The Girls On The Bus Thread: Melissa Benoist Talks What Was Planned For Season 2 & 3 To Collider

Great news When a project moves around as much as this one has it can wind up going nowhere. As we’ve recently witnessed even a project that’s completely finished can get scraped by the studio for a tax deduction.

Looking forward to getting an exact primer date.

Melissa did an interview with the New York Times.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/08/arts/television/the-girls-on-the-bus-melissa-benoist.html

I'm way behind watching the Girls On The Bus but I'm catching up now. It's an Okay show and you really need to pay attention. Melissa is the star of the show and I hope she does get nominated for an Emmy.

July 20,1969: Neil Armstrong.."Houston...Tranquility Base Here...The Eagle Has Landed"
"Oh My God" "The Americans Are On The Moon"

Melissa will be on Jimmy Kimmel live on Tuesday.

And I wonder how she'll react if she runs into Superman fan Jerry Seinfeld...and vice versa?

Melissa Benoist on Jimmy Kimmel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jj9SKfuyrk

Highlights of the interview...Mel's son saying things like Jumping Jehosaphat. Methinks someone in that house loves classic cartoons as some characters said that, perhaps classic TV as well. One of the characters on an old show Car 54 Where Are You from the early 60's said that. Wonder how she'd react if her kid uttered "Great Scott?" (first used by Superman on the radio voiced by Bud Collyer and not Christopher Lloyd in "Back to the Future"

And the something about a haunted chocolate factory. OK MELISSA MARIE BENOIST WOOD, YOU HAVE VENTURED INTO HIGH LEVEL WEIRD.

Then again, she likes ghost stories and UFOs (Holy George Noory and Art Bell!!)

I found the bit where in a fantasy Sadie jumped over the counter and beat up the guy at the mailbox store who didn’t want to give her the pills. Melissa’s channeling when Kara beat up Non after he put the black mercy on her. According to this article Melissa did the stunt herself.

https://www.indiewire.com/features/commentary/abortion-on-tv-changes-girls-on-the-bus-1234973588/

“Melissa, being Supergirl, did that stunt when she jumps over the counter and punches the **** out of the guy [who wouldn’t give her the pills],” Chozick recalled about a fun fantasy sequence in the episode. “She [said], ‘I’m ready, I got it.’ And the whole crew was like, “Oh, my god, girl just lunged over the counter!'”

I would’ve watched more of The Girls on The Bus. At least it didn’t end on a cliffhanger. While the fans seem to have liked it the critics were mixed. The critics liked the performances and the relationships between the characters but had problems with the writing, they didn’t like how journalism was portrayed which IMO is a challenge. I also think some of the marketing could have been better, critics shouldn’t have been expecting a depiction of hard core journalism. In this current environment if a show isn’t a hit with critics and fans it doesn’t get renewed.

It can also be a challenge translating a book to film. According to this article Julie Plec told Amy Chozick that Sadie has to have sex with someone.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/girls-on-the-bus-creator-guest-column-1235910083/

This is very good news. Looking forward to the girls on the bus. It sure took long enough.

July 20, 1969 "Oh My God."The Americans Are On The Moon."
Go Lions!

The Girls On The Bus Premieres on March 14 on Max with first two episodes. Will air weekly thru May 9.First Look via EW.com

https://ew.com/the-girls-on-the-bus-first-look-photos-melissa-benoist-scott-foley-8559316

Melissa Benoist returns to journalism in The Girls on the Bus first look

The new series premieres March 14 on Max.

By Samantha Highfill Updated on February 6, 2024

Amy Chozick was not prepared when she got the call from Warner Bros. At least not physically.

Chozick, a journalist, was in full writing mode — a.k.a. in pajamas and more than likely in need of a shower — when studio execs first expressed interest in her story. She was in the middle of writing Chasing Hillary, a memoir that chronicled her eight years spent covering the campaign of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. "My book was very personal," Chozick says. "I said it's a little Julia & Julia, but with politics."

Warner Bros. was hooked. They ended up optioning her book, and when super producer Greg Berlanti got word, he wanted in. "Greg, being the genius that he is, knew we didn't want to do a politics show," Chozick says. "We knew nobody wanted to relive 2016. But Greg was like, 'The show lives in this [one] chapter, the girls on the bus.'" And so they used a chapter in Chozick's book to launch a new story.



