The Bachelor: Here for the right reasons

The premise is simple: A straight man finds the future spouse of his dreams, out of about 30 potential contestants he dates simultaneously over the course of two months. Eventually, he narrows it down to two women. He proposes to the girl of his dreams. Fireworks ensue. ABC’s The Bachelor has weathered 24 seasons—and the finale of the latest one airs this week. It’s one of the longest-running reality television franchises. [Ad revenues go up to $86 million per season](. It has spawned spinoff shows, including The Bachelorette, Bachelor in Paradise, and Bachelor Winter Games, plus a [new version starring seniors that ABC is currently casting](. The retrograde promise of a romantic fairy tale coupled with the flagrantly trashy antics that ensue when you fill a Malibu mansion with attractive young people with no responsibilities and an open bar makes The Bachelor easy to roll your eyes at. Why do the show’s many loyal fans keep tuning in to watch the same old story? For viewers it’s a way to grapple with the demands of modern romance, but it’s [also about the shared experience]( of watching the show. Before we dive in, would you accept this rose? 🌹 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( [Quartz Daily Obsession] The Bachelor March 09, 2020 The rules of engagement --------------------------------------------------------------- The premise is simple: A straight man finds the future spouse of his dreams, out of about 30 potential contestants he dates simultaneously over the course of two months. Eventually, he narrows it down to two women. He proposes to the girl of his dreams. Fireworks ensue. ABC’s The Bachelor has weathered 24 seasons—and the finale of the latest one airs this week. It’s one of the longest-running reality television franchises. [Ad revenues go up to $86 million per season](. It has spawned spinoff shows, including The Bachelorette, Bachelor in Paradise, and Bachelor Winter Games, plus a [new version starring seniors that ABC is currently casting](. The retrograde promise of a romantic fairy tale coupled with the flagrantly trashy antics that ensue when you fill a Malibu mansion with attractive young people with no responsibilities and an open bar makes The Bachelor easy to roll your eyes at. Why do the show’s many loyal fans keep tuning in to watch the same old story? For viewers it’s a way to grapple with the demands of modern romance, but it’s [also about the shared experience]( of watching the show. Before we dive in, would you accept this rose? 🌹 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( By the digits [31:]( Average age of the Bachelor [27:]( Average age of the Bachelorette [26:]( Average age of Bachelor contestants [29:]( Average age of Bachelorette contestants [1:]( Black leads in the history of the franchise [80%:]( Share of The Bachelorette viewers who are white [$153,096:]( Price of a 30-second TV ad on The Bachelorette in 2018 [8 million:]( Average viewers per episode of The Bachelor between 2012 and 2015 [>20:]( International versions [$1 million:]( Annual income top Bachelor contestants can make from posting Instagram ads after leaving the show Giphy Department of Jargon The official language of Bachelor Nation --------------------------------------------------------------- Bachelor Nation: The proud superfans of the ABC franchise. The lead: Another name for the Bachelor or Bachelorette. First impression rose (FIR): The rose given to the contestant who makes the strongest impression on the lead during the opening night of the season. On The Bachelor, only one contestant who received the FIR has ever gone on to “win” the season, while [six contestants who got the FIR on The Bachelorette]( went on to “win” their season. Final rose: The lead typically gives this rose to someone in order to send a message—maybe they’ve done something wrong, or their connection with the lead isn’t strong. Either way, contrition ensues. Group date: These dates typically involve the lead watching 10-12 contestants embarrass themselves on national TV to prove their love—think mud wrestling or swimming with pigs. ([Watch this. No, really.]( Two-on-one: A date reserved for two contestants who are causing drama in the house. They’re given a chance to fight it out on camera, while on a date with the lead, and at the end one of them is eliminated. Hometowns: The lead visits the hometowns of the four final contestants and meets their families. The mansion: The Malibu property in which the show is set for the first few weeks of each season. During the show’s off-seasons, you can rent out the mansion for private events. [If you try it, report back to us](. Journey: How the leads refer to their time on the show. [Ralph Waldo Emerson would be proud](. Fantasy Suite: When the season is down to its final three contestants, the lead can spend one night alone—without cameras—with each of them to “get to know them better.” “Here for the right/wrong reasons”: A favorite veiled insult among contestants, the Bachelor equivalent of challenging someone to a duel. AP Photo/Richard Drew Million-dollar question Why do we love "The Bachelor"? --------------------------------------------------------------- The premise? Unrealistic