If you’re looking to fill the void in your heart left by Pretty Little Liars, Freeform’s new show The Bold Type is not the answer.
The show centers on three twenty-something girls working in publishing and trying to navigate NYC. Sound like a familiar setup? That’s because it is.
I’m so tired of watching mostly white, cisgender, hetero girls trying to “take on the city.” Not only is it so been-there-done-that, but it’s frankly quite boring and predictable. I’ve watched enough Sex and the City to know how this New York City fairy tale will end.
As a twenty-something living in the city and working in publishing, you would have thought this would be right up my alley. But it’s precisely because of my situation that I know how incredibly unrealistic nearly the entire show is (except for the lack of diversity in magazine publishing, that’s no joke). Newsflash: 26-year-olds don’t have their dream jobs, giant apartments, and a designer wardrobe.
It’s frustrating that TV shows insist on romanticizing post-grad life because the reality is that after college, young women have real struggles about finding their place in the world, dealing with unimaginative entry level jobs, and facing frustrating dating scenes — and guess what? Those things would make for an awesome TV show!
I realize Girls tried to take that path, but let’s be honest, that show had plenty of its own issues (read: an abundance of white privilege and whininess and lack of representation). At least The Bold Type cast a black actress as one of the leads, Kat, who is perhaps the only interesting thing about the show. And to the series’ credit, they do attempt to take on the nuances of sexuality and show that it’s not all black and white, but it’s just not enough to save the show.
I don’t understand why TV shows insist on repeating the same old tired tropes when recent shows have proven that audiences really like diving into the deep end. Shows like 13 Reasons Why, The Fosters, and Switched at Birth prove that people are ready for something new and more importantly, something real. Instead of ripping off scenes from SATC (that scene with the yoni egg is practically word for word for the time Carrie got her diaphragm stuck in her vagina), why not come up with something original?
The show can pat itself on the back all it wants for being “empowering” and “feminist” but the truth is young women deserve so much more than what The Bold Type is prepared to dish out. And we have a feeling it won’t take long for them to get the message.
