The third time is the charm for The Girls on the Bus.
Following years of development at Netflix and, later, The CW, the drama based on journalist Amy Chozick’s book Chasing Hillary: Ten Years, Two Presidential Campaigns and One Intact Glass Ceiling has been ordered to series at HBO Max. Sources say the streamer is near a deal for a female lead.
Originally ordered at Netflix in 2019 following a multiple-outlet bidding war, the streaming giant quietly dropped Bus in 2020. The drama from Julie Plec, Chozick and Greg Berlanti had a production commitment and was beginning to cast at when the pandemic hit, was ultimately dropped as part of the streamer’s regime change from Cindy Holland (who bought it) to Bela Bajaria (who dropped it). Sources note that the political backdrop of the series was part of the reason Netflix ultimately bailed on the project. The CW picked it up last September and had plans to redevelop the series for its younger-focused audience despite the fact that nearly a full season’s worth of scripts had already been completed. It’s unclear how much of the scripts Netflix effectively paid for will be part of the HBO Max incarnation.
Related Stories
Here’s the formal logline: “Inspired by a chapter of Amy Chozick’s best-selling book, this comedic character-driven drama chronicles four female journalists who follow every move of a parade of flawed presidential candidates, while finding friendship, love, and scandal along the way.”
Plec and Chozick are credited as writers on the series and both exec produce. Berlanti and his Berlanti Productions partner Sarah Schechter and head of TV David Madden also exec produce. Warner Bros. TV, where Berlanti is based with a rich overall deal. Bus is also a carve out from Plec’s former time at the studio. Plec is now based at Universal Television. With Bus, she now has six shows on the air including NBC’s The Endgame, Peacock’s Vampire Academy and Dead Day, plus The CW’s Vampire Diaries offshoot Legacies and Roswell reboot.
Bus brings Berlanti back to the political forum after the USA Network limited series Political Animals, which featured Sigourney Weaver playing a Hillary Clinton-like character. Bus also marks Plec’s latest collaboration with Berlanti, with whom she’s been friends since her sophomore year at Northwestern University. Plec, who officiated Berlanti’s wedding, also worked with him during her time as a development exec for Kevin Williamson on Dawson’s Creek. Together, they both executive produced The CW’s short-lived The Tomorrow People.
Berlanti already has big-budget DC show Green Lantern, anthology Strange Adventures, The Flight Attendant and DC Universe transfers Titans and Doom Patrol at HBO Max. Those join Netflix’s You, The CW’s Superman & Lois, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, All American and spinoff All American: Homecoming, Batwoman, Riverdale, Stargirl and Kung Fu.
Sources note Berlanti fought hard for Bus to move to HBO Max as The CW is navigating an uncertain future amid sale talks with Nexstar that could impact the number of scripted originals that air on the broadcaster, which remains a joint venture between Warner Bros. TV and CBS Studios.
An episode count and premiere time frame for Bus has not yet been determined.
