Twenty-five years. Twenty-five years of roses, hot tubs, and manufactured drama. But a scathing opinion piece in The Hollywood Reporter this week argues it's time to finally put The Bachelor franchise out of its misery. And for once, the case is compelling.
The immediate trigger is the Taylor Frankie Paul scandal, which forced ABC to scrap an entire season of The Bachelorette after revelations about the lead's conduct made broadcast impossible. But as THR's piece argues, this isn't an isolated incident. It's the latest in a long string of toxicity that suggests the format itself might be broken.
Let's review the greatest hits: racist social media posts from contestants that production somehow missed during vetting. Multiple allegations of producer manipulation creating harmful situations. Relationships that implode spectacularly on social media weeks after the finale airs. And a success rate for actual marriages that's... not great.
"The show's defenders point to the ratings," writes THR's Lesley Goldberg. "But at what cost? We're creating entertainment by putting people in emotionally manipulative situations, then acting surprised when it ends badly."
The business case for keeping The Bachelor alive is simple: it still gets viewers. The franchise reliably delivers ratings in an era where linear TV struggles. It creates social media moments. It spins off into podcasts, influencer careers, and redemption arcs on Dancing with the Stars.
But the cultural case is harder to make. The franchise launched in 2002, when reality TV was fresher and audiences were less aware of how heavily produced these "reality" shows actually are. We've since had two decades of contestants revealing the manipulation behind the scenes: frankenbiting conversations together from separate quotes, producer-encouraged villain behavior, alcohol-fueled drama that production deliberately enables.
What felt revolutionary in 2002 now feels exploitative. We know too much about how the sausage is made.
ABC and producer Warner Bros. Discovery have tried to evolve the franchise. They've cast more diverse leads. They've addressed social issues on screen. They've brought in hosts who acknowledge the format's absurdity. But you can't fix a fundamentally manipulative format with better casting.
