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.

Sigh. I almost turned this off after about the first 20 minutes of the first episode, but I stuck with it, and although based on this first episode it's a complete train wreck of a script/plot, there is some potential. Sometimes it takes a few episodes for a show to find its groove, for the writers to organize their thoughts, and develop characters and plot lines into something the audience finds interesting and entertaining. I hope this is the case here, because again, the show has some potential.

I am a giant fan of Carla Gugino, and she's criminally underutilized thus far with dumb material to act within. Regardless, as of the end of episode one, there's not a character in the show that I care anything about yet.

I'm going to give one more episode a chance, and if I keep watching I'll come back and adjust my score, but a six right now is generous.

In the past, I used to enjoy TV series and movies about elections and presidencies, not just the obvious "West Wing," but almost all of them (by the way, "Dave" with Kevin Kline is one of my favorite movies of all time). However, I don't feel the same anymore, especially considering the current candidates for POTUS and world leaders in other countries.

So, I was initially reluctant to watch "The Girls on the Bus," but I gave it a chance when I saw that Carla Gugino and Melissa Benoist were the two leads. So far, I've watched one and a half episodes and have decided to continue following the show.

I'm not entirely sure if I enjoy the plot that much, but I do appreciate the performances, especially Melissa Benoist's portrayal of an ambitious young journalist who can't catch a break. It's not an easy role, and another actor could have easily overdone it or created a caricature of the character, but she managed to keep it in control.

As I mentioned, I'm unsure if the plot will make sense in the end, but the script has managed so far to portray the personalities of the main characters with adequate complexity.

Overall: It is somehow interesting. Not deep as other well known series. Characters not paper thin. Good performances.

Watch the first episode for yourself. At first glance an overall rating of 5.3 at the time of this writing would suggest one of the worst shows of all time. Click on the rating number and you see a huge number of 1s. How can this be? Simple. Certain people don't want you to watch. And then you will miss something worth watching.

I've only watched the first episode but I plan on watching the rest of the season. If you like shows that involve the political process then you should find this interesting. But if you are triggered by seeing one sort of character or issue you don't agree with then maybe you only watch one episode.

However you feel, it would be nice to give an honest rating. Almost nothing ever produced has deserved a 1 (or a 10). The people who hand out 1s likely do so often and somehow thinking their opinion reigns supreme.

It's been a while since MAX (formerly HBO Max) released an original show that I've actually liked.

That's finally changed though. The Girls on the Bus is incredibly enjoyable to watch. The talent and chemistry amongst the cast is magic. Melissa Benoist shines in every scene she's in.

MAX's marketing for the show is pretty much non-existent which makes me believe this is the only season we will get. I feel like if this was in any other streaming platform or network it would have gotten a press junket. I don't think MAX was the right distributor for this series but I hope this series leads to more future easy-to-watch content to their platform.