and somewhat sexist. The cast? Attention-seeking and backstabbing. The viewing experience? Completely addictive. Bachelor Nation includes viewers who watch it to make fun of it over wine with friends, as well as viewers who believe in the earnestness of its premise, but both groups find the show deeply compelling in a way that’s hard to understand if you’re not a fan yourself. “I think why we’re so obsessed with the show has something to do with our desire to have fantasy and romance in our life,” Amy Kaufman, a reporter covering Hollywood for the LA Times and author of an entire book on the franchise, [told Time](. “The real power of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette is that the shows tap into the fantasy of living in a world where dating could actually be our top priority,” [Katherine Foley wrote for Quartz in 2016](. “[I]n the Bachelor franchise, contestants have no other responsibilities or distractions… The Bachelor franchise makes finding a lasting relationship look basically [effortless]( In real life, who has the time to see their friends and family, kill it at work, have a hobby, let alone plan a surprise helicopter tour of a new city with a date on a weekend? Fun fact! In order to [keep their engagement rings]( Bachelor couples have to stay together for two years after their season ends. Giphy pop quiz Why does kissing seem so gross on the Bachelor franchise? The Foley artistry makes it louder than it normally is.Contestants have to perform a kiss-test before going on the show.Kissing is always gross.We’re seeing real kissing—actors on scripted TV don’t use tongue. Correct. Yep—according to Refinery29, actors make kissing look a lot more graceful than it actually is, reality stars, not so much. Incorrect. If your inbox doesn’t support this quiz, find the solution at bottom of email. Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP Person of Interest Who the eff is Chris Harrison? --------------------------------------------------------------- Despite a [rough start in the reality business as the host]( of the 2001 non-hit Designers’ Challenge on HGTV, Chris Harrison’s skill as host of The Bachelor franchise is unparalleled. Even though he has worked with hundreds of contestants and dozens of leads, he manages to make it seem, every time, as if their concerns, their drama, their love lives, and ultimately, their happiness, are the only things that matter to him. “On-screen he is able to do something that I believe men are generally not wired for: He can sit there and listen to a woman, allow her to emote and cry, and never interrupt, never try to shut her down or clean her up,” writes Taffy Brodesser-Akner in her [2015 profile of Harrison for GQ](. “When it’s time to ask a contestant to leave, his face is the face you want: lips mashed mournfully together, eyebrows up, big sigh.” And yes, he’s heard the rumors suggesting he should be the next Bachelor—and has [politely made it clear]( that it’s not a good idea. Have a friend who would enjoy our Obsession with The Bachelor? [ [Forward link to a friend](mailto:?subject=Thought you'd enjoy.&body=Read this Quartz Daily Obsession email – to the email – Watch this! Cringeworthy Competition --------------------------------------------------------------- The ninth season of The Bachelorette aired in 2013, and featured a group date with the rapper Soulja Boy. Together, they created a rap about Desiree, the bachelorette, and her experience on the show. It is awful, but like a car crash, you can’t look away. Quotable “I have had sex, and Jesus still loves me.” —[Season 15 Bachelorette Hannah Brown to contestant Luke P]( “ABC could have saved a ton on limousine fees if it had shrink-wrapped 25 women and placed them in the meat case at Safeway.” —[Seattle Post-Intelligencer critic John Levesque reviews the first season of The Bachelor in 2002]( take me down this 🐰 hole! It’s not just the show --------------------------------------------------------------- The rise of Twitter and Instagram turned The Bachelor into a communal social experience, and its contestants into mini-celebrities. Suddenly, they weren’t just on TV—they were giving you skincare tips on the same app where you posted photos of your birthday party. As a result, the show now attracts contestants with job titles like social media influencer, model, or “content creator,” who [openly admit to being there]( to raise their profile and increase their follower count. But not everyone thinks this shift is all that surprising, or even all that bad. Arielle Duhaime-Ross, host of [Vox’s tech podcast Reset]( recently talked to Emma Gray, the host of the Bachelor podcast [Here to Make Friends]( about how social media has changed the franchise. She argues that there have always been incentives for contestants to go on the show “for the wrong reasons,” so to speak, even before Instagram and influencer culture. The franchise has “thrived off of this kind of illusion, that the only reason you would ever go on The Bachelor is because you just want to find love and you believe in the process,” she explains. “And you know what? That hasn’t existed, ever.” Giphy poll Would you audition to be a contestant on The Bachelor or The Bachelorette? