The Bachelor (American TV series)
The Bachelor is an American dating and relationship reality television series that debuted on March 25, 2002, on ABC. The show is hosted by Chris Harrison. The show's success has resulted in several spin-offs including The Bachelorette, Bachelor Pad, Bachelor in Paradise, ', The Bachelor Winter Games, ', The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons - Ever!, and The Bachelor Summer Games, as well as the spawning many international editions of the shows.
Production
The series was created by Mike Fleiss. The and other reunion specials were originally produced at Victory Studios in Los Angeles, California and CBS Studio Center in Studio City, but are now taped at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank.Plot
The series revolves around a single bachelor who begins with a pool of romantic interests from whom he is expected to select a wife. During the course of the season, the bachelor eliminates candidates each week eventually culminating in a marriage proposal to his final selection. The participants travel to romantic and exotic locations for their dates, and the conflicts in the series, both internal and external, stem from the elimination-style format of the show.The above description is simply a general guideline. In practice, the show does not always follow its designed structure, and those variations are often a source of drama and conflict. They may include, among other events:
- A candidate who was eliminated returns to the show to plead her case to the bachelor.
- A bachelor distributes more or fewer roses than planned.
- A bachelor eliminates a woman outside of the normal elimination process. For example, the bachelor may eliminate both women on a two-on-one date.
- The bachelor chooses to pursue a relationship with his final selection rather than propose marriage.
Notable cases where the bachelor violated the premise of the show are Brad Womack, who selected neither of his final two women on his first season, and Jason Mesnick, who broke off his engagement in the After the Final Rose episode and several months later proposed to the first runner-up —who he later married. Like Mesnick, Arie Luyendyk Jr. also broke off his engagement and during the After the Final Rose episode, he proposed to the first runner-up —to whom he is now married.
Setting
For the first two weeks of filming, the contestants stay in "Villa De La Vina," a, six-bedroom, nine-bath home in Agoura Hills, California. The custom home, built in 2005, is located on 10 acres at 2351 Kanan Road and it is owned by Marshall Haraden. As of October 10, 2008, the home was listed for sale at a price of US$8.75 million. The final third of the episodes within a season are filmed traveling the world. Episodes have been filmed throughout the United States, Canada, England, New Zealand, Vietnam, Thailand, and Korea to name just a few locations. The Agoura Hills, California mansion became the primary residence for the contestants since the eleventh season though it was not used in seasons eight and nine, where they mainly shot in Paris and Rome, respectively.The elimination process
On each Bachelor episode, the bachelor interacts with the women and presents a rose to each woman he wishes to remain on the show. Those who do not receive a rose are eliminated. Eliminations are based upon the bachelor's personal feelings about each contestant, guided primarily by the impression made by each woman during dates or other events of the week. Most roses are presented at a rose ceremony at the end of each episode, but roses can also be bestowed on dates. However, if a contestant went on a 1 on 1 date with the Bachelor or Bachelorette, they have to receive a rose. If they do not receive one, then they will have to go home immediately. Typical activities include:- A group date, in which the bachelor and a group of women participate in an activity. Sometimes the activity takes the form of a competition, the winner or winners spending more time with the bachelor. The bachelor typically presents a rose to the woman who makes the best impression during the group date.
- A one-on-one date, in which the bachelor and one woman go on a date. Except in the late stages of the season, there is a rose at stake: At the end of the date, the bachelor must decide whether to present the woman a rose. If the woman does not receive a rose, she is eliminated immediately.
- Except in the late stages of the season, the episode concludes with a cocktail party, to which the bachelor and all women not yet eliminated are invited. At the first cocktail party of the season, the bachelor presents a "first impression rose"; roses are typically not presented at any other cocktail parties.
- Every episode concludes with a rose ceremony which has its own conventions.
- *The women who have not been eliminated stand in rows at one end of the room, and the bachelor faces them. The bachelor has a tray with roses.
- *The bachelor takes a rose and calls a woman by name. The woman steps forward, and the bachelor asks, "Will you accept this rose?" The woman accepts, takes the rose, and returns to her original position.
- *When there is one rose remaining, host Chris Harrison says, "Ladies, this is the final rose tonight," then tells the bachelor, "When you're ready."
- *After all roses are distributed, host Chris Harrison tells the women who did not receive a rose, "Ladies, take a moment and say your good-byes."
- The bachelor visits the home towns and families of each of the four remaining women. At the rose ceremony, one woman is eliminated, leaving three.
- The bachelor and the three remaining women travel to an exotic location for a series of one-on-one dates. At the conclusion of each date, the bachelor offers the woman the keys to the fantasy suite which allows the two to spend the night together without cameras present. At the rose ceremony, one woman is eliminated, leaving two.
- In a "The Women Tell All" episode, the women who had been eliminated from the show participate in a talk show where they discuss their thoughts and experiences.
