NPR TV critic Eric Deggans says the program, which debuts today on the Max streaming service, often struggles to comment on contemporary politics and media in a fictional world. ERIC DEGGANS, BYLINE: Scrappy political reporter Sadie McCarthy, played by Melissa Benoist, always seems to be juggling three phones at once, snarking off important people with her coverage. DEGGANS: There's a cynical, effective, veteran reporter so focused on work she's ignoring her daughter played by Carla Gugino and a Black woman who works for the show's fictionalized version of Fox News, played by Christina Elmore.