt off).
Soon thereafter, he began booking television roles in procedurals like Law & Order and eventually landed his first recurring role in AMC’s zombie spin-off The Walking Dead: World Beyond, opposite Nico Tortorella. And, in 2021, he appeared in a pair of high-profile films: The Aretha Franklin biopic Respect, and Lin Manuel-Miranda’s adaptation of Tick, Tick… Boom.
Now, he’s got a chance to make his biggest impact yet with Fellow Travelers. Here’s what he had to say to Out about the role’s significance:
“There’s also something so powerful in telling this story to the world right now in hope of either educating or simply revealing to those who don’t understand that love can happen in all shapes, sizes, and forms, and be inside of all people,” Alladin shares. “And that it should not be something that is limited by law or limited by the venom of segregation.”
The Louisville, Kentucky-born Ricketts says his career in the arts all started with an accident. After a teenaged skateboarding mishap left him with broken wrist, he had to forego summer sports camp, signing up for a “Broadway Bootcamp” instead. “And the rest is history!,” he shared with Dance Informa in 2017.
Post-bootcamp, Ricketts began professional dance training and eventually got accepted into the prestigious Midwest performing arts school, Interlochen Academy. He soon began picking up a number of regional theater credits and, in 2014, made his Broadway debut as part of the ensemble Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, later joining the company of its first national tour.
Next, he joined the cast of Broadway’s Frozen, meaning—yup!—he and Alladin have worked together before, which probably explains why they have such great chemistry in Fellow Travelers. Ricketts was his co-star’s understudy as Kristoff, and later took on the role once Alladin left the production.
Is this “the single hottest and most pornographic gay sex scene” ever put on TV?
On screen, Ricketts has had guest roles in Showtime’s epic fantasy drama American Gods and Hulu’s critically acclaimed TV update of High Fidelity. Earlier this year, he appeared in the hilarious and incredibly gay horror-comedy Summoning Sylvia—which is well worth a watch if you haven’t seen it yet!
And now he’s excited to uncover forgotten queer history with Fellow Travelers, telling Out: “I think there’s so much erasure that happens of queer history in general that I’m happy this exists because it forces people to ask the question, Did this really happen? And to seek out answers for themselves.”
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