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14 August 2025

Boots: First-look images of new Netflix TV show about gay teen at military boot camp

The eight-episode drama, starring 13 Reasons Why actor Miles Heizer, reports for duty on 9 October

By Jamie Tabberer

Angus O’Brien's character shaving Miles Heizer's character's face in a mirror in Netflix show Boots
Angus O’Brien and Miles Heizer in Boots (Image: Netflix)

Netflix has revealed first-look images of Boots, its upcoming TV show about a gay teen who enters the hyper-masculine and homoerotic world of military boot camp to escape bullying back home.

The show stars Miles Heizer (of 13 Reasons Why fame) as Cameron and Emmerdale‘s Max Parker as the punishing Sgt. Sullivan who puts Cameron through his paces. The show hits the streamer on 9 October 2025; Netflix has described it as “an irreverent, off-beat take on the coming-of age story.”

Brandon Tyler Moore as Cody Bowman and Blake Burt as John Bowman, wearing yellow t-shirts at bootcamp (Image: Netflix)
Brandon Tyler Moore as Cody Bowman and Blake Burt as John Bowman (Image: Netflix)
Liam Oh as Ray McAffey, Rico Paris as Santos, Johnathan Nieves as Ochoa, and Angus O'Brien as Hicks, sat on the floor talking(Image: Netflix)
Liam Oh as Ray McAffey, Rico Paris as Santos, Johnathan Nieves as Ochoa, and Angus O’Brien as Hicks (Image: Netflix)
Vera Farmiga as Barb Cope talking to a man (Image: Netflix)
Vera Farmiga as Barb Cope (Image: Netflix)

Oscar-nominee Vera Farmiga plays Cameron’s narcissistic mother Barbara, and Liam Oh plays Cameron’s straight best friend Ray, who enlists alongside him.

As shared on the show’s Tudum page, “the two friends plunge into Marine Corps boot camp — amid both literal and metaphorical land mines — joining a platoon of young men on a harrowing journey of transformation.”

Miles Heizer as Cameron Cope, sat in a blue room and wearing in a striped t-shirt
13 Reasons Why star Miles Heizer returns to Netflix as Cameron Cope (Image: Netflix)

Tudum adds of Parker’s character: “He has been decorated for valour on numerous top-secret missions, but struggles to keep his own secret hidden. Haunted by his past, Sullivan sees himself in Cameron and tries to prepare him for the same personal war he’ll face beyond boot camp.”

The show is comprised of eight one-hour episodes, and is based on former US Marine Greg Cope White’s memoir The Pink Marine.

Max Parker as Sergeant Sullivan leading a jogging group through the grounds(Image: Netflix)
Max Parker [front] as Sergeant Sullivan (Image: Netflix)

Cameron’s story is set in the 1990s, when being gay in the military was still illegal, and follows US President Donald Trump’s January 2025 Executive Order banning trans individuals people from enlisting or continuing in US military service.

Boots comes from creator and co-showrunner Andy Parker (Tales of the City, Imposters), showrunner Jennifer Cecil (Umbrella Academy, One Tree Hill), and executive producer Norman Lear.

Heizer with Liam Oh as Ray McAffey sitting on a bus (Image: Netflix)
Heizer with Liam Oh as Ray McAffey (Image: Netflix)
Cedrick Cooper as Sgt. McKinnon and Ana Ayora as Captain Fajaro standing before some greenery(Image: Netflix)
Cedrick Cooper as Sgt. McKinnon and Ana Ayora as Captain Fajaro (Image: Netflix)
Joy Osmanski as Setsuko McAffey in a purple top and Vera Farmiga as Barb Cope in a green jacket stood in a room (Image: Netflix)
Joy Osmanski as Setsuko McAffey and Vera Farmiga as Barb Cope (Image: Netflix)

Boots: the official longline

“The series follows directionless, closeted Cameron Cope and his best friend Ray McAffey, the son of a decorated Marine, as they join a diverse group of recruits. Together, this ensemble navigates the literal and metaphorical landmines of boot camp, forging unlikely bonds and discovering their true selves in an environment designed to push them to their limits.

“With sharp wit and plenty of heart, Boots is about friendship, resilience, and finding your place in the world — even when that world seems determined to keep you in line or leave you behind.”

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