Courtesy of Claire Hlotyak
What do you get when you trap two dozen bloodthirsty sharks–excuse me, determined journalists–on a bus bound cross country? If your guess is chaos, you would be correct, though I would describe it more as highly organized shenanigans. HBOs new mini-series, The Girls on the Bus, certainly does not shy away from this label. Created by Amy Chozick and Julie Plec, The Girls on the Bus follows four female journalists as they hit the road to cover the campaign of a controversial female presidential candidate. The show is loosely based on Chozicks time following the Hillary campaign, which she documented in her memoir Chasing Hillary.
You may think, “Oh God, not another political show, ” which is an entirely valid response. Real life American politics is so dire that voluntarily consuming fictional political content sounds downright masochistic. The way I see it, however, is that the best way to distract yourself from a real political firestorm is to lose yourself in a fake one. Only this one leaves you with a sliver of hope for our future democracy–hooray!
If you follow the TV/movie scene, you may notice an outcry for more complex female characters. This is a fair demand; no one wants to watch cookie-cutter characters with fill in the blank personalities. Contemporary audiences want conniving yet loveable female characters! While The Girls on the Bus characters still fall into established molds, the show does a good job portraying hard working female journalists who aren’t always coiffed and perfectly behaved.
The show features Sadie McCarthy, your typical bright eyed, caffeine dependent journalist working for the New York Sentinel, the show’s fictionalized version of The New York Times. She often gets into trouble because of her commitment to a highly personal, narrative form of journalism. Also known as Gonzo Journalism, this form of writing places the author in the story, where literary devices abound, and a fair helping of sarcasm and profanity is encouraged.
TV reporter Kimberlyn Kendrick works for Liberty Direct News, known for its gossip-style reporting and deeply conservative views (bet you can’t guess who they are modeled after!)
Grace Gordon Greene is a pro with a wealth of journalistic knowledge, a power bob, and an enviable power to get a quote from just about anyone (tell me your secrets, Grace!)
Rounding out the bunch is Lola Rahaii, a fellow Gen Z forging a path in the reporter/influencer space. Lola remains a mystery to me. I can’t quite tell if she is supposed to be a social commentary on the state of future journalism or if millennials actually think Gen-Z worships the ground influencers walk on.
If you’re anything like me, you love to see the inner workings of a secretive system. We got a front-row seat to the drama of the White House in every news junkie’s beloved show, The West Wing. The Girls on the Bus goes a step further, demystifying the experiences of journalists, the ones busy shoving microphones in candidate’s faces and scribbling in their notebook of secrets.
The Girls on the Bus is undeniably fresh, and the writers are not afraid to tackle hot-button issues; I respect the show for living firmly in reality and addressing topics its viewers can relate to. In episode 7, for example, Sadie discovers she is pregnant and seeks out an abortion. The next state on her trip is Missouri, where abortion is illegal, so she must drive from Wisconsin to Illinois, putting her time-sensitive work on hold to access quality healthcare. Kimberlyn, who disagrees with Sadie’s choice, drives her. This might be sweet if it wasn’t so illustrative of the dystopian society we are living in. However depressing, the scenarios this show portrays force us to come to terms with the world around us and consider if it is a world we’re proud of.
The references to modern politicized disagreements don’t end there. When their bus breaks down on the way to a major convention, and the Wi-Fi cuts out, what do the journalists do? Debate whether gender is a social construct or not, of course! Tensions fly high as old-school politics reject new-age Gen Z media, only to end abruptly when the internet returns.
This show has had a special impact on me, as this year has marked my first foray into journalism. As I learn to navigate this world, I am interested in journalism ethics. As Grace says in episode 6, “As a journalist, you only have to be loyal to the truth and your sources.” This comment, and many other issues raised in the show, beg the age-old journalism questions. How do we balance honesty and intrigue in the news? What does it mean to be objective? Who gets to tell whose stories?
I’d recommend this show to anyone interested in journalism, politics, or just wants to know the press room gossip. The Girls on the Bus successfully commentates on some of the greatest issues facing us today, but you will stay for its sharp wit and cliffhanger plotlines. This show seems to signify a new era of political television, and I, for one, am jumping on the bandwagon (or bus!), and I hope you will, too. Stream The Girls on the Bus on HBO Max today.
