The character Jacqueline Carlyle, editor-in-chief of Scarlet, is based on Joanna Coles, the former editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan Magazine, which is the magazine that Scarlet is based on. Because her years of being the head of Cosmo are the inspiration for the show, Coles has been signed on as an executive producer of The Bold Type.
Sam Page (Richard) and Meghann Fahy (Sutton) have both played characters in the show Gossip Girl. Fahy had a guest role in the episode The Lost Boy (season 3, episode 3). Page had a more prominent role, playing Colin, a love interest for Blake Lively's character, Serena, throughout season 4.