Usually the words "showrunner change" elicit waves of fear in the fans of a show. Who can forget the huge dip in quality that Community took when main creative force Dan Harmon left the show in season four, or the post-Aaron Sorkin years of The West Wing? A changing of the guard may as well be the death knell for a series in the eyes of some. So when last year's renewal of Freeform's The Bold Type came coupled with the news that showrunner Sarah Watson would be parting ways with the series, it was pretty alarming. It certainly didn't help that there were rumors that Watson cited "creative differences" with the network as the reason for her departure. Under her leadership, season one of the The Bold Type defied expectations, delivering a thoughtful weekly delight that uniquely focused on female friendship and navigating the working world as a young woman. If Freeform couldn't see eye-to-eye with Watson and her vision, then it was cause for concern that maybe they didn't understand what made the show great.
Thankfully, there hasn't been any quality dip in the show's second season so far. If anything, it's been even better with Amanda Lasher (Sweet/Vicious, Riverdale) running things. That's not to say there hasn't been a notable difference in the voice of the show. The tone feels a touch more comedic, particularly in its first few episodes back, with characters cracking more aside jokes than it seemed like they did last season. And the characters feel a little tweaked too, especially Sutton, whose characterization as a sexual free spirit who has had alot of partners in her life feels like a shade that was only invented this season. The writers have also done work to expand the world of Scarlet Magazine, adding tertiary characters who make the workplace feel more real and lived-in.
In all the ways that matter, though, this is still The Bold Type we know and love. At its core, this remains to be about what it's like to be young and trying to make it in the working world. Vox's Constance Grady wrote a terrific piece a few weeks ago where she posited that this series is a romcom, but that the love interest is these women's careers, and that's the best way to describe what makes it so refreshing. From the beginning, it's been devoted to telling stories about the intersection of life, love, and profession, each of those threads tangling together and complicating one another. Most stories about young women use their jobs as mere window dressing at best, but for the three leads, the work is an essential part of what defines them. Season two has given us more rich stories in that vein, with Jane trying to find her post-Scarlet footing as a freelancer, Kat taking on new responsibility as a department head, and Sutton struggling to find a balance between after-hours networking opportunities and not burning herself out.
But the greatest love story of all in the The Bold Type is the one between its central trio. The friendship between Sutton, Kat, and Jane is one of the richest relationships on television, and one of the few friendship circles that operates the way actual ones do. Shows are so focused on dishing out story that it's rare for them to show the characters just hanging out. Often, the best scenes in The Bold Type are the ones where the main trio are spending idle time together, filling one another in on their lives and asking each other for advice. It's a friendship built on towers of mutual love, respect, and care, not manufactured drama and petty backstabbing.
That's not to say there isn't conflict between the women, it's just that when there is, it feels like the organic little disagreements that pop up in any friendship. A perfect example occurred a few episodes ago in "Stride of Pride." Jane finds out that she didn't get a job she was excited about because the magazine is trying to diversify its hires, and when she complains about it, Kat gets upset with her for implying that whoever the magazine did hire would be less qualified. Later in the episode, they come to an understanding, as Jane learns to recognize her white privilege and Kat realizes her response might have been extreme towards her friend who desperately needs a job. It's a conflict that lasts all of two or three scenes, but it's compelling because the show understands how thrilling it can be to see people communicate and work through their disagreements in simple but real ways. It feels almost radical how central talking things out is to every story.
The show feels modern not just in that aspect, but in the way it engages with issues effecting our world today. It tackles everything from body positivity to sexual assault -- last year, it covered the #MeToo movement before there was even a term for it -- with grace and aplomb. And it does so in a way that feels organic to the show, because it knows that these are things that are baked into the everyday lives of young people. This season has been a wonder that shows no signs of slowing down. Not only has it stepped aside any worries about the offseason showrunner change, The Bold Type has become one of the best shows on television.
Thankfully, there hasn't been any quality dip in the show's second season so far. If anything, it's been even better with Amanda Lasher (Sweet/Vicious, Riverdale) running things. That's not to say there hasn't been a notable difference in the voice of the show. The tone feels a touch more comedic, particularly in its first few episodes back, with characters cracking more aside jokes than it seemed like they did last season. And the characters feel a little tweaked too, especially Sutton, whose characterization as a sexual free spirit who has had alot of partners in her life feels like a shade that was only invented this season. The writers have also done work to expand the world of Scarlet Magazine, adding tertiary characters who make the workplace feel more real and lived-in.
In all the ways that matter, though, this is still The Bold Type we know and love. At its core, this remains to be about what it's like to be young and trying to make it in the working world. Vox's Constance Grady wrote a terrific piece a few weeks ago where she posited that this series is a romcom, but that the love interest is these women's careers, and that's the best way to describe what makes it so refreshing. From the beginning, it's been devoted to telling stories about the intersection of life, love, and profession, each of those threads tangling together and complicating one another. Most stories about young women use their jobs as mere window dressing at best, but for the three leads, the work is an essential part of what defines them. Season two has given us more rich stories in that vein, with Jane trying to find her post-Scarlet footing as a freelancer, Kat taking on new responsibility as a department head, and Sutton struggling to find a balance between after-hours networking opportunities and not burning herself out.
But the greatest love story of all in the The Bold Type is the one between its central trio. The friendship between Sutton, Kat, and Jane is one of the richest relationships on television, and one of the few friendship circles that operates the way actual ones do. Shows are so focused on dishing out story that it's rare for them to show the characters just hanging out. Often, the best scenes in The Bold Type are the ones where the main trio are spending idle time together, filling one another in on their lives and asking each other for advice. It's a friendship built on towers of mutual love, respect, and care, not manufactured drama and petty backstabbing.
That's not to say there isn't conflict between the women, it's just that when there is, it feels like the organic little disagreements that pop up in any friendship. A perfect example occurred a few episodes ago in "Stride of Pride." Jane finds out that she didn't get a job she was excited about because the magazine is trying to diversify its hires, and when she complains about it, Kat gets upset with her for implying that whoever the magazine did hire would be less qualified. Later in the episode, they come to an understanding, as Jane learns to recognize her white privilege and Kat realizes her response might have been extreme towards her friend who desperately needs a job. It's a conflict that lasts all of two or three scenes, but it's compelling because the show understands how thrilling it can be to see people communicate and work through their disagreements in simple but real ways. It feels almost radical how central talking things out is to every story.
The show feels modern not just in that aspect, but in the way it engages with issues effecting our world today. It tackles everything from body positivity to sexual assault -- last year, it covered the #MeToo movement before there was even a term for it -- with grace and aplomb. And it does so in a way that feels organic to the show, because it knows that these are things that are baked into the everyday lives of young people. This season has been a wonder that shows no signs of slowing down. Not only has it stepped aside any worries about the offseason showrunner change, The Bold Type has become one of the best shows on television.
