Review: THE BOLD TYPE Combines Glamour with Today's Relevant Issues

Commercials for Freeform's THE BOLD TYPE have been circulating on my TV for months. I was extremely skeptical at first. A show about three young women trying to jumpstart their careers in New York City that also deals with social and political issues? Yes, I was interested but I knew it could go one of two ways: it could be over-the-top cheesy and completely miss its mark or be an empowering show for women and start important conversations. After sitting down for two days to binge-watch the show I, thankfully, discovered it was the latter.

The Bold Type depicts three young women, Jane Sloan (Katie Stevens), Sutton Brady
(Meghann Fahy), and Kat Edison (Aisha Dee), taking on New York City and attempting
to start their careers. They work for the fictional magazine Scarlet under the caring and
watchful eye of editor-in-chief Jacqueline Carlyle (Melora Hardin, The Office). Jane, who likes her life to be neat and controlled, is a newly promoted writer. Sutton, who is
secretly sleeping with a board member, is an assistant in the fashion department. And the confident and extremely bold one of the three, Kat, is the magazine's social media
director. The show is based on the life of Cosmopolitan editor-in-chief, Joanna Coles,
who also serves as an executive producer on the show. Throughout the 10-episode first
season, Jane, Sutton, and Kat deal with issues that help them grow in their respective
careers and as individuals. Jane learns to venture out of her comfort zone when it comes to writing and in life, Sutton learns to speak up for herself and go after what she wants, and Kat learns that sometimes it's equally important to stay silent as it is to speak up.

The show does an excellent job of blending the unbelievable with important issues
relevant to the world we live in today. It authentically tackles topics such as slut-shaming, sexual assault, the travel ban, stereotypes and prejudices, and women's health awareness. And if that isn't enough for you, get this: it passes the Bechdel Test. You read that right. The women have conversations with each other about topics that do not involve men. Crazy, I know. Don't worry, there is still romance in the show, it's just made clear that the women have career-related priorities as well.

The friendship between Jane, Sutton, and Kat is authentic and refreshing. They are
extremely supportive of one another and push each other to step out of their comfort
zones and have adventures. Jane becomes more confortable writing about her personal life, Sutton takes steps toward her dream job, and Kat explores her sexuality.

While THE BOLD TYPE deals with important issues realistically, elements of fantasy
remain. For example, Sutton often talks about how she doesn't have a lot of money and is afraid she will have to go back home. Yet, she lives in a huge apartment in New York
City and never wears the same extravagant outfit to work twice. The women also seem to be able to leave work at random times during the day to run personal errands without telling their boss and then pop back in like nothing happened. And sometimes it seems like certain obstacles the women run into are introduced and wrapped up too neatly and quickly in the same episode. But, like I said before, these unrealistic elements are blended into the plot well and do not distract from the political and social issues the show sheds light on.

I guess my point is that THE BOLD TYPE is definitely worth watching. It's as
empowering as it is entertaining and does a successful job at combining the glamorous
with relevant issues to today's world. The entire first season of THE BOLD TYPE is available on Hulu and Freeform.com.

Image courtesy of FreeForm

To post a comment, you must register and login.