Chozick, alongside her fellow executive producers Julie Plec and showrunner Rina Mimoun, focused on the story of what happens during those unpredictable (and unending) days on the campaign trail, as journalists spend every waking minute covering the candidates they've been assigned. Drawing from Chozick's own experience — which saw more and more women joining what Timothy Crouse once deemed "the boys on the bus" — they began their story.

"Women had sort of taken over the boys on the bus, and we became this found family," Chozick says of her time on the trail. "You become friends with people you never would normally because you're thrust together. It's almost like a band on the road."

On the series, that band will be played by Melissa Benoist, Carla Gugino, Natasha Behnam, and Christina Elmore as four journalists with varying points of view all trying to survive the chaos of the campaign trail. Chozick credits Berlanti with the idea to cast Benoist, whom he'd worked with on Supergirl (where she played a very different kind of reporter). "I knew she was adorable and could hit all the emotional notes," Chozick says. "I did not know how naturally comedic she is. She's so funny."



And humor is a big part of the show. Yes, it's about politics, and yes, it's airing during an election year. But there's also romance, intrigue ... and a shirtless Scott Foley. Chozick is hoping the show can serve as an outlet for viewers. "Things are really dark right now, in politics, in media, whether it's layoffs or distrust in media and I think our show is an antidote, an escape," she says. "There's a lot of hope and heart in it."

"The other thing I'm really proud of is I think it really celebrates journalism," Chozick continues. "It makes the job look cool and it shows you how hard it is to devote your life to the road. It's prestigious, but it's not glamorous."



At its core, The Girls on the Bus is the story of four women who discover they have more in common than they ever would've thought before they all walked onto that bus. "We really do feel like the heart of the show is female friendship," Chozick says. "This environment puts them together. You have to make conversation with the Fox News reporter sitting next to you at every event. Maybe you find that you have more in common than you think."

As Chozick sums it up, "[This is] a pretty polarized time, but not on our bus."

See more exclusive first-look photos of the new series, which premieres March 14, below:







The Max Original drama series The Girls on the Bus, from Warner Bros. Television, debuts with two episodes Thursday, March 14, followed by one new episode weekly through May 9 on Max.


The Girls on the Bus, Starring Melissa Benoist, Gets Max Release Date — See First Photos


https://tvline.com/news/the-girls-on-the-bus-release-date-max-melissa-benoist-1235115280/

I’m sure we’ll get more publicity including interviews in the coming weeks. No trailer or other clips yet but I imagine we’ll get those closer to March 14th. It seems like more streamers are going to a once a week release model, I personally like that because I’m not much of a binge watcher. I’m happy the new episodes will release on Thursdays, that’s the day I have to go into the office so it will be nice to have something to look forward to when I get home.

This is very good news. Looking forward to the girls on the bus. It sure took long enough.

I guess I thought this series wouldn’t be one that would interest you. If it expands your mind a bit that’s great.

Behind the scenes photo of this week's episode 5.

https://twitter.com/benoistfiles/status/1775942699008286917

More promotional photos.

https://twitter.com/melissabeupdate/status/1757499195466936702







https://twitter.com/melissabeupdate/status/1757499301524070551

Melissa Benoist via Instagram

"I felt like I was literally glued to my prop phone, laptop, chargers, press pass, but man, I gained a new respect for campaign reporters, I don't know how they do that

More promotional photos.

https://twitter.com/melissabeupdate/status/1757499195466936702







https://twitter.com/melissabeupdate/status/1757499301524070551

Melissa Benoist via Instagram

"I felt like I was literally glued to my prop phone, laptop, chargers, press pass, but man, I gained a new respect for campaign reporters, I don't know how they do that

Appreciate the pics. But here's the thing...Melissa does not know what real journalism is until she has met those who aren't anything more than a bunch of mockingbirds for the federal government and big corporations. And as I would consider her a [typical] feminist, though married with child, I would think the two female names I have in mind have gotten beyond their feet wet in the media, though not necessarily as campaign beat reporters.

[I am sort of thinking back to the Supergirl episode Ace Reporter...a very good episode I might add]

One is Lara Logan. She once did massive investigative reports for CBS News' 60 Minutes. But when she rocked the boat, she was fired. Lara now has a series of reports on the video site Rumble (an alternative to Google's YouTube...which is run by the Chinese Communist Party). She did these episodes as stories like she did on 60 Minutes. Basically, she took the template she was given at CBS and turned it into her own.

