Now I’m sure you’ve heard about the new Freeform show called “The Bold Type.” If you haven’t, it’s a new show on Freeform that premiered on June 20 and centers around three young girls and their time working for a national magazine called Scarlet. Inspired by Cosmo’s editor and chief, Joanna Coles, the shows’ three main characters represent different aspects of the magazine. Jane Sloan (Katie Stevens) is a writer, Kat Edison (Aisha Dee) is the social media director, and Sutton Brady (Meghann Fahy) is the assistant trying to reach for higher goals.
The show does a lot of things very well and touches on some sensitive subjects gracefully. They talk about sexuality, women’s rights, race, and a lot of other things that young girls might be struggling with. With sexuality, Kat’s character struggles in the first few episodes questioning herself when she falls for another girl Adena El Amin (Nikohl Boosheri). Adena is Muslim and they show her struggles as well, both from the people around her reacting to her race and her struggles for citizenship.
Jane struggles with having several articles assigned to her that are maybe a little more personal diving into female sexuality as a whole. She must explore herself and step out of her comfort zone to write articles that from a male perspective might not be seen as a big deal. This is highlighted by her counterpart on the magazine Pinstripe, Ryan Decker (Dan Jennotte), who writes a sex column for men. He’s confident in his sexuality where she isn’t. This in turn highlights how women have often been afraid of expressing their sexuality and how Jane becomes okay with her own experiences and expressing herself as a writer.
Meanwhile, Sutton is trying to choose between a financially stable job in finances and taking her dream job in the fashion department. Through this, she begins learning how to be strong and negotiate for what she really wants and needs instead of just sitting back and letting life take its course. It’s an important lesson for young women to have in life and I’m excited to see more of it.
“The Bold Type” is dynamic and fresh in its perspective of drama. So far there has been no drama between the three main girls and they’re supportive of each other, which is different than the norm of seeing mean girls and catty fights. Even their boss Jacqueline Carlyle (Melora Hardin) breaks away from the “Devil Wears Prada” expectation of an editor and is a kind and understanding mentor figure for the girls, always giving them new life advice to make them better women overall. This show is bold in its content and sends good messages out to viewers who can relate to the characters. It’s real and unapologetic and a must watch for any young woman.