Jude Wilson is building a career around queer stories with heart. After his moving turn in Fellow Travelers, the actor is back on screen in Netflix’s new teen sports drama Crew Girl — this time playing an openly gay athlete whose sexuality is simply part of who he is.
Wilson stars as Bronson “Baloo” Garner, a member of the boys’ rowing team at elite Easton Prep.
The series follows 16-year-old Teagan Tao, played by Miku Martineau, who joins the all-boys crew after a family scandal forces her to start over in a new town.
For Baloo, the story takes another direction entirely.
He is openly queer, completely out to his teammates and navigating the beginnings of a romance with a handsome competitor from a rival school.
‘He Just Happens To Be Gay’
For Wilson, that normality is exactly what makes the role feel significant.
“What I like about Baloo and his queerness is that he isn’t keeping a secret from his teammates,” Wilson says.
“They treat him like any other brother. He just loves chilling with his bros and he just happens to be gay.”
It is a deceptively simple setup, but one that still feels refreshing in young-adult television.
Baloo’s queerness is not framed as a revelation, scandal or problem to solve.
He is already out.
His friends know.
Life moves on.
That leaves the show free to give him something queer characters have not always been allowed enough of on screen: an actual romance.
A Queer Sports Story Without The Closet
Baloo’s storyline sees him develop feelings for a rival athlete from another school, giving Crew Girl its own queer sports romance alongside the show’s wider rowing drama.
Wilson says the character’s confidence became one of the things he admired most about playing him.
“What we can learn from Baloo is that he’s unapologetically himself,” he says.
“Overall, he’s just himself. I personally learned a lot from that.”
For Wilson, that authenticity connects to a broader lesson about finding community.
“If you want to find your people, you can’t be afraid to show who you are. That’s how they find you.”
He adds: “It’s one of the best times for queer representation in media.”
From Fellow Travelers To Crew Girl
Wilson’s latest role follows his breakout performance as Jerome in the acclaimed historical drama Fellow Travelers.
In that series, Jerome is a young gay Black man living in San Francisco during the AIDS crisis who learns he is HIV-positive.
It was a considerably heavier queer story than Crew Girl, but one Wilson says continues to stay with him.
“Fellow Travelers was one of the coolest experiences ever,” he says.
“It was a dream come true.”
What surprised him most was the response afterwards.
Wilson says viewers sent messages explaining how deeply Jerome’s storyline had affected them.
“It was a huge motivator of why I’m in this business and the stories I want to tell,” he says.
“It was really moving and heartbreaking to receive some of those messages.”
He adds that the reaction also made him think about all the viewers who connected with the character but never reached out personally.
“I’m really glad it’s still being talked about today.”
Queer Characters Getting More Room To Live
The contrast between Jerome and Baloo illustrates just how broad queer storytelling can be.
One character exists within the trauma and devastation of the AIDS crisis.
The other gets to be a teenager rowing with his mates, flirting with a rival and figuring out a new relationship.
Both stories matter.
For younger LGBTQ+ audiences particularly, seeing a queer athlete whose sexuality is already accepted can be powerful precisely because it is not treated as extraordinary.
Baloo does not need to earn acceptance.
He does not need to hide.
He simply gets to exist — and fall for someone.
Sometimes that is representation too.
Crew Girl is streaming now on Netflix.