- The two remaining women separately meet with the bachelor's family. At the end of the episode, one woman eventually exits the limo and is sent home, followed by the second woman who the bachelor proposes to by presenting the "final rose".
- In an After the Final Rose episode which immediately follows, the bachelor, the finalist, and the runner-up participate in a talk show. The identity of the next season's bachelor or bachelorette is often announced at the end of the episode.
The bachelor has wide discretion in choosing how many and when to present the roses. For example, Sean Lowe presented several roses at his initial cocktail party.
It is common to accuse a contestant of not being on the show "for the right reasons", meaning that her aim is not to establish a relationship with the bachelor, but rather to garner publicity for her own career, induce jealousy in an ex-boyfriend, become selected as the next Bachelorette, or simply to get free trips to exotic locations.
Seasons
Ratings
;NotesQuestions of authenticity
On February 26, 2009, in an exclusive interview between The Bachelor season 13 contestant Megan Parris, and Steve Carbone, Megan commented that the producers edit the footage to create a fictional storyline:On March 26, 2009, Megan Parris argued that not only was the show scripted, but that producers bullied contestants into saying things to the camera that contestants did not want to say. "There's nothing real about it," she said of the show's trademark "confessionals," in which contestants talk to the camera about the latest goings-on. "It is scripted," she said. "They basically will call you names, berate you, curse at you until they get you to say what they want you to say." Both ABC and Warner Bros., the studio that produces The Bachelor, had no comment.
On March 15, 2010, Mike Fleiss appeared on 20/20 and said that he develops contestants into characters that will cater to his audience's tastes and that they "need fair share of villains every season." Fleiss has come under fire for admitting that The Bachelor has less to do with reality than it does making good television.
On February 24, 2012, during the taping of The Women Tell All episode of The Bachelor, a private conversation between contestant Courtney Robertson and a show producer went public when microphones were accidentally left on in between camera takes. The conversation revealed the producer had a role as a coach, encouraging Robertson to fake certain emotions for the camera.
The audience reactions for The Women Tell All episode are pre-recorded and inserted into the show later.
Lawsuits
In December 2011, a producer of The Bachelor sued Steve Carbone, the proprietor of the website RealitySteve.com, for leaking unreleased information about the show, claiming Carbone encouraged contestants of both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette to break their confidentiality agreements. Carbone has denied that the source of the leaks are current contestants. Despite the first two lawsuits in 2012 being settled, a further lawsuit was presented against Carbone in 2017.Criticism
The show has been criticized for stigmatizing virginity, thus reflecting the patriarchal masculinity stereotypes.Spin-offs
- The Bachelorette: The show's success has led producer Mike Fleiss to create multiple spin-offs, including The Bachelorette, in which the format is gender-reversed. The bachelorettes are eliminated contestants from The Bachelor. Season 11 of The Bachelorette had two bachelorettes.
- Bachelor Pad: In August 2010, Bachelor Pad premiered, giving previous contestants of both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette an opportunity to compete in dating-themed eliminations for $250,000. This summer series lasted three seasons.
- Bachelor in Paradise
The fourth season of Bachelor in Paradise called into question about the future of its production following an issue of possible misconduct on the set. The fourth season premiered on August 8, 2017. Two contestants, Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson were involved in an explicit sexual encounter in the pool during the filming of the show and were caught on tape. A producer onset administered a complaint which stated either one or both contestants may have been too drunk to give proper consent for the sexual encounter. This prompted Warner Bros. to start an internal investigation and both contestants to seek legal counsel. Production of the show was halted on June 11, 2017 and all contestants were asked to go home until further notice. Allegations were made against both contestants about their intoxication and actions thereafter, but ended with broadcast statements from both contestants during a talk show that it was all a misunderstanding and the two have remained friends since the incident. The show was given the green light to resume filming on June 21, 2017; neither Olympios nor Jackson returned to production.
- Bachelor Live
First airing in October 2016 on Freeform, Ben and Lauren: Happily Ever After? showcased the relationship of Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell following season 20 of The Bachelor on their plans for marriage and Bushnell's new life in Denver. But then, the couple eventually parted ways in May 15, 2017.
On March 20, 2017, The Twins: Happily Ever After premiered on Freeform. The series stars Haley and Emily Ferguson from season 20 of The Bachelor and showcases them "saying goodbye to the comfort and luxuries of living under their mom's roof and beginning the hilarious journey of figuring out life on their own while searching for independence and a new career."
- The Bachelor Winter Games premiered on February 13, 2018. The show follows a similar premise to that of Bachelor in Paradise with a few twists. One stand out twist is that the cast is made up of international contestants from The Bachelor franchise. All contestants participate in various winter sports in order to win a date card. Ashley Iaconetti and Kevin Wendt were the winning couple of the first season, after competing in an ice skating dance routine against three other couples.
