‘The Bold Type’ Cast & EP Tease Female Empowerment, Queer Representation & More In Season 2 – ATX

Freeform’s breakout series The Bold Type will kick off its second season next week. Before that, stars Nikohl Boosheri, Aisha Dee and Meghann Fahy and showrunner Amanda Lasher made a stop in Austin on Day 3 of the ATX Television Festival to discuss the show’s ongoing themes of positive female and LGBTQ representation.

“For me, it was really just continuing the things that everybody loved and responded to on the show which was this female friendship and seeing women support each other and not pitting women against each other,” said Lasher, who replaced Season 1 showrunner Sarah Watson.

“Sometimes women are pitted against each other” and “you think that you have to be competitive in order to succeed,” added Fahy. “One of the really important stories we’re trying to tell on the show is that can lift someone else up and also lift yourself up.”

Another carryover from the previous season will the importance of the positive and authentic portrayal of the LGBTQ relationship depicted through Dee’s and Boosheri’s characters.

“Aisha and I talked a lot from the very beginning about how sensitive it was and how it important was to so that it feels authentic and true to real life,” Boosheri said.

Added Dee: “There’s a different pressure because the representation to this point hasn’t been great. We’re getting there. It’s a lot better than it was. We both really felt the responsibility of that and really care a lot.”

Based on the life of Joanna Coles, chief content officer, Hearst and former EIC of Cosmopolitan magazine, the series from Universal Television and The District follows the lives of three close friends living in New York City as they navigate their career, sexuality, identity and ultimately find their own voice in a sea of intimidating leaders.

One person missing from the panel was star Katie Stevens, who plays Jane Sloan. At the end of Season 1, Jane chooses to leave her post at Scarlet for an opportunity at the digital publication Incite.

When asked if Jane would make a comeback to Scarlet in the new season, Lasher hinted, “One can always go back to places that mean something to us, but we have to find our way back and it’s not always so easy.”

The Bold Type was picked up for two 10-episode seasons, with Season 2 premiering June 12. The first episode is now available to stream on Hulu.