Its Funny, Its Sexy, Its Bold: Why You Should Be Watching The Bold Type

The more I look at Freeform’s programming, the more I think that this network may be the most daring and fun exploration of people approaching adulthood since the WB was in its prime. I’ve already raved about grown-ish and Good Trouble, and now making its return is not only Freeform’s most astonishing series, but one of the best series on TV period: The Bold Type.

Set against the backdrop of the fictional women’s magazine Scarlet, the series centers around three women besties working in the magazine: Jane (Katie Stevens), who works in journalist and for the magazine’s digital section; Sutton (Meghan Fahy), who is one of the assistants to the fashion department, and Kat (Aisha Dee), a biracial lesbian who works at the social media section. After the climax of Season 2 in Paris, several key stories unfolded relationship wise. Jane, who spent most of Season 2 deliberating between two lovers, finally settled on Ryan, a freelance writer, while Sutton finally confessed her feelings for Richard, one of the board members at the magazine who she fell in love with in Season 1, but issues of class and work kept them apart. Such happy tidings were not in the cards for Kat, who had a messy breakup with her lover Adina, who left her because of feeling creatively stifled. There was even more difficulty at work, when their beloved editor, Jacqueline, wrote a controversial article about the company’s health care policies, which had put her job in jeopardy.

A lot has happened in the couple of months that served as an interim. The new head of digital is a man, which has inflamed everybody, particularly because he is equal parts arrogant and decent. Jane, who works with him the most seems to be having difficulties adjusting, particularly when she tried to write a story about how she is trying to freeze her eggs, and it ended up involving Ryan, who she’d purposely tried to keep out of the entire process. Sutton is working through the problem of being in love with a man way, way above her classwise, which has led to arguments over things seemingly as trivial as her doing laundry instead of the housekeeper. And Kat is still reeling from her breakup, and fully admitting on media that she’s a hot mess. Her steps forward include trying to save a lesbian bar in her neighborhood from being gentrified, and now approaching the opponent of the local councilman who seems to be its main obstacle.

The Bold Type is, as one can probably tell, a female aimed series. But I haven’t felt such joy and connection with so many different female characters since the days of Gilmore Girls. This is what Sex and the City and Girls should have been. (Hold your fire.) Centered around three strong, independent women feeling their way through life as messily as the rest of us. There is the same kind of nudity and sex that one saw in HBO (there’s delicate blurring for a lot of them), but when the three besties gather in the fashion closet to discuss their problems, I don’t feel nearly as isolated. Nor are all the characters surrounding the three lead mere clichés. All are layered and continue to have new levels every time we see them. Particular attention has been paid to Oliver, the gay African-American in charge of photographing all the shoots, who seemed unusually distracted in yesterday’s episode. Then it was revealed that one of his former partners was addicted to heroin, and he was in plans to adopt his daughter – not easy for anyone, particularly him. And of course, the most delightful character on the series is Jacqueline, who Melora Hardin plays as the boss anyone should have, in the industry or out of it. She is pleasant to her employees, and demonstrates that you should never underestimate her to her rivals, as we learned when she brought a top drag artist to Kat’s party – and revealed she’d been a nanny early on.

The Bold Type is one of those series that manages to handle equal parts whimsy and seriousness perfectly. (I don’t know any other series that could have one character say to another: ‘I’ve now seen both of my best friend’s vaginas’, and actually not use it for exploitive purposes’.) When the characters talk about sex and fashion, it actually seems realistic in a way that Carrie Bradshaw and company could never get right mainly because its work related.  And this series has a handle on New York and the celebrity world within that few other series have ever perfected. I love Kat, Sutton and Jane in a way I rarely feel about female characters on TV – except on Freeform. Hell, I’d actually like to see a quiz as to which one I’m the most like. Looking for a series that might be able to fill the void of great ones that were losing? The Bold Type is for you.

My score: 5 stars.