- Bachelor Live On Stage was announced on January 23, 2019 during the Men Tell All episode. A local Bachelor would go through group date challenges and coveted one-on-ones with local ladies in the audience. Audience members and hosts would assist the Bachelor. Ben Higgins and Becca Kufrin are slated to host the 63 stop tour starting in Mesa, Arizona on February 13, 2020 with the final stop in Austin, Texas, was scheduled on May 17, 2020. However due to the COVID-19 pandemic, half of the shows have been postponed and they were rescheduled to January 24, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio.
- The Bachelor Summer Games
- The Greatest Seasons – Ever!
- A baby boomer version
International versions
| Country | Name | Host | Network | Date premiered |
| ' | The Bachelor Australia | Osher Günsberg | Network Ten | September 8, 2013 |
| ' | The Bachelor | Fábio Arruda | RedeTV! | November 21, 2014 |
| ' | The Bachelor Canada | Tyler Harcott | City | October 3, 2012 |
| ' | The Bachelor | October 1, 2016 | ||
| ' | Gospodin Savršeni | Antonija Blaće | RTL Televizija | November 19, 2018 |
| ' | Bachelor, le gentleman célibataire | Stéphane Rotenberg Grégory Ascher Boris Ehrgott | M6 NT1 | May 7, 2003 |
| ' | Suomen unelmien poikamies | Sami Kuronen | Nelonen | February 2008 |
| ' | :de:Der Bachelor|Der Bachelor | Arne Jessen none | RTL | November 19, 2003 January 4, 2011 |
| ' | The Bachelor | TBA | Alpha TV | 2021 |
| , State of Tamil Nadu | எங்க வீட்டு மாப்பிள்ளை Enga Veetu Mapillai | Sangeetha Krish | Colors Tamil | February 20, 2018 |
| , State of Kerala | Aryakku Parinayam | Sangeetha Krish | Flowers TV | February 26, 2018 |
| ' | The Bachelor Indonesia | NET. | TBA | |
| ' | הרווק HaRavak | Guy Geyor | Channel 10 | 2009 |
| ' | :it:The Bachelor - L'uomo dei sogni |The Bachelor - L'uomo dei sogni | Cristina Parodi | Canale 5 | June 26, 2003 |
| ' | :ja:バチェラー・ジャパン|バチェラー・ジャパン The Bachelor Japan | Kouji Imada :ja:今田耕司|今田耕司 | Amazon Prime TV Video | 2017 |
| ' | The Bachelor New Zealand | Mike Puru | TV3 | March 17, 2015 |
| ' | Ungkaren | Christopher Dons | TVNorge | 2003 |
| ' | Kawaler do wzięcia | Krzysztof Banaszyk | TVN | October 8, 2003 |
| ' | Burlacul | Lucian Marinescu Cătălin Botezatu Andreea Mantea TBA | Antena 1 | June 8, 2010 |
| ' | Холостяк Holostyak | Petr Fadeev | TNT | March 10, 2013 |
| ' | Sanjski moški | POP TV | September 2004 | |
| ' | The Bachelor SA | Jason Greer | M-Net | February 2019 |
| ' | Bachelor – När leken blir allvar | TV4 | October 2015 | |
| ' | :de:Der Bachelor |Der Bachelor | 3 Plus TV | October 30, 2012 | |
 Thailand | :th:The Bachelor Thailand ศึกรักสละโสด | Natpawin Kulkanlayadee | ONE | August 27, 2016 |
| ' | Холостяк Holostyak | Hryhoriy Reshetnyk | STB | March 17, 2011 |
| ' | The Bachelor | Jeremy Milnes Hugo Speer Mark Wright | BBC Three Channel 5 | March 30, 2003 August 19, 2011 March 4, 2019 |
| The Bachelor Vietnam - Anh chàng độc thân | Khôi Trần | HTV7 | August 14, 2018 |
Note:
- Reruns of the original American version are also broadcast in Australia on Nine Network.
- In Indonesia, the Indonesian show The Bachelor Indonesia airing on NET. is based on The Bachelor'', Warner Bros. Television deals format the show collaboration with distribution production in Indonesia is PT Dunia Visitama Produksi as name Fremantle for Indonesia version.
Parodies
Ben Stiller produced a web spoof of the series entitled Burning Love.
Late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel also created a parody called "The Baby Bachelor" in Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which the titular role is given to his three-year-old nephew Wesley. The popularity of the parody also led to the creation of spin-offs The Baby Bachelorette and Baby Bachelor In Paradise.
The Fox network produced a show, Joe Millionaire, based on the premise that the bachelor was a millionaire heir, when in reality, he was not.
On June 1, 2015, Lifetime began airing Unreal, a scripted drama about a producer who works on Everlasting, a fictional reality series similar to The Bachelor. It is based on Sarah Gertrude Shapiro's short film Sequin Raze and her experience as a field producer on The Bachelor.
In a third season episode of Rupaul's Drag Race All Stars, the main challenge consisted of a parody called "The B*tchelor" where guest judge Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman played the Bachelor while the drag contestants portrayed the romantic interests.