The Girls on the Bus

First, let's acknowledge that all of the actors on "Girls on the Bus" are incredibly talented. What has me hooked is the show is the ghost of Hunter S. Thompson. It's such a new twist in a political dramedy. The character gives context to the time frame and is a great vehicle into the mind of Sadie. It's also almost scary how the actor playing Hunter Thompson looks and acts like the real Hunter S. Thompson.

This show is definitely worth a watch. It's rare to find shows that have complexity with superb acting and a the ghost of a journalist who was himself a very complex person. I agree that it's not for everybody (what show is?). However, the 1 ratings don't even acknowledge the excellent talent or the ingenious Hunter S. Thompson character. Maybe some people don't know who he was or his defining contribution to journalism.

The show is co-written by Amy Chozick, a journalist who spent years of her 20s and 30s on the campaign trail and was struggling to balance personal life with her work. The show is essentially about this. Since people of different ages struggle with different things, and this show takes place during one campaign season, they have four main characters who are at different ages in their life, each facing a different set of problems. The show does this well, the actors are excellent. The weakness I'd highlight here is the unlikely friendship of the characters, but some reality bending is acceptable in television.

On the politics front: the show follows the Democratic primary election. People with some political knowledge will be able to identify the real politicians who the nominees are based on, all were nationally known at some point. To get an idea: the show also invents new newspapers for its fictional story, the "The Washington Union" and "The New York Sentinel" as well as the cable news network "Liberty News". Can you guess which companies these stand in for?

The political discussion in the show is shallow and hyperbolic (not unlike a campaign). What is a little disappointing is that the journalists sometimes also seem to have very naive ideas about politicians, about one level above the black and white characters in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (a movie the show also references). And they do so while navigating the complex economic and political environments in their own lives.

The show is also noticeably left leaning (I had no problem with this, because so am I).

To sum up, the lived experience and lived politics of the show is nice, the abstracted politics and scoops are pretty thin. If you want to watch a journalist dramedy, you'll probably like this, but if you want Lincoln level political drama, you probably won't.

Off course, it depends on what you were expecting, but as someone who did not have any expectations at the beginning, I actually enjoyed frist 3 episodes. They picked a subject that is enought serious and important, but not too heavy, and treated it with a dose of fun and colors which I really like. There is a need, in my opinion, for such shows for many reasons. First and foremost, because they can reach more people and make them hear different views without even realizing that, without breaking a sweat while maybe even having fun. Second, because it is much harder to make interesting content about serious maters that is not overly dramatic, pursuasive and/or pervasive. Most of them make you feel like somebody is pushing their point of view on you all the time.

I also like characters.

Well, So far😁

I just watched the 10th and final show (of season 1. The showrunner hopes for a season 2 - which is unannounced as of now.)

I love this show. I had to go back to watch the first minute of the first show - because it foreshadows the very end of the last episode.

Some criticize the characters as being stereotypes - and yes - but I quickly came to care about each character, even though there was one I looked down on and another I disliked because her politics were different than mine, but - the show did a great job of humanizing each journalist, and developing their history and motivations.

The show is so relevant to politics today.

Don't miss this great show. It deserves your attention.

Political dramas can be very hit and miss. The West Wing and Scandal are the only two I have ever really enjoyed.

Seeing that this was starring and produced by Melissa Benoist I decided to give this series a shot.

The show is well acted and produced, with some interesting plot twists and a look into the flaws of candidates, bringing their more bright-eyed supporters back down to earth.

There are a few very obviously parallels to certain real life politicians, though thankfully there are no signs yet of a character like T**mp.

So far I have enjoyed the writing, but having just watched episode 2, there still seems to be something missing to really give it the kick it needs. Hopefully this will change in future episodes.