The Bold Type was always destined to end in the fashion closet. For five seasons, the Scarlet magazine hangout acted as a space where Jane (Katie Stevens), Kat (Aisha Dee), and Sutton (Meghann Fahy) could share their fears, triumphs, laughs, and, from time to time, wine in paper cups. The alcove also served as a symbol for the Freeform show’s more fantastical elements—considering most people who currently work in media don’t have the bandwidth to spend hours conversing in such a closet. Alas, Wednesday’s series finale signaled the end of the trio’s time-honored tradition—and proved a poignant farewell in real life, too.
“They had wrapped the set the day before we finished that fashion closet scene. The set was still up, so we asked our producer if just the three of us could go into Scarlet,” Stevens tells Vanity Fair. “We went into a conference room and we were like, ‘Do you think any of us remember the sex position that we tried to recreate in episode two?’ So we tried to get in the position.” She laughs. “It was like watching little ghosts of our past float around while we were talking about all of those memories. Then we just kind of laid on the floor of Scarlet and hugged each other and sat there in silence for a couple minutes.”
As the world parts ways with The Bold Type and its weekly dose of empowering escapism, Stevens opens up about its surprising finale, “I Expect You to Have Adventures.” Below, she gets real about all things Jane—including the ending that almost was, whether or not Pinstripe is “the One,” and where the character’s Eat Pray Love journey may take her.
Vanity Fair: This last season was filled with challenges—from COVID-19 filming restrictions to a reduced episode count. What it was like to shoot during this difficult time, knowing there were only six episodes left to tie everything up?
Katie Stevens: It was really hard. Our show is such a sex-positive, affectionate kind of set, first of all. And also [in the] show people are always kissing and having sex and hugging each other and we couldn’t do that this season. So they had to find ways for us to kind of insinuate that sexuality. [In the] episode where Jane and Scott [Jane’s employee, with whom she briefly entertains a romance] end their relationship, I saw so many comments like, “She’s breaking up with him already and they haven’t even kissed or anything.” As a viewer, a lot of people aren’t watching it thinking about the fact that we had to do this during COVID. So in order for everybody’s safety, we couldn’t do those scenes.
It’s been interesting to watch Jane navigate her career this season. She’s had a lot of missteps—from a discrepancy in the #MeToo story she reported, to her lackluster performance reviews. What’s it been like to portray Jane during this rocky cycle?
I think that’s, like, true to life. You make mistakes and you learn from them and you course correct and you become better for it. I really loved the fact that we were portraying [that] not everything in these girls’ lives and careers is tied up in a bow. It’s important to see these girls misstep because that’s so true to life. Jane thought with that #MeToo story that she had checked all of her boxes. It wasn’t up to her that somebody lied to her, but it was her job to make certain that story was true. Sometimes we have the best intentions and we fall short. How do you pick up those pieces and course correct? And she thankfully had a mentor in Jacqueline, but then also her having to navigate becoming her own mentor.
The scene in the penultimate episode where Jacqueline offers the editor-in-chief position to Jane was very moving. What was it like for you to read that, and to film that scene with Melora Hardin?
Oh my God. We read [episodes] five and six together, that was our very final table read. So we were all crying when we were reading all of the scenes. I was averaging like a cry a week in the last few weeks. Then the last week of shooting I was averaging a cry a day. But Melora actually got really emotional during that scene when we shot it. They still chose an emotional take, but she did some where she was like full-out crying. We couldn’t even get through it in rehearsal. I mean, how do you end the show, especially something where Jacqueline’s leaving Scarlet to move on to another chapter? I think that it’s really wonderful to see a glimpse of Jane being excited, because this is the moment, that four years of this show, we’ve been leading up to.
I thought it was surprising, but ultimately right, that Jane decided to forgo the editor-in-chief position to focus on her writing and traveling. When did you know that was Jane’s ending and were you surprised by it?
I actually knew before we started shooting. Our showrunner Wendy [Straker Houser] came to me and she was like, “Hey, so what would you think if Jane didn’t become the editor-in-chief?” Because that was something we had always talked about happening. I was like, “Yeah, I love that.” I’ve always watched the show and been like, “It should be Kat. Why are we leading that to the fact that it’s going to be Jane?” So then when I found out that Jane isn’t going to take the position, both Aisha and I were like, “We definitely don’t want it to seem like Jane doesn’t want it—so here Kat, have it.” It needed to be something where everybody’s on the same page, that it should’ve been Kat all along. But we did need to see Jane realize why she didn’t want it. It isn’t really that she doesn’t want it, it’s that she realizes she’s not the best person for it. And that’s not what she’s passionate about. She doesn’t really know what she’s passionate about and she needs to go out and find that.
I wanted Jane to leave Scarlet. Originally in the script, the last scene was Kat saying, “Oh, but you can stay here and you can do everything that you’re going to do from Scarlet.” Jane was like, “Really? Okay.” Then she was just staying. And I was like, “I don’t think that it’s as powerful for her to not take the editor in chief position and then just stay being a writer. She needs to leave. She needs to go find her way.” Then that way it leaves it open for fans to fantasize “Okay, what does Jane do after this?”
