No second season for HBO Max's The Girls on the Bus

HBO Max has chosen not to proceed with a second season of the drama The Girls on the Bus.

The decision comes two weeks after the series' first season finale, starring Melissa Benoist, was released.



“While Max will not be moving forward with a second season of The Girls on the Bus, we are grateful to have partnered with immensely talented Amy Chozick, Julie Plec, Rina Mimoun, as well as the teams at Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television,” the streamer said in a statement.

“We are so proud of this powerful story of found family and the celebration of journalism, in all its forms. We thank them and our unrivaled cast for all their incredible work and collaboration.”

The news about the series' cancellation is not entirely surprising. The adaptation of Chozick's bestseller Chasing Hillary had a relatively quiet run and did not break into Nielsen's Top 10 weekly streaming rankings, but did appear several times in HBO Max's in-app Top 10 list.

The first season of The Girls on the Bus, created by Plec and Chozick, centers on Sadie McCarthy (Benoist), a journalist who romanticizes a bygone era of campaign reporting and upends her entire life for a chance to cover a presidential candidate for an authoritative newspaper. Sadie boards the bus and ends up bonding with three female competitors, Grace (Carla Gugino), Lola (Natasha Behnam), and Kimberlyn (Christina Elmore).

Despite the title, future seasons were not expected to be limited to a campaign bus. The first season, which ended on a cliffhanger, followed the primaries. Season two would transition to the general election with the reporters getting off the bus onto a plane, showrunner Rina Mimoun confirmed.

The cast of the series also included Brandon Scott, Griffin Dunne, Mark Consuelos and Scott Foley.

Chozick, Plec and Rina Mimoun produced with Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Leigh London Redman and Marcos Siega. Jesse Peretz produced and directed the series pilot, Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.

The Girls on the Bus landed at HBO Max after originally getting a series order at Netflix and then moving to the CW for development.