“The Bold Type” is the greatest show of the century. The show follows three young women working at Scarlet magazine, loosely based on Cosmopolitan magazine. There’s Jane Sloan, the ambitious writer dying for a big break; there’s Kat Edison, the social media expert discovering new things about her sexuality; and there’s Sutton Brady, the assistant dreaming of moving up the business ladder.
These three women are beautifully written characters with so much depth and personality, it’s impossible not to relate to at least one of them. Chances are, though, you’ll see a lot of yourself in all three. Fans of “The Bold Type” have seen a lot of this development over the course of the three seasons. Every episode presents a new challenge for them to overcome and they (usually) do it with grace and poise.
Season 1 Jane Sloan was at the top of her game, or so she thought. She had finally landed her dream job, a writer at Scarlet magazine. Her boss, Jacqueline Carlyle, had full faith and trust in her. The rest of her life, however, is kind of a mess. She just got out of a nasty breakup with no closure, and we find out halfway through the season that she tested positive for the BRCA gene, a gene commonly linked to breast cancer.
We watch as she meets new guys, as she becomes romantically involved with one of them, and as she leaves him realizing it’s not what she wants. We watch as she starts thinking about her future and the potential of getting sick like her mother did. We watch as she does so well at her dream job that she gets offered a new job, one at a newer publication that will offer her more freedom.
By Season 3, though, she’s right back where she belongs, working at Scarlet and in the arms of the man from Season 1. However, this doesn’t feel like a regression or a loss of character growth. Jane only got back to these places after trial and error, self-reflection and a lot of wine. She ends Season 3 on top of the world, but where does she go from here?
Kat Edison starts “The Bold Type” with the most confidence of any character. She is running the social media department successfully and basically solo. Her big challenge is Adena El-Amin, the powerhouse of a woman who is making Kat question everything she knows. Kat’s falling for her, fast. Fans watch throughout the seasons the ups and downs of “Kadena” and the other women that Kat crushes on. Season 3 ends on a cliffhanger for Kat. She just ran for local government and lost to the immoral incumbent; she’s single and not ready to mingle but still flirting with Adena. She’s ready to bring more growth to Scarlet social media.
Sutton Brady has maybe had the most growth of any character on the show. Starting the show as an assistant answering phones, much of Sutton’s original growth was career-based, watching her try to work her way up the Scarlet ladder. We watch her try to prove her worth to Lauren, her mean boss. We watch her embrace her love of fashion rather than go for the stable and steady finance job. All this is going down as she tries to navigate the relationship with a Scarlet board member, Richard Hunter, who’s about 10 years her senior. By Season 3, Sutton is killing it as a fashion assistant. She has taken a design class and excelled beyond her wildest dreams before realizing maybe she isn’t done with Scarlet quite yet. She and Richard are back together, a true power couple, even agreeing to stay together long-distance as he temporarily moved out to San Francisco.
The one thing all three of their storylines have in common: their plans for Scarlet might be completely futile. Season 3 ends on an ominous shot. The camera pans from the excited, hopeful faces of the three girls to the horrifying scene of Scarlet’s office being packed up. That haunting shot was all fans had to speculate about “The Bold Type” Season 4, which premieres on Jan. 23. But, finally, a trailer is here.
First, fans get to see Jacqueline Carlyle, the ex-editor in chief of Scarlet. She makes a bold statement: “Just because I’m no longer at Scarlet doesn’t mean that I’m ever going to stop fighting for women.” Two things about Season 4 confirmed already: Jacqueline has been fired and she is still a relevant character.
Viewers get little sneak peeks into the upcoming struggles of the girls. Sutton is considering being a fashion influencer — I would totally follow her, so I’m in full support of this idea. Kat and Adena are still in a rocky place. Jane might have it worst of all though, as her boyfriend seems to have cheated on her, again. When Pinstripe Guy — yes, I know his name is Ryan, but he is and forever will be Pinstripe Guy in my heart — brings up the kiss with someone else, it’s unclear if it’s the same kiss from the book tour or a new one from Season 4. I hope it’s the first one, because I think cheating twice, even if it’s just meaningless kisses, would cause Jane to give up on him completely.
The trailer then jumps to Jane asking, “What do you want me to do? Kiss someone else?” before cutting to a steamy shot of two people locked in a kiss. It’s unclear for sure who both partners are, but it seems like the writers want us to think that it’s not Pinstripe Guy.
Kat is diving headfirst into a new Scarlet campaign, wanting to help stand up for what she believes in. The trailer doesn’t specify for sure what she’s fighting for, but, with this show, it’s always a hot topic feminist issue. Kat is aware of the power and influence of Scarlet magazine and wants to use it for good.
Near the end of the trailer, Jane reads a quote from a Scarlet article. “It is up to all of us to represent every shape, size, color and sexual orientation out there.” This quote represents so much of what “The Bold Type” has fought for over the past three seasons, and I’m so excited to see it extended into Season 4. Though the trailer doesn’t answer all of my questions from the end of Season 3, I know Season 4 is going to be phenomenal. Jan. 23 can’t come soon enough!
