The Best & Worst Career Advice From The Bold Type

If you talk to someone who works in media, they might tell you that print magazines are on the decline. That's not to say glossies like Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, and, yes, Cosmopolitan, the inspiration for Freeform's The Bold Type, aren't putting out great articles and photos. But the past decade has also seen the folding of print magazines like Lucky, Details, Ladies' Home Journal, Gourmet, and Fitness.

But if you've watched a rom-com in the past 10 years, you know that magazine publishing offices are the place to be. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, The Devil Wears Prada, Trainwreck, and 13 Going on 30 are just a few of the many movies that feature protagonists who work at print magazines. And their lives are incredibly glamorous! No one's worried about whether their publication will survive; they're all too busy wearing fabulous clothes and enjoying the sweeping views of New York City their offices provide.

The Bold Type is a bit more realistic. Of its three protagonists, only one, Jane (Katie Stevens) is a magazine writer. Kat (Aisha Dee) is the publication's social media director, while Sutton (Meghann Fahy) is an assistant. And Cosmopolitan, the real magazine behind the show's Scarlet, is very successful in 2017, too.

If you're interested in a magazine-based job, the Freeform series looks like it'll be a fairly true-to-life example of what to expect. That's in large part because creator Sarah Watson spent time at Cosmo's offices, shadowing Joanna Coles, the inspiration for The Bold Type's Jacqueline (Melora Hardin). As Watson revealed during a Freeform panel about the show, some of the pilot's details, like Jacqueline's resting her stiletto-clad feet on her desk or declining an important phone call, are true to what she saw from Coles. (Fun fact: Watson apparently saw Coles turn down a call from Joe Biden!)

Not everything on the show is realistic, but based on its first episode, The Bold Type is a lot more true to life, than, say, Freeform's other big show, Pretty Little Liars. We've compiled some of the best (and worst) career advice from the Bold Type pilot — minor spoilers ahead.