From the creators of “The Bold Type” comes “Being Self-Incorporated Is Technically Bolder If You Think About It.” This breezy, fun dramedy follows three not-so-young-anymore, decreasingly ambitious freelance writers living the dream of barely making their student-loan payments in the high-speed world of New York City magazines.
Season 1, Episode 1, “Pilot”
Marley, a freelance writer and the bright-eyed dreamer of the group, sleeps through successive alarms. Contrary to what this framing device might suggest, she’s not late for a meeting—or anything, for that matter—so it’s fine. At the café, Andrea, the brash, sassy freelance writer, gets into a passive-aggressive standoff with another patron vying for the table near the one accessible outlet. Meanwhile, Mark, a headstrong freelance writer, follows up on an overdue invoice.
Season 1, Episode 2, “Invoicing Is a Four-Letter Word”
Another day, another ninety-day-past-due invoice, as that classic New York magazine-world saw goes. Marley takes the hustle to heart, enjoying a leisurely bowl of yogurt and looking at Twitter for three hours before sending a few pitches into that yawning, indifferent black hole from which no joy or light escapes. Andrea tries a new café across town, only to find the Wi-Fi hopeless and a pastry selection that is trying too hard. Meanwhile, Mark follows up on the overdue invoice, thrillingly still unpaid.
Season 1, Episode 3, “No Crying, or Benefits, in Freelance”
It’s summer in New York, which, everyone in the magazine industry knows, means chic rooftop parties, steamy inter-office romances, and, best of all, Summer Fridays. Cut to the freelancers: basically ghosts who are not allowed to stop working and can no longer differentiate between the seasons, let alone the days of the week. Andrea chases a promising lead on a hotel lobby with air-conditioning. Mark breaks his personal record for the most automated out-of-office replies received in an hour. Marley gets frozen yogurt at two and calls it a day.
Season 1, Episode 4, “[Guttural Noise]”
Marley finds herself questioning her identity after realizing that she hasn’t verbally articulated a word to another human being in thirty-six hours. Andrea jumps at an opportunity to do some copywriting for an unnamed Estonian exporter of beef tallow but secretly wonders if it’s technically money laundering? Mark follows up on an overdue invoice (a different one).
Season 1, Episode 5, “Pitch Rich, Rent Poor”
Andrea gets heavy into Foucault while researching a pitch on how Peak TV is the modern-day carceral state, and regains consciousness two days later. Marley realizes that the unpaid labor of crafting painstakingly detailed pitches and delving deep into background research along the way is its own reward; Marley’s landlord disagrees. Mark scores a professional victory by going an entire day without spending any money.