‘The Girls on the Bus’: Meet the Characters Behind Max’s Political Dramedy
Preview
Much like The Boys on the Bus — the nonfiction bestseller about journalists such as Hunter S. Thompson on the road covering the 1972 presidential election — the 10-episode dramedy, The Girls on the Bus, chronicles the fast-paced, messy, and often hilarious lives of reporters on the campaign trail.
But instead of The Boys’ all-male cohort, The Girls on the Bus follows current-day fictional female journalists who form a “found family” while reporting on a Democratic primary. “It’s about the kind of friendship that you never knew you needed but you can’t live without,” says cocreator Amy Chozick, whose career as a political journo covering prominent figures like Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, and Elizabeth Warren inspired the series.
Supergirl’s Melissa Benoist stars as idealistic reporter Sadie McCarthy. “She’s an old soul,” Chozick explains. “She romanticizes an era of journalism that kind of doesn’t exist anymore…when you could write in your own voice and have a huge impact.”
Sadie grapples with balancing journalistic objectivity with her enthusiasm for candidates she believes in, and “she starts to really wrestle with whether the truth matters” in our current political climate, Chozick says.
The show’s politicians are amalgams of candidates Chozick met on the road, as are the journalists who round out the cast: “old-school, get-the-scoop-out” veteran Grace (Carla Gugino); conservative Fox News–esque reporter Kimberlyn (Christina Elmore, The Last Ship); and young social media influencer Lola (Natasha Behnam). The women don’t have much in common, but they become close. “When you’re forced on a bus together and you share every meal and every moment, you can be friends with someone whose politics [differ from yours],” Chozick says. “It’s about the girls and it’s about these friendships. The show has what I think we’re craving right now: heart.”
The Girls on the Bus, Series Premiere, Thursday, March 14, Max
As journalist Sadie, Benoist wears both her heart and her politics on her sleeve—and on her laptop. Fun fact: Those stickers got complicated. “We actually spent months getting those cleared!” says Chozick.
“We wanted it to be like a road trip,” cocreator Chozick says of The Girls on the Bus, which stars Elmore, Benoist, Gugino and Behnam. “The show is centered around balancing life and ambition while covering this huge, high-stakes political race.”
Sadie meets a little-known mayor (Scott Foley) from Kansas who “could actually be on The Bachelor, but he’s polling dead last” in the race for the Democratic nomination, according to Sadie’s narration. He has little chance of winning but remains determined to land an interview with Sadie.
Mark Consuelos has a recurring role as an action movie star who, Sadie says, “joined the race after a Twitter poll came out saying that 46 percent of Americans would vote for him regardless of party affiliation.” But what’s behind his perfect persona?
Sadie and Elmore’s conservative Kimberlyn find common ground on the road, despite their contrasting political opinions. “We were drawn to the kind of found friendship you make when you’re traveling with someone,” Chozick notes of the show. “People that you never would have normally been friends with.”
