OnWriting: A Podcast of the WGA East

Episode 110: Ron Nyswaner, "Fellow Travelers"

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Episode notes

Host T. Cooper is joined by Ron Nyswaner to discuss having the confidence to push Hollywood's boundaries, staying flexible during the unpredictable reality of being on a TV set, telling authentic LGBTQ+ stories without always centering suffering, and more.

Ron Nyswaner is the 2024 recipient of the WGA East’s Walter Bernstein Award, and creator of the Showtime series Fellow Travelers. He is known for his feature screenplays, including Smithereens, Philadelphia, and My Policeman. He is also known as a writer and producer of the Showtime series Ray Donovan and Homeland. Over the course of his career, Ron has been nominated for numerous awards including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award.

His most recent project is the Showtime series Fellow Travelers. Based on the 2007 fictional novel of the same name by Thomas Mallon, the historical drama follows the paths of political staffers Hawkins Fuller and Tim Laughlin, whose paths converge at the height of the Lavender Scare of the 1950s. Despite the constant threat of getting caught, their searing love for each other only intensifies in the tumultuous decades that follow. Their volatile romance spans the Vietnam War protests of the 1960s, the drug-fueled disco hedonism of the 1970s and the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, as they face obstacles in the world and in themselves.

This episode is hosted by T. Cooper, a Writers Guild of America East member with credits including The Get Down and The Blacklist. T. also serves as co-chair of the Guild's LGBTQ+ Writers Salon.

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