‘The Bachelor’ Hits Milestone 20 Years on TV: What’s Next for the Mega Franchise?
27.04.2022 - 20:23
/ variety.com
Elizabeth Wagmeister Senior CorrespondentThis past year, “The Bachelor” endured a heavy dose of controversy, the type of drama that even reality TV producers can’t make up — and certainly don’t want to deal with. And yet, the franchise has done what no other dating series has done, crossing its 20-year mark on the air.With 26 seasons of the flagship, 19 seasons of “The Bachelorette,” eight seasons of “Bachelor in Paradise” and numerous spinoffs to date, ABC’s dating franchise isn’t going anywhere.
With an international fanbase that considers “The Bachelor” to be a way of life more than a TV show, it’s entirely possible that viewers will still be watching in 20 more years.Copycats have tried to mirror the formula. Most have failed.
Turns out, the simple fairytale of limos, roses, extravagant jet-setting, tears and heartbreak isn’t so easy to replicate, as no new network hits have broken through in recent memory. It wasn’t until the pandemic when viewers were bingeing from home that the genre saw a boom in programming with unique formats hitting streaming services like Netflix, which fully leaned into the romance craze with an impressive slate of shows like “Love Is Blind,” “Too Hot to Handle,” “The Ultimatum,” “Indian Matchmaking,” “Jewish Matchmaking” and more.
Or, HBO Max with “FBoy Island, which fittingly hails from a veteran producer from “The Bachelor” world. “The format is here to stay,” says Brooke Karzen, executive VP and head of Warner Horizon Unscripted Television, which produces the franchise.
“There are tropes that the audience relies on. There are parts of this journey that are to be expected, like night one arrivals, the rose ceremonies and going for a proposal at the end.”As the show has evolved, critics
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