The other is Laura Loomer (now just because they have a double L and you might think Lois Lane...well that's a coincidence!) Let me tell you, on X and on alternative websites to Facebook and X, she puts the BULLDOG into the journalism term bulldog edition. She went after the likes of FL Governor Ron DeSantis and former SC Governor Nikki Haley...only to have her credentials revoked after getting an invite to their speeches or rallies. And of course she goes after the Democrats as well.

Most journalists these days in the so-called "mainstream media" are more lapdogs than watchdogs or bulldogs. Take anyone from ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, NPR or any major newspaper...PLEASE.

Are you ok Robert Anthony, in my experience people who use “mainstream media” as you do are struggling in many aspects of their lives. I hope you get help to make real human connections instead of reading conspiracy theories on the internet. It’s must be terribly frightening and mentally exhausting to have your guard up all the time because you think so many people are “out to get you”.

Please enlighten me as to your definition of [typical] feminist. Women being equal to men can be frightening to men who think to achieve that means men must give something up. I know it’s hard when the way you’re use to things being changes. It’s human nature to cling to what we know and lash out at people who want to change things. What is it about feminism and feminists that scare you.

As a Federal Government employee am I a “mockingbird”, if so how.

The trailer for The Girls On The Bus.

https://tvline.com/news/the-girls-on-the-bus-release-date-max-melissa-benoist-1235115280/

Girls on the Bus Trailer: Melissa Benoist Is ‘a Killer’ Learning the Ropes of Political Journalism — Get Release Date

BY VLADA GELMAN
FEBRUARY 21, 2024

The Girls on the Bus finally have a departure time… and a brand-new trailer, too!

The long-gestating series will premiere Thursday, March 14, on Max with its first two episodes, followed by one new installment weekly through May 9.

The comedic drama is inspired by a chapter in Amy Chozick’s 2018 novel Chasing Hillary, which was based on the author’s time covering Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign as a political reporter.

In The Girls on the Bus, Supergirl vet Benoist plays Sadie McCarthy, “a journalist who romanticizes the original ‘Boys on the Bus’ and who scrapped her whole life for her own shot at covering a presidential campaign for the paper of record. Sadie hits the trail and eventually bonds with three female competitors,” per the official logline. “Despite their differences, these women become a found family with a front-row seat to the greatest soap opera in town: the battle for the White House.”

Joining Benoist on the Max series are Carla Gugino (The Fall of the House of Usher), Natasha Behnam (Mayans M.C.) and Christina Elmore (Insecure). The series-regular cast also includes Brandon Scott (13 Reasons Why, Dead to Me).

Additionally, Scott Foley (Scandal), Tala Ashe (Legends of Tomorrow) and Griffin Dunne (This Is Us) will all recur. Foley plays a little-known mayor from Kansas who has joined the presidential race, while Ashe portrays an offbeat-yet-accessible progressive who is one of the reporters’ clear favorites on the campaign trail.

The series was developed by Chozick and Julie Plec, both of whom will executive-produce alongside showrunner Rina Mimoun, as well as Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter for Berlanti Productions.

The Girls on the Bus has taken a rather meandering route to the screen: It was first ordered by Netflix in 2019, before being picked up by The CW after it failed to move forward at the streamer. The show then landed at another streamer when Max (then known as HBO Max) handed it a straight-to-series order in February 2022, five months after the project moved from Netflix to The CW.

Are you excited to finally have an estimated time of departure for The Girls on the Bus? Check out the first-look photos below (and watch the new trailer embedded above!), then hit the comments.


Poster.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GG4ikGbXcAAfSKr?format=jpg&name=4096x4096

The trailer looks good, I’m looking forward to this show. It seems WB is putting at least some money into promoting it. Two more weeks so hopefully we’ll start getting some cast interviews.

The trailer looks good, I’m looking forward to this show. It seems WB is putting at least some money into promoting it. Two more weeks so hopefully we’ll start getting some cast interviews.

We should be.Screenrant just posted an excerpt from their interview witn Melissa for The Girls On The Bus where she talks about Milly Alcock casting as the DCU Supergirl.I'm about to post it now in the Supergirl movie thread.The full interview will probably be up closer to the shows premiere.

This looks like it's going to be a fun show. I may have to watch it twice.

July 20,1969 "Oh My God" "The Americans Are On The Moon."

Another video intertview and more stills.



https://twitter.com/benoistfiles/status/1766499893500104706









https://twitter.com/benoistfiles/status/1766500090737226074