A Love Letter to ‘The Bold Type’

I am someone who has forever been infatuated with sitcoms, relationship-centered dramas, and female-centric tv storylines. My most commonly re-watched shows are Gilmore Girls, Sex and the City, and Friends. Without a doubt I am always looking for a fun escape into a world much simpler than my own. Whether it be getting lost in a small town, a big city, or just living in a single apartment for days or weeks on end, I’m here for it.

So it’s no surprise that when The Bold Type was marketed to me, it got me good. Like, I spent all of 5-minutes resisting before I fell all the way down the rabbit hole. This show was meant for me— yet another drama set in a romanticized version of New York City, featuring three 20-something girls all struggling to find themselves, make a career, all while falling in and out of love? Sign. me. up.

I immediately adored the characters and the world. I don’t even know if it was the case of the main actors having great comedic timing and great chemistry, or if the script just got me, but right from the pilot I was hooked—which is hard to do. I found it quippy, funny, and actually relatable as someone in my 20s when it came out. I saw myself in the characters, and two of my best friends also did, which helped solidify the real life parallels. Three best friends, just strumbling through their twenties the best they could.

At the time, my childhood best friend and I were living in a basement apartment right near where we grew up in Seattle. It was a weird time, we were both in not-quite-right relationships and were just trying to make sense of everything. Every weekend was still filled with a party, a night out in Capitol Hill, or just hanging at home with friends. We spent many a weekend getting drunk and trying to make sense of friendships, career, and love. We had many a sleepover screaming all the lyrics to Hamilton or bingeing the first season of YOU.

It felt like the show was mimicking my life in so many ways, I saw bits of myself in every character. It also helped that the main character was a hopeless romantic, oh, and a writer. So it wasn’t hard for me to see myself in Jane, it was really not a stretch. In Sutton, I saw the confidence and fearlessness that I strove for, and in Kat, the unabashed ability to be herself was something I always admired. But more than just the individual characters was the premise being centered around really strong female friendships. There are few plot lines, if any, that involve the characters getting into a spat that lasts more than an epsiode at most. It really foused on them lifting each other up in a world where it seems like everything else tries to tear you down.

It’s now become a common re-watch for me, and though now I see through some of the antics and the dramatics of the show, it still really hits home. There is heart in the script, and it really feels like it got me in a way with me that I desperately needed at the time. I think being in your 20s is about feeling big feelings and making mistakes. And though there’s a lot of content out there for that demographic, a lot of it can feel tired and trite. I found The Bold Type at a time when I desperately needed to be seen, and to be lifted up with positive messaging.

I feel like the thing that’s stopped me from writing about it before now is really about societal messaging hating on girlie shows or shows aimed at a younger female demogrphic. And if I’m being honest, some messaging from people who are no longer in my life, telling me that things that are ‘basic’ or are made for women are silly and a waste of time. I was really told to be ashamed of the girly things that made me happy. And I’m done apologizing for that now.

And you know, this show certainly won’t grab everyone. And it might make me a simple-minded millenial for relating to this scripted show about young women trying to make it in the big city. But I pride myself on seeing a spark in things that others might not see. It doesn’t make me basic, it makes me a feeler, an empath, and a woman of intuition. This show made me feel something a time when I felt lost. It helped give me a boost of confidence about leaning into my true self and the things I find interesting and meaningful. And if that’s not important, I don’t know what is.