While TV isn't exactly known for its honest depictions of millennial life, there are two series that come pretty close. Both The Bold Type and Younger are about twentysomethings living in New York and trying to make it in their chosen industry. Of course, Younger has the added hook of the main character, Liza Miller (Sutton Foster), lying about her age and pretending to be 26 when she's 40.
There are some ways that The Bold Type is a much better show than Younger, but there are also some ways that it's definitely not. Read on for a comparison of the two series.
Better: Jane, Sutton, And Kat Are Genuine Friends Without Baggage
Jane Sloan (Katie Stevens), Sutton Brady (Meghann Fahy), and Kat Edison (Aisha Dee) are genuine friends who truly get along well, are involved in every aspect of each other's lives, and love meeting in the fashion closet at Scarlet magazine to dish about their day so far. The Bold Type tells an important story about female millennial friendship that is a lot better and deeper than on Younger.
Sure, Kelsey Peters (Hilary Duff) and Liza are close and consider each other family by Season 6, but the fact that Liza spends so much time keeping the secret of her real age from Kelsey does dampen their bond a bit. It's nice that Jane, Sutton, and Kat tell each other everything.
Not: Younger Has An Awesome Love Triangle
On the other hand, Younger is a better show because it has a solid, awesome love triangle. Liza is torn between Josh (Nico Tortorella), a twentysomething tattoo artist who is basically the definition of a hipster, and Charles Brooks (Peter Hermann), her boss at Empirical Publishing. It's truly tough for fans to decide who she should be with, and they both seem to understand her in different ways.
While The Bold Type is a fun show to watch, it doesn't have the same kind of love triangle that pulls viewers in.
Better: Explores Various Types Of Relationships
The Bold Type is a superior show because the characters have very different types of relationships.
On Younger, the characters are mostly looking for commitment, especially Liza and Kelsey, and besides the question of whether Liza will date Josh or Charles, it's not the most interesting part of the show. But on The Bold Type, Sutton is engaged to Richard, Jane went through a tough time in her relationship with Ryan (Dan Jeannotte), and last season Kat was trying to get over Adena (Nikohl Boosheri) and curious about a romance with her campaign manager, Tia (Alexis Floyd). Kat is open-minded and wonders whether she should commit or be more casual, and this romantic drama really moves the story along.
Not: Younger Examines What It's Like To Age
The characters on The Bold Type are young, and they definitely act like they're always going to stay that way. Younger does a much better job of examining what it's like to age.
Liza manages to hold onto her youth by lying about how old she is in order to snag her job in publishing, and while she learns how to be a millennial, dates Josh, and hangs out with Kelsey and Lauren, she seems to be doing a great job. But when she spends time with Maggie, who's her age, or starts dating Charles later on in the show, she deals with more important things like taking care of her college-aged daughter or wondering how to move forward.
Better: It's Both Serious And Silly
The Bold Type strikes the perfect balance between being totally serious and being silly.
When Jane is wondering if she has the BRCA gene and Sutton is coming to terms with her alcoholic mother who she left behind back home, the show isn't afraid of depicting the characters' struggles. The rest of the time, the three girls are having fun, laughing together and going out for drinks. It works well because the two parts of the show complement each other. Younger can sometimes get bogged down by the weight of Liza's massive secret.
Not: Younger Depicts Different NYC Lifestyles
While both shows are set in New York City, The Bold Type basically shows that some characters have fancy apartments (like Sutton's fiancé Richard and editor-in-chief of Scarlet, Jacqueline) and others are struggling, like the three main characters. There isn't a lot of variety and the setting isn't super interesting.
Younger depicts different NYC lifestyles, and it's really fun to see. For a while, Kelsey lives with her best friend, Lauren Heller (Molly Bernard), and Lauren's parents because rents are so high and it seems easier. Liza lives with her close friend, Maggie (Debi Mazar), in Maggie's incredible Brooklyn artist's loft. Josh lives above his tattoo shop, and both Charles and marketing whiz Diana Trout (Miriam Shor) have fancy places.
Better: Talks About Millennial Weddings
Sutton and Richard get engaged in the fourth season of The Bold Type, which is super sweet to see. The Bold Type is now focusing on millennials and marriage as Jane starts working on a story about this very topic.
When Kelsey got engaged to Thad (Dan Amboyer) on Younger, no one thought that they should tie the knot, and it was awkward to watch them together since Liza found out that he was cheating on her. Lauren wanted to plan a crazy OTT wedding but besides that, the question of how this age group plans the big day wasn't really a thing. That's something that The Bold Type is exploring, and it's really exciting.
The Bold Type might be fun, but it doesn't depict journalism in a realistic way. For example, when Patrick (Peter Vack) is hired as the new web editor in the third season, he keeps calling it "the dot com" which is all kinds of awkward. If Scarlet was really going to survive in this climate, wouldn't they already have an amazing web presence?
Younger never ignores the problems that book publishing is facing (namely, that companies don't have the funds that they used to). For this reason, the show is a lot better.
Better: Tackles On Social Issues
The Bold Type isn't scared to talk about social issues, and that doesn't really happen on Younger. In the Season 2 episode "Betsy," Jane learns that Sutton has a gun, and they talk about their different opinions on the subject.
In the third season, Jane realizes that a famous photographer has been abusing models, and writes a story in order to uncover it. And Alex (Matt Ward), who works at the magazine, starts thinking more carefully about his actions when a New Yorker short story ends up being about him in a smart storyline that mirrors the Me Too movement.
Not: Younger Has Interesting Characters Of All Ages
Ultimately, Younger seems to be a more well-crafted series because the characters are all interesting, no matter what age they are. Diana is hilarious, sophisticated, and always worried about what others think of her; Charles is much more awesome than his business attire would suggest; and Maggie is the best free spirit around. Even though the show might focus on the younger set, such as Kelsey and Liza, the characters who aren't millennials are never left out of the story.
On The Bold Type, however, the best characters are the three main millennials, and even by Season 4, that hasn't changed.