Netflix’s “Boots” follows a young gay man as he finds camaraderie in a seemingly hopeless place, all the while wrestling with the emotional ― and, at times, physical ― toll of keeping his true self under wraps. Still, series creator Andy Parker and his cast of breakout stars hope viewers find a poignant message in the transformation the character undergoes, even if the show isn’t a traditional coming-out tale.
Released last week, “Boots” stars Miles Heizer as Cameron Cope, a queer teen who enlists in the Marines at the encouragement of his straight best friend, Ray McAffey (Liam Oh), after graduating high school in 1990.
Though Cameron befriends some fellow recruits, including the hammy and mischievous Hicks (Angus O’Brien), any hope of embracing his truth is dashed, given that being openly gay in the military is expressly verboten.
“Boots” is an adaptation of Greg Cope White’s 2015 memoir, “The Pink Marine,” and one of the final projects to be executive-produced by Norman Lear, who died in 2023 at age 101.
Alfonso “Pompo” Bresciani/Netflix
Lear’s production company tapped Parker, who worked on Netflix’s “Tales of the City” and “Grand Army,” to translate Cope White’s book for the screen. The result is a compelling action drama that examines masculinity and internalized homophobia while winking at other cinematic portrayals of military life, most notably Stanley Kubrick’s 1987 film “Full Metal Jacket.”
In an interview with HuffPost, Parker recalled how he “instantly had a personal connection” to the story.
“I was a closeted teenager in the late 1990s, and I was looking for a way to hide from my own sexuality and deny it,” he said, noting he’d once considered joining the Marines. Hence, the eight-episode series became “an opportunity to imagine what it would have been like for me to do that. How would I have measured up? Would I have survived or not? That was my way in.”
Heizer, whose credits include “13 Reasons Why” and “Love, Simon,” relished the chance to inhabit a character whose journey of self-discovery wasn’t focused explicitly on his sexuality. At times, Cameron engages with an alter ego ― also played by Hezier, with the help of some on-screen magic ― who represents his repressed queerness.
Alfonso “Pompo” Bresciani/Netflix
“Cameron is forced to not only try things he never would’ve tried, but also fail publicly in front of a group of boys from different places ― he doesn’t have any idea what their beliefs are, or how they’ll view him,” he said. “He ends up not only discovering all these things that he’s good at, but he finds respect from a group of people that he never would’ve thought it was possible from. It’s about gaining a brotherhood.”
O’Brien, meanwhile, found similar pleasure in providing much of the show’s comic relief. “Hicks is wild and unpredictable, but there’s something endearing about a person who refuses to let the heaviness of a situation pierce him too deeply,” he said. “When I’m going through something, I need that person who’s going to keep me from sinking too deep. What makes it so refreshing is that it’s in such stark contrast to the rigidness of bootcamp.”
Cameron’s chief adversary is Sgt. Robert Sullivan, played by British actor Max Parker. At first, Sullivan taunts Cameron mercilessly in basic training and isolates him from other recruits. However, he’s soon revealed to be grappling with his own queer sexuality and the painful demise of a secret romance.
Alfonso “Pompo” Bresciani/Netflix
“He goes through this whole journey of loneliness and self-doubt … I’ve had those moments in my life, which helped me understand, ultimately, how sad he was,” Max Parker told HuffPost. “He’s at the peak of where he wants to be, but he could lose everything if he’s outed as gay. He sees Cameron may also be gay and makes it his sole purpose to get him to quit, but he sees a resilience in him that he didn’t expect. So he goes from tormentor to mentor.”
The actor also credited Lear for his support in landing the part: “I was a wild card, being a bit of an unknown in America. And Norman was the one who said he believed I was the best for the role.”
In the 35 years since “Boots” takes place, the U.S. military has seen the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which allowed gay, lesbian and bisexual people to serve so long as they kept their sexuality a secret, come and go.
Yet the series feels strikingly relevant. In May, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld President Donald Trump’s policy banning transgender people from serving in the military. And last month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pledged to eliminate “woke garbage” while calling for a review of military standards that have shifted since the 1990s, including measures to protect the rights of LGBTQ+ people.
As they await word on whether “Boots” will be renewed for a second season, Andy Parker says he and the creative team have plenty they’d like to explore in future episodes. The show’s bittersweet season finale hints at the looming threat of a real-world conflict, and intentionally leaves the fate of a major character unresolved.
“We’ve only scratched the surface with a lot of characters,” Max Parker said. “I know ‘Heartstopper’ did so much for the younger generation in terms of just making people feel seen, and hopefully our show is going to do something similar.”
While Heizer is “hoping for a little romance” for Cameron, O’Brien is eager to see how Hicks and his fellow troops act when deployed to combat.
“All of these guys have been so caught up in the world they’ve been training in,” he said. “But how do they exist outside of the bubble of bootcamp? How will these characters develop when faced with the reality of how harrowing might that be?”
Watch the trailer for “Boots” below.
