In March, ABC announced that it would halt production on the new season of The Bachelorette starring Clare Crawley (a big “who?” from Juan Pablo Galavis’s Season 18 of The Bachelor, as well as Season 1 and 2 of Bachelor in Paradise, and 2018’s Bachelor Winter Games) amidst the pandemic. It was the most ethical decision, but also a surprising one—The Bachelor franchise is so massive, there’s almost always a flagship show or a new spin-off airing at any point in the year—so canceling The Bachelorette would mean a few weeks of silence for Bachelor Nation. Of course, the network has come up with a solution: glorified re-runs, repackaged as a limited series.
According to Variety, The Bachelor has found a solution to its summer content lull: a 10-episode series called The Bachelor: The Most Unforgettable – Ever!, a collection of memorable moments from the show’s 18 years. I’m sure there are many YouTube compilations that offer the same information, but this is supposed to be new and exciting… somehow. Each episode will clock in at an impressively torturous three hours, beginning with a premiere on June 8, and will feature “a full season from the dating show archives, highlighting some of the most devastating rose ceremonies, passionate proposals, unexpected new arrivals, dramatic meltdowns, biggest breakups and most romantic moments that Bachelor Nation has ever witnessed,” Variety reports. Host Chris Harrison said the idea came from a Twitter fan, who I am just certain is getting compensated for their contribution.
Reruns with new graphics—who wouldn’t want to watch 30 hours of that? It’s impressive, in a way, that The Bachelor producers found a way to unleash on its viewers a show that is somehow a much more obvious money play than the horrific The Bachelor Presents: Listen to Your Heart, a spin-off that shoehorns in a singing competition element into a televised search for love. What will they think of next?