Reality AF: 5 Ways to Fix The Bachelor and The Bachelorette Franchises + What to Watch This Week
Photo Courtesy of ABC
Editor’s Note: Welcome to our new column, Reality AF. Every Monday, Terry Terrones will check in and talk about the state of reality TV, plus provide a Top 5 list of what’s coming up this week that you should not miss.
Just when I thought I was out, The Bachelorette pulled me back in.
On a lark, I decided to give the current season of The Bachelorette a try after quitting the franchise after the Matt James season and it’s… not bad. While technically a two-bachelorette season has been done before (Clare and Tayshia), the vulnerability of Rachel and Gabby delivers plenty of drama, and the decision to travel around on a cruise ship from port to port Love Boat-style is clever.
This season of The Bachelorette shows promise. However, there’s still a lot of work producers can do to revitalize the franchise, particularly if ABC is willing to liberally borrow from more zeitgeist-y reality shows. Here are my five suggestions:
1) Dump Junior Varsity Chris Harrison
If the real Jesse Palmer was standing next to a cardboard cutout of Jesse Palmer, I don’t think anyone could tell the difference. Lack of charisma aside, he’s also a terrible consigliere. Last week when Rachel was struggling after Logan switched to Team Gabby, Palmer wasn’t much help, using his own experience as the Bachelor to provide guidance. Considering he didn’t propose during his season and his relationship ended shortly after production, Palmer’s advice isn’t reliable.
Instead of pretty but boring Palmer, producers should have successful legacy Bach hosts for each gender. For The Bachelorette, bring Jojo Fletcher, Ashley Iaconetti, DeAnna Pappas, or Desi Hartsock onboard. Rachel Lindsay, who hosts Bach podcasts, would be a natural choice.
For The Bachelor, successful legacy men are harder to come by but Sean Lowe and Jason Mesnick would be a good place to start. If they’re not available, Nick Viall and Ben Higgins at least have the charisma to host and still remain involved in the Bach family. Better yet, promote Wells Adams from Bachelor in Paradise bartender to show host.
2) One hour episodes
A typical episode of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette is packed with more filler than any of the Real Housewives. It’s beyond time to trim the fat and condense episodes down to one hour. Speed up the pace of the show for modern audiences that have shorter attention spans. If ABC adds a recap show like Lifetime has for Married at First Sight, they can fill in their lost hour and get viewers more involved by airing it live. Call it Love Is in the Air or something cheesy, get a legacy contestant to host, and basically make it the Bach version of Watch What Happens Live. Boom! Your two hours of Bach content are now more purposeful and meaningful.
3) Bring in more Bachelors and Bachelorettes
One of the reasons this season of The Bachelorette is enjoyable is because it has two Bachelorettes men are fighting over. That’s a good start. Instead, have at least four Bach or Bachelorettes in a season, bring in about 40-50 men or women and start eliminating people until the Bachelors/Bachelorettes have five prospective love interests each, then split them off on solo adventures. Viewers get the fun of a dating free-for-all, then the drama that comes when things get serious when groups are split up and each person is on their individual quest for love.
4) Group dates that aren’t lame
Whether it’s sharing dirty sex stories, bikini skiing, swimming with pigs, sumo wrestling or mud wrestling, group dates can come across as either humiliating or mean spirited. Instead, borrow from The Challenge playbook and make group dates more humorous (trivia, a spelling bee) or competitive in a more meaningful way. A group date that requires teamwork, physicality, and strategy might tell you more about someone than whether or not they can learn the dance routine to a Backstreet Boys song.