Do you have your own fantasy about where Jane goes next?
Maybe she had a cute fling or she found a really amazing story, traveled, and the girls came to visit her. Maybe she has a different vertical that she’s passionate about and brings it to Scarlet. I also really fought for Dan Jeannotte to come back as Pinstripe even just for that one scene. I talked to the writers about how I wanted that scene to feel like the end of The Break-Up, that movie where Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston see each other and they’re both in really good places. There’s no bad blood there and they’re actually really happy to see each other. Because, as a fan of the show, I’m like, “Well, maybe after she travels they both grow up and they see each other after. Then who knows what happened?” I do wish that they ended up together, even though he made a mistake. But that’s another scene [where] fans can be like, “I wonder if they talk to each other after this?”
Stevens as Jane and Jeannotte as Ryan/Pinstripe in season 4 of The Bold Type.
Jonathan Wenk/FreeformI didn’t realize how much I had missed Pinstripe on the season until he popped up again. It feels like Jane’s conversation with Ryan helps her decide to turn down the job offer. Why do you think seeing him again pushed her in that direction?
They’ve always had such a deep connection, and one part of their connection has been how much they love what they do. A lot of their relationship was them supporting each other in their writing. He was the person who kind of encouraged her to lean into sex writing. And that’s how she started making a name for herself at Scarlet. So having the person that knows you in such an intimate way, and knows you better than you know yourself sometimes, reminisce about those things made her realize, “If I take this job, I won’t be writing anymore and that’s what I really love to do.” It was important to us that he’s not the reason that she came to that decision, but he kind of put a mirror in front of her face and helped her to find it.
By the end, Sutton and Richard end up together, as well as Kat and Adena. How do you feel about Jane’s open-ended romantic future?
I obviously would have loved for them to be like, “Cool, put her and Pinstripe back together.” But I think that’s a hard thing, especially because we already had that Scott storyline at the beginning [of the season]. It would have been really hard to rush through and have closure and put them back together. This story was more about Jane finding herself after everything that she’s been through. By her doing that, it makes me feel wherever we leave her off she’s going to be better for it. And that’s going to make her better for whatever, whoever, comes along in her life who’s supposed to stay. She’s going to have her eat, pray, love moment.
I love seeing your friendship with Aisha and Meghann on social media. They were both at your wedding. Can you talk a bit about what that offscreen dynamic has meant to you?
Oh, man. They’re…Oh no, I’m going to start crying. They’re my sisters. That’s the thing that I’ll have the hardest time with. Somebody asked me the other day, “Is it crazy to think that the next set that you’ll walk on is not going to be with them?” I’m like, “Oh, that’s such a crazy and weirdly painful thing to think about.” Because those are two people who know me better than anyone. When I’ve come on set, if one of us is having a bad day, without even saying anything, the others know and they’re there to pick us up. We’ve all done that for each other throughout these last five years. I don’t actually think that anybody knows this, but if you look at the photo of my wedding, Meghann and Aisha are both wearing blue because I asked them to be my “something blue.”
We have so many special memories and they’re going to be part of my life forever. Aisha’s on-location right now shooting a movie, and Meghann and I are going to take a trip to go visit her. We’re always going to be in each other’s lives. And for that I’m very grateful, because saying goodbye to the show, I know I’m not saying goodbye to them. I know that our relationship will look a little different, but that’s almost better because now we have a relationship where we can just be friends and not complain about work things or talk about work all the time.
Did you take any clothing, any apartment artifacts from the set?
Oh, I kept so much. I kept a butterfly pillow that was on Jane’s couch. I kept some photographs of me and the girls that were in Jane’s apartment. I took a Scarlet mug from the conference room. From season one, there was this glass, round paperweight that Jane had on her desk that I took and put on my desk at my house. Then, I obviously took clothes. I took lots of shoes because they were all very high and made me feel very tall. I took jackets, pants, and dresses. And we didn’t get any of that for free. We had to pay for it. But I was like, “This is my one time to take designer clothes from a show that I worked on. Now’s the time.”
What has Jane taught you about yourself?
Jane’s taught me so much about everything. I would say she’s taught me that it’s okay to make a mistake and admit that you made a mistake and be honest with people who love you. She taught me to be brave and to go after the things that I want in life without fear. And I think that she’s taught me that sexy looks different on everyone. I’ve always been a person that has said that I’m not sexy because I had the misconception that sexy meant leading with your sexuality. But I think that sexy means different things for different people. It’s however you define it for yourself. So, Jane has taught me that I’m a sexy woman.
I would be remiss if I didn’t ask whether or not a Bold Type movie or reunion could happen in the future.
I mean, we’ve all talked about how we would love to do a Bold Type movie in a couple years. We’ve already confirmed that in our own minds. So hopefully we can find a way to make that happen because I would love to see where these girls end up and who they become and, for Jane, who she ends up with. I feel like it would be a great movie—and if Sex and the City can do it, so can we.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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