'The Bold Type' Stars Look Back on Creating the Media Industry's Favorite Binge Watch
The Bold Type may be over, but the leading cast's bond will last forever.
Since its premiere on Freeform in 2017, the workplace dramedy has served as every real-life media girl's ultimate guilty pleasure. Nestled somewhere between the high-fashion setting of The Devil Wears Prada and the comedic satire of Ugly Betty, The Bold Type portrays a happy medium in the world of industry cosplay. It follows the lives of three best friends, Jane Sloan (Katie Stevens), Kat Edison (Aisha Dee), and Sutton Brady (Meghann Fahy), as well as their parallel forays into the luxe landscape of Scarlet magazine (loosely based on a little glossy you may know as Cosmopolitan). Together, the trio navigate a changing media sphere that sees them experience it all: climbing the corporate ladder, early marriage, queer identity, love, loss, and more.
Every Wednesday night for the last five seasons, real-life writers and editors have come together via social media to post and tweet about the show's fabulous frivolity—instances such as (spoilers ahead!) Jane going from intern to interim editor in chief in the blink of an eye, the openly queer and liberal Kat falling for an alt-right Ivanka Trump type, and a slew of other scenarios that would simply never fly at a true, esteemed legacy publication. But the thing about The Bold Type is this: Viewers don't tune in to watch a play-by-play depiction of the true magazine world—which, to be honest, would make for some pretty bleak television—rather, The Bold Type built its audience because of the on- and off-screen chemistry between its leads and their realistic portrayal of modern millennial friendships.
Ahead, we sit down with the leading trio to talk their emotions surrounding the end of The Bold Type, the multiple surprises tonight's series finale has in store, and why the show's at-times ridiculousness is ultimately irresistible.
Take us back to when you were signing on for the show. Did you have any idea what its impact would be? How does it feel to see the series develop this cult following?
Katie Stevens: I think that when you sign on to a show, you always hope that people will like it. When we were shooting, it always felt like we were in this little bubble, and then we would give it over to the viewers, and then it became theirs. We feel so grateful that it's been embraced over the years in the way that it has and that people have been affected by the stories. I think that when we all were signing on to the project, we only had the first episode and we loved the first episode, but we couldn't have really imagined where that would go or where we would end up or even that we would get five seasons, because a lot of shows don't get that.
It [ending] is definitely bittersweet, but I think that the beauty behind that is the show continues to find new audiences. There are people who continue to discover this show, and I hope that that's true for years to come. I think that the show will continue to live on long after we're done with it.
Aisha Dee: Maybe I shouldn't say this, but truly when we started the show, I would actively tell both Katie and Meghann, "No one's going to watch, we're going to get canceled." I was so convinced that it would just fly under the radar, because I experienced that so many times before. Seeing how beautiful the community that rallied around the show is had been so nice.
Meghann Fahy: I didn't really have any expectations coming into it. It was my first [time as a] series regular. As the whole thing unfolded, it was just this wonderful little surprise. Anything beyond Season 1 was just sort of a beautiful little gift, and I feel really grateful that we got to go into the final season with the knowledge that it was [the end]. And I just really genuinely feel like we wrapped up when we were supposed to. I don't feel like we got robbed out of doing more episodes. I just feel really lucky that we got to do it for as long as we did. We're all older now and ready for the next thing. It just feels like this perfect little experience that I wouldn't change anything about it. And I think that's a rare way to feel about something.
There've been so many different iterations of the magazine world portrayed in movies and television. Why was it so important to showcase these three women and their three stories in this new, modern way for this current generation?
AD: I had my own expectations going into it based just on the log line—okay, three girls working at a magazine, sure. But I think every expectation you would have for a show like that, our show did the opposite, and I love that. Every story in its own way kind of turned everything on its head. Everybody talks about "representation," and the word has been overdone, I think, but what we really want is we want to see ourselves represented in a multitude of ways. We don't want to see ourselves just there and be the same way over and over again. We want to see ourselves taking on different kinds of life forms and knowing that anything is possible. I hope the show did that.
MF: I think it also speaks to a really unique sort of demo. When I was young, I was watching Sex and the City, and we get compared to that show often, which is why it sort of comes to mind. Generationally speaking, the show sort of hit this really specific moment in a young woman's life in a way that really hadn't been done before. I think that that's one of the really special things about Freeform as a network, but also what The Bold Type offered to young people.
KS: Also, just showing three different women in three different facets of the industry and the things that they've learned along the way about what's important to them. We see that in terms of the ending of where they decide to end up. I've talked to a lot of people, especially millennials in their 20s who are trying to make a way for themselves and their careers. They don't have a really great starting-off point—they're trying to make ends meet, they're also working on an assistant's salary and they don't really know how they're going to get by day to day.
Meghann talks about this often that people resonate with Sutton so much in the industry, because it's true that you are an assistant for a very long time. And then, you have Kat's background and she is coming from a place where her parents are therapists and she grew up in Connecticut and is coming from a place of privilege. But within that, she also wants to fight for people who don't have that same privilege, and she knows that she can help and elevate their voices. There's Jane coming from her background and her health—it just shows that there are so many different types of people, and we want to make sure that everybody feels seen. You can't tell everybody's story, but I think it's nice to give a glimpse into the stories of three very different people who found themselves in the same work environment and connected, even though they come from different places, supporting each other through that.
As beloved as the show has become, it's also known for its not-so-believable plot points. Were there any moments over the years where you just stopped and thought, What the hell is going on here?
MF: We don't have those. ... I don't know you're talking about. [Laughs.]
KS: Most days, we looked at the script and were like, "Wait, why are we doing this? Why is this happening?"
