‘Supergirl’ Grad Melissa Benoist Near Deal to Star in ‘Girls on the Bus’
The HBO Max drama will mark a reunion for the actress with exec producer Greg Berlanti.
BY LESLEY GOLDBERG
FEBRUARY 18, 2022
Supergirl is staying in the Berlanti camp.
Melissa Benoist is near a deal to star in HBO Max’s newly ordered drama series The Girls on the Bus, from exec producers Greg Berlanti and Julie Plec. The casting reunites the actress with Berlanti after she spent six seasons wearing the cape as the lead of CBS-turned-The CW’s Supergirl. The DC Comics-inspired drama wrapped its run in November, with the final season pushed to March of last year in order to accommodate Benoist’s pregnancy.
Reps for HBO Max and producers Warner Bros. TV declined comment as a deal is not officially closed.
The Girls on the Bus is inspired by a chapter of Amy Chozick’s best-selling book. The 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. Benoist is expected to play one of the four central journalists.
Plec and author 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, is the studio. The casting also extends Benoist’s relationship with Warners, the studio behind Supergirl and where she set her first overall deal for her launched production company a year ago. It’s unclear if Benoist will also be credited as an executive producer, though the odds are safe that she will, given her value to the studio and her deal there.
The Girls on the Bus had a wild ride to HBO Max. The drama was originally ordered at Netflix in 2019 following a multiple-outlet bidding war. The streaming giant quietly dropped Bus during the quarantine portion of the pandemic in 2020. The drama had a production commitment and was beginning to cast at when the pandemic hit and 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.
Benoist, whose credits also include Glee and Whiplash, is repped by UTA, Anonymous Content and Frankfurt Kurnit.
A premiere date (and episode count) for Bus has not yet been determined.
https://deadline.com/2022/02/melissa-benoist-star-girls-on-the-bus-hbo-max-series-greg-berlanti-1234956563/
Melissa Benoist In Talks To Star In ‘Girls On the Bus’ HBO Max Series From Berlanti Productions
By Nellie Andreeva
Coming off six seasons as the lead of Supergirl, Melissa Benoist is poised to reunite with Berlanti Productions on another series. Benoist is in negotiations to headline The Girls on the Bus, which just received a straight-to-series order at HBO Max, I have learned. Benoist also is expected to serve as a producer on the drama series, an adaptation of Amy Chozick’s bestselling book Chasing Hillary, from Julie Plec, Chozick, Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros TV. Reps for HBO Max and WBTV declined comment.
Talks with Benoist for Girls on the Bus have been going on a parallel track with negotiations for the project’s move from the CW, where it had been in development this season, to HBO Max with a series order. I hear Supergirl co-creator/executive producer Greg Berlanti and his team had reached out to Benoist, and her interest helped boost the project’s prospects (though the series order by HBO Max is not cast-contingent.)
Written by Plec and Chozick, The Girls on the Bus, which was originally set up at Netflix before moving to the CW, is inspired by “The Girls on the Bus” chapter in Chozick’s book Chasing Hillary: Ten Years, Two Presidential Campaigns and One Intact Glass Ceiling. The character-driven comedic drama series revolves around four female journalists — one of them to be played by Benoist — who follow every move of a parade of flawed presidential candidates while finding friendship, love and scandal along the way.
Plec executive produces via her My So-Called Company, along with Chozick, Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and David Madden for Berlanti Productions. WBTV, where Berlanti and Benoist are under overall deals, is the studio. (The project, which first came together and sold to Netflix in 2019, stems from Plec’s overall deal at WBTV; she has since moved to Universal Television.)
Following her breakout role on Fox’s Glee, Benoist was tapped as the lead of the CW’s Supergirl, which recently wrapped its six-season run. She appeared across the CW’s Arrowverse in her role as Kara Danvers/Supergirl. Benoist is repped by UTA, Anonymous Content and Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz
https://tvline.com/2022/02/18/melissa-benoist-the-girls-on-the-bus-hbo-max-greg-berlanti-julie-plec/
Melissa Benoist Nears Deal to Star in HBO Max's The Girls on the Bus, Reunite With Supergirl EP Greg Berlanti
By Dave Nemetz / February 18 2022,
Melissa Benoist may have put away her Supergirl cape, but she’s flying right back to the small screen.
The actress is nearing a deal to star in the HBO Max drama series The Girls on the Bus, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Based on Amy Chozick’s bestselling novel Chasing Hillary, “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,” per the official description. Benoist will play one of the four main journalists.
The role would reunite Benoist with Supergirl executive producer Greg Berlanti, who is set to executive-produce the new series along with Vampire Diaries EP Julie Plec. Plec will write the series along with book author Chozick.
Benoist wrapped up a six-season run as Kara Danvers/Supergirl on The CW’s Supergirl in November. (The series’ freshman season actually aired on CBS before it moved to The CW for its final five seasons.) Her other TV credits include Glee, Waco and Homeland.
The Girls on the Bus has traveled a winding road to get on the air: It was first ordered by Netflix in 2019, then quietly dropped and picked back up by The CW. HBO Max handed it a straight-to-series order earlier this week.
