Good news and bad news, Bold Type fans.
The beloved Freeform drama is coming back for a fifth season, but the fifth season will also be the final season. The network announced the news with a promise from Freeform president Tara Duncan to give the series "the sendoff [executive producer Wendy Straker Hauser], the incredible cast and crew and the beloved fans all deserve."
"The Bold Type has been a gift that has truly changed my life," Hauser said in her own statement. "I spent my twenties in New York City working in magazines, so in many ways the show feels very personal to my experiences. I have truly loved writing this show and living in this world. I will miss it terribly, but I am so grateful for the opportunity and glad to know it's been a comfort to so many people out there."
Freeform says that in the final season, "our trio is on the brink of defining who they really are and how best to leave their mark on the world. Their futures are bright, and their love and support for each other will never change."
Thanks to the pandemic, season four ended two episodes earlier than originally planned but the show still managed to get all of its main characters into some cliffhanger-worthy crossroads. Sutton's (Meghann Fahy) marriage is falling apart and now she's slept with her married high school boyfriend. Jane (Katie Stevens) was toeing the line of a relationship with one of her employees while pursuing a story that Jacqueline (Melora Hardin) pushed back against.
Kat's (Aisha Dee) season four ending went through a last-minute change after Dee spoke out about her character's controversial storyline. After being fired from Scarlet Magazine for exposing the company president's support of gay conversion therapy, Kat had started dating that president's conservative daughter Eva (Alex Payton-Beesley) and even slept with her in the season finale.
Two days before that finale aired, Dee posted an Instagram statement that called out the show for its lack of support for BIPOC cast and storylines and specifically highlighted her frustrations with Kat's actions.
"The decision to have Kat enter into a relationship with a privileged conservative woman felt confusing and out of character," she wrote." Despite my personal feelings about the choice, I tried my best to tell the story with honesty, even though the Kat I know and love would never make these choices. It was heartbreaking to watch Kat's story turn into a redemption story for someone else, someone who is complicit in the oppression of so many. Someone who's politics are actively harmful to her communities."
The original finale, which was sent to journalists as a screener and which aired in Australia, featured Kat and Eva exchanging texts about their relationship being "risky," but in the finale that eventually aired in the U.S. had Kat breaking things off.
Freeform and Universal TV responded to Dee's letter with a statement.
"We applaud Aisha for raising her hand and starting conversations around these important issues," the statement read. "We look forward to continuing that dialogue and enacting positive change. Our goal on The Bold Type is and has always been to tell entertaining, authentic stories that are representative of the world that Kat, Jane and Sutton live in—we can only do that if we listen."
Lucky for Kat and for fans of her pre-Eva relationships, Adena (Nikohl Boosheri) will be returning for season five.
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The Bold Type airs on Freeform.