With ongoing social media trends and conversations illuminating the pop culture contemporary spirit, ‘The Bachelor’ remains a phenomenon, despite lower ratings this season.
Although the 25th season of ABC’s dating program Monday night hosted the all-time leading 18-49 demo, fewer viewers are tuned in this season than ever before, with an overnight audience of less than 5 million over the past two weeks. although it is certainly expected that the numbers will grow in the delayed look.
“I actually think your ratings will go up exponentially more than you would during previous seasons, because people are going to start talking about it and going mouth-to-mouth,” ABC CEO Rob Mills said, noting that star Matt James is a beginner in “The Bachelor” world. (Usually, clues from the show come from previous seasons, while James was hand-picked by cast, but has never appeared in any season related to the franchise.)
“We’re starting on a blank page, which I think is good,” adds Mills, the senior vice president of the Alternative Series, Presentations and Late Night Programming Network, which oversees The Bachelor’s franchise. “It’s definitely great to have the connective tissue over several seasons, but then I think it’s good to start a new chapter.”
James is the very first Black Bachelor. In 2017, the franchise had its first black lead when Rachel Lindsay became ‘The Bachelorette’, and since then the show has promised to continue to diversify the show, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes. In recent years, the cast of contestants has become more inclusive, and the most recent ‘Bachelorette’ was Tayshia Adams, a woman who is black and Latinx.
This season, the most diverse number of applicants achieved during the casting process, reveals Mills, who he hopes suggest the franchise expresses the message that “The Bachelor” is successful for everyone.
“We were very open about our shortcomings and how we really need to do better, and we’re definitely trying,” Mills said. ‘Starting with Rachel as our first diverse lead role, hopefully now, we’re really showing a person of color who’ this is a show for me ‘, where, I hate to say that even five years ago it probably was not the sentiment. ”
When Lindsay was ‘The Bachelorette’ three years ago, Mike Fleiss, creator of ‘The Bachelor’, said he was concerned about the ratings that took a dive, suggesting the trend in viewers is related to race. “I found it incredibly disturbing in a Trump-like way,” Fleiss told the New York Times in 2018. ‘How else are you going to explain the fact that she’s among the judges, when she’s black or white – an incredible Bachelorette? It revealed something to our fans. ”
Although James’ season started with the lowest rating for a premiere in “Bachelor” history, Mills believes there are many reasons to analyze the numbers – especially since James is new to Bachelor Nation – and the executive board hopes that the viewers will continue to fall in love with James as the season progresses, which will be reflected in the numbers. In fact, this week’s episode had a significant increase in the demo, compared to the previous week’s episode, which saw an increase of 11.11% among adults 18-49 and 1.03% in overnight viewers.
“I just do not know, but I think it’s a quick dismissal if you say that,” Mills said when asked if race could be a factor in viewers.
“Obviously we can look at everything and do studies, but I do not think anyone is going to say, ‘I do not look at’ The Bachelor ‘because the lead role is diverse’ – and if that’s someone’s reason, then you miss it and it’s your loss, ”Mills said bluntly. ‘We have so much more diversity, not just now with the clues, but with the cast holistically. Look, we’re been up a few seasons and another. ‘
The commitment to diversity is unquestionable, Mills confirms, regardless of season-to-season performance.
“We’re enlarging our audience, and that’s for the better,” he says. ‘The one thing I’ll say is where’ The Bachelor ‘is dominant above all else. I would argue almost the entire TV is in younger demos, probably between 18 and 34, and if you look at that generation, it’s much more enlightening. You see many more stories of younger people that are relevant. So, if we happen to be aging because people no longer want to see diversity, then they are missing it and they will be leaving the demo soon anyway, and this will definitely allow the franchise a much longer lifespan. ‘
For a franchise that has been running for almost two decades with more than 50 combined seasons of the flagship show, “The Bachelorette” and other spin-offs, the power of “The Bachelor” is unmistakable – especially as the numbers drop is in television with never-ending stream of new streaming platforms, not to mention a political news cycle that has drawn viewers’ attention to cable news more than ever.
“We take ‘The Bachelor’ franchise as a 365-day-a-year job and we always want to be a big pop culture sensation, which is clear. “I will try hard to find someone who knows at least something about ‘The Bachelor’ and knows that it’s going on now, ” Mills said. ‘But when the numbers go down, we look at every reason, but I definitely think it’s more related to people just getting to know Matt. This is the first time in so long that we have someone who has no connection at all with the franchise, and if you have a Bachelor coming through that season, everyone knows who this person is and what their story is and wants to see how it is their turn. , after watching them break their heart on TV. ”
James was originally introduced to ‘The Bachelor’ executives during the cast for Clare Crawley’s season. When the production of her season hit with the pandemic, the whole franchise was delayed and the planning of ‘The Bachelor’ had to be speeded up, which is why James was chosen as the next star of the program, although he did not in a previous season of ‘The Bachelorette’ did not appear. ”
Mills says viewers this season only knew the surface of James – they did not know his background, like other former contestants who starred.
“All they knew about Matt coming in was that he’s a nice guy who has a great career and is charitable and looking for love,” Mills says. “Now, through the dates, we learn a lot more about him. You learn more about his backstory during the dates. You not only listen to the women, but also what Matt says, because viewers really do not know him. ”
Mills sings his praises to James, who he says is one of their strongest Bachelors of all time, in addition to the cast of contestants, who describes the executive as one of the most dynamic women they have ever had in the program.
But when it comes to casting the new star of ‘The Bachelorette’, it’s probably the new leading lady who’s going to be a famous face.
“I would definitely say with 99.9%, ‘The Bachelorette’ will be someone coming from one of our previous seasons,” Mills shares, adding: “Probably Matt’s, but at least someone familiar with Bachelor Nation.”