When you watch a show, you want the moments that don't feel believable, because they help you to create and set goals to achieve something that you maybe thought you couldn't. Although that may be unrealistic, you can't learn to believe in your dreams unless you learn to believe in something bigger than yourself. So sometimes, watching those moments that are unbelievable help you to set your eyes on something that may feel unachievable.
AD: I think the aspirational quality of the show is what draws people to it. Maybe I'm alone in this, but I was living in the real world last year and I didn't like it. I was like, "I really miss being in The Bold Type bubble"—the bubble of filming that show, I assume, is similar to watching it.
Aisha, before the season started, you were advocating for your character to have a more realistic storyline reflecting her reality as a Black and queer woman. What did Kat's final storyline really mean and represent for you?
AD: This season, for a multitude of reasons, I wanted to try to experience Kat's story as a fan of the show, because I am! I realized trying to hold onto it and control, it was kind of like trying to hold sand in my hands. It just kept not being in my control, because it's not, you know, I'm a piece of the puzzle. I am not the puzzle itself. I had to relinquish some of that sense of control and allow it to do what would it do. I was actually really surprised with the ending. I was not expecting it to go that way. But I do agree it has this full-circle moment at the end.
Even though the show comes in this fantastical world, we still try to at least make sure the people feel real. It just felt really important to me to kind of remain true to herself, and that the show stay the safe space that it's been, especially for women of color. Unfortunately, to see someone who reflects you in mainstream media, especially this kind of a show, is so rare. Having that opportunity is huge. I hope that people feel satisfied with Kat's journey and closing that chapter.
And thank God Sutton and Richard found their way to each other again. Meghann, were you satisfied with the happily ever after your character finally receives?
MF: I was. And that wasn't how it was supposed to end. They actually rewrote those scenes from the final episode the night before we shot them, which was really incredible. It was a conversation that we'd had for many months, even before we started shooting, what was going to happen with [Sutton and Richard] based on the conversations that they'd had at the end of Season 4.
Sam and I always felt really strongly that they would figure it out, because we had been sort of building these characters for many seasons leading up to it. We just felt like the most authentic version of it would be for them to find their way back to each other. But, of course, also with the understanding that telling the story of the woman going out on her own and Sutton finishing the series as a single woman was also totally worthwhile. We all got on the same page about how we really wanted it to end up panning out. And I'm so happy it turned out the way that it did.
Jane also has a huge revelation toward the end. In the last five seasons, many felt that they knew where she was going to end up. Why is it so crucial for audiences to see a young woman—who basically is handed her dream gig—turn it down to take a chance on something different?
KS: She has her life planned down to a tee. And even when things with her health were happening, she was still trying to plan how things in her future were going to go. Especially when it comes to the fertility story, the double mastectomy, there's a lot that went into Jane doing things in order to plan for her future, which are smart decisions that she had to make. But I think that my favorite part of her arc is that like she had to come to terms with what she actually wants out of this life, now that she has set herself up to live a longer life. Now that she has that second chance, what does the longevity of that look like?
We actually just did an interview where the writer said that she loved [the ending] because there are a lot of writers with those feelings. Like, when they first go into it, they're like, "Oh, my God, I would love to be editor in chief." And then you learn what goes into being editor in chief and you're like, "Wait, no, that's not what I want to do." A lot of the times we don't know what we want until we're able to have some experiences to put into perspective what that job or that experience would actually mean for us. And I think that it's so powerful to see Jane come to terms with that and be able to have the courage to say that that's not what she wants, because everyone in her life has always thought that's what she wanted.
I'm just excited for her that she's moving into a space now, wherever she ends up after that last scene, that she's giving herself over to living in the moment and to spontaneity and to making this decision of what that could mean for her future in terms of just allowing herself to have experiences as they come to her. Whatever's right for her will be meant for her. It was my dream for Jane to just watch her chill out a little bit—that's something that I have to learn and continue to learn in my own personal life.
What are you going to miss most from being on the show, and what do you hope its legacy will be going forward?
MF: I'm just going to miss working with Katie and Aisha. I think it's really rare, and we've all sort of said versions of this at some point, but we worked so closely for so long and I don't know that any of us will necessarily ever have that kind of experience again. It was such a specific moment in our lives for all of us. Mid-to-late 20s? Those are such formative years when you're a young woman. To have navigated those years with Katie and Aisha is something that I just am really grateful for. That's what I'll miss the most.
As far as the legacy of the show, what's been really cool is that it's been discovered by a lot of people in other parts of the world, because it just became available on Netflix, and to see the response of that has been really amazing. It made me realize even though the show is gone and done for us right now, it's not really ever gone or done because anybody, any day in any year can just decide to discover it.
KS: We all as actors hope to get other jobs and hope to be moved and inspired in those jobs. But I have a hard time thinking about walking on the next set and them not being there. I can't say anything further on that, 'cause I'm going to start crying. They're my sisters. That's the one thing that I'm most grateful for.
I hope that the show will continue to comfort people and spark conversation. I hope that we can continue to be those friends that people need and want to watch, and be a friend group that people want to be a part of—specifically for young girls. I hope they watched the friendship between Jane, Kat, and Sutton, and see that the way to truly be a friend is to support, love, and encourage one another, and to have honest conversations, because that's how I experience friendship in my life.
AD: I hope the legacy of the show is there to inspire and comfort people. It's really weird, actually, to think about the future and be like, "Oh, that was the show that did that thing," like, proper past tense, "but it makes me feel excited." I know that everyone involved in the show is so talented, and I'm such a huge fan of [them]—especially Katie and Meghann. I'm very excited to see what everyone does next.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
You Might Also Like
