We all have our guilty pleasures. Mine has always been The Bachelor and I’m definitely not alone. After almost twenty years and thirty-nine combined seasons of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, the franchise has grown into one of the most relevant and successful reality shows. In recent seasons, the show has averaged almost 8 million viewers every Monday night and a 2.5 rating in the 18-49 demographic. People love watching the drama unfold and the love stories grow as the season progresses. Nevertheless, it is very shocking how successful the show has been, especially since it is a very controversial idea for many.
For those not familiar with the show, in The Bachelor one eligible bachelor, hoping to find love, is able to date almost 25 women at once, in order to find his ideal connection. At the end of the show, the goal is to propose to the one woman who he finds love with. The women all live together and at each rose ceremony, women are eliminated. At the rose ceremonies, the bachelor hands out roses to the women he wants to stay in a relationship with and those who don’t get a rose are sent packing. Each season the show promises to give viewers villains to hate on, exotic dates all over the world, and a lot of tears and drama from all the women. The spinoff show created a year after the launch of The Bachelor was logically, The Bachelorette where one woman seeks the man of her dreams. For years the show has spurred debate about the degradation of women on the show. Many argue the show promotes the idea of women fighting over men and doesn’t promote the importance of independence for women. Still, millions of fans who make up “Bachelor Nation” still continue to grow the show’s popularity and tune in weekly.
The popularity the show has had comes from the strict bachelor “formula” and the rules the show follows. To start, the show gets viewers extremely engaged and interested in the contestants and their lives. By making contestants from previous seasons the next bachelor or bachelorette, viewers have a sense of familiarity and connection with the contestants. They are able to root for their favorites and get very invested in their quest to find true love. The franchise created another spinoff show called Bachelor in Paradise, where viewers see their favorite contestants get another chance at love. Many viewers are interested in seeing the connections that can form between all of the previous contestants on any of the seasons.
Like any other reality TV show, The Bachelor promises great drama. There is never a shortage of tears, cattiness, or jealousy between the contestants. As sad it is to say, many find entertainment in the drama and enjoy seeing it all unfold. Many get hooked on the show, simply because of the uncertainty of who will “win” at the end. The season trailers the producers create are the perfect mix of drama and love, getting viewers excited and ready to keep watching.
Above all, The Bachelor provides a real escape to the harsh reality of finding love in real life. The perfect dates and settings create the optimal environment for romance, despite all the difficulties. As hard it is for many to find love today, the show helps people believe that they too will be able to find it one day. In recent years, there has been less success in this show because many contestants don’t come into the show with the right intentions. Contestants feel the show is a great opportunity to get fame, followers, and money. The Bachelorette, however, where a woman is the lead, has had 20% more success at the end of the show than The Bachelor. Despite the fact that many bachelor couples have not stayed together, there are some success stories. There are eighteen happy couples today from the entire Bachelor franchise and these couples keep the hope alive that this show really works. Some couples have even married,had babies, and families. In the future, I am sure the bachelor audience will keep tuning in, with the hope of watching more adventure, heartbreak, and ultimately, love.