Melissa Benoist returns to journalism in The Girls on the Bus first look

Amy Chozick was not prepared when she got the call from Warner Bros. At least not physically.

Chozick, a journalist, was in full writing mode — a.k.a. in pajamas and more than likely in need of a shower — when studio execs first expressed interest in her story. She was in the middle of writing Chasing Hillary, a memoir that chronicled her eight years spent covering the campaign of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. "My book was very personal," Chozick says. "I said it's a little Julia & Julia, but with politics."

Warner Bros. was hooked. They ended up optioning her book, and when super producer Greg Berlanti got word, he wanted in. "Greg, being the genius that he is, knew we didn't want to do a politics show," Chozick says. "We knew nobody wanted to relive 2016. But Greg was like, 'The show lives in this [one] chapter, the girls on the bus.'" And so they used a chapter in Chozick's book to launch a new story.

Chozick, alongside her fellow executive producers Julie Plec and showrunner Rina Mimoun, focused on the story of what happens during those unpredictable (and unending) days on the campaign trail, as journalists spend every waking minute covering the candidates they've been assigned. Drawing from Chozick's own experience — which saw more and more women joining what Timothy Crouse once deemed "the boys on the bus" — they began their story.

"Women had sort of taken over the boys on the bus, and we became this found family," Chozick says of her time on the trail. "You become friends with people you never would normally because you're thrust together. It's almost like a band on the road."

On the series, that band will be played by Melissa Benoist, Carla Gugino, Natasha Behnam, and Christina Elmore as four journalists with varying points of view all trying to survive the chaos of the campaign trail. Chozick credits Berlanti with the idea to cast Benoist, whom he'd worked with on Supergirl (where she played a very different kind of reporter). "I knew she was adorable and could hit all the emotional notes," Chozick says. "I did not know how naturally comedic she is. She's so funny."

And humor is a big part of the show. Yes, it's about politics, and yes, it's airing during an election year. But there's also romance, intrigue ... and a shirtless Scott Foley. Chozick is hoping the show can serve as an outlet for viewers. "Things are really dark right now, in politics, in media, whether it's layoffs or distrust in media and I think our show is an antidote, an escape," she says. "There's a lot of hope and heart in it."

"The other thing I'm really proud of is I think it really celebrates journalism," Chozick continues. "It makes the job look cool and it shows you how hard it is to devote your life to the road. It's prestigious, but it's not glamorous."

At its core, The Girls on the Bus is the story of four women who discover they have more in common than they ever would've thought before they all walked onto that bus. "We really do feel like the heart of the show is female friendship," Chozick says. "This environment puts them together. You have to make conversation with the Fox News reporter sitting next to you at every event. Maybe you find that you have more in common than you think."

As Chozick sums it up, "[This is] a pretty polarized time, but not on our bus." 

See more exclusive first-look photos of the new series, which premieres March 14, below:

The Max Original drama series The Girls on the Bus, from Warner Bros. Television, debuts with two episodes Thursday, March 14, followed by one new episode weekly through May 9 on Max. 

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