Comic transit finds perfect conduit in political theater of the absurd
Politics and comedy. A dicey game to play. Girls on the Bus, released weekly on Max, follows four political journalists covering the campaign trail of the 2024 presidential election. Each woman represents a respective form of media: print journalist Sadie McCarthy (Melissa Benoist, Supergirl) of the New York Sentinel, experienced “Scoop Queen” Grace Gordon Greene (Carla Gugino, The Haunting of Hill House), conservative reporter of the Liberty News Direct Kimberly Kendrick (Christina Elmore, Insecure), and lastly young Instagram influencer and activist Lola Rahaii (Natasha Benham, American Pie Presents: Girls’ Rules).
While the marketing for this show seems non-existent, the eye-catching poster illustrates the vibrancy and character this series exudes from the very first scene. Most would probably expect a show about four political journalists to be entirely a snooze fest, yet perfectly placed scenes of pure absurdity leave audiences feeling surprisingly fresh rather than exhausted.
The characters frequently fall into obvious cliches, but this fits with the satirical nature of the show. Audiences aren’t supposed to take these characters seriously all of the time, or view them as entirely complex humans. While the show is considered a drama, it has many sitcom elements within it, this being one of them.
While some actors are clearly more experienced than others, all seem comfortable in the roles they have taken on. Benoist seems right at home playing another journalist following her long reign as Supergirl/Pulitzer prize winning reporter Kara Danvers. Gugino, recently known for dark, hair raising performances within the Flanerverse, takes a sturdy step into a refreshingly comedic role.
Sadie is haunted by the voice and image of her role model, real-life journalist Hunter S Thompson (P.J. Sosko, The Equalizer). The entire premise of Girls on the Bus is a call back to Timothy Crouse’s semi non-fiction novel “The Boys on the Bus” following himself and Thompson through the 1972 presidential election of Nixon and McGovern. Sadie has spent her entire career trying to live up to the mantles of these men, but she has never been able to garner as much respect and prestige.
Grace encounters prejudice from her own parents. As someone who has been in the field for quite some time, she has seen how women have had to meet higher bars and fight to get recognition. Even after decades at the job, her mother still believes Grace is wasting her life away as a journalist. . . despite being married to an accomplished male journalist.
Feminism becomes a prevalent discussion within the show, as the women following the campaign trail yearn to live up to their male predecessors with disadvantages forced onto them based on their gender and subsequent expectations.
Prior to where the first episode picks up, Sadie nearly lost her entire career because she was seen as too emotional and personal to make the cut for politics. Multiple small actions made by these women have almost cost them their entire careers, actions that were brushed aside and seen as commonplace by men. They balance the tightrope of honoring their personal beliefs and opinions while also focusing on their career and being professionally unbiased in their journalism.
Each journalist serves as a stand-in for specific political issues or have strong opinions that are discussed on numerous occasions. The four women are able to support each other as journalists and women but call each other out in the same breath. They backstab each other and then invite each other to their wedding. They understand each other in a way that others cannot, in many different forms, creating a compellingly competitive community.
Rating: A
Blurb: While Girls on the Bus often plays into tired tropes, its obvious eccentricism shows that it’s not afraid to call itself out and have a little fun.
by Addi Isely
Published May 20 2024
Oshkosh West Index Volume 120 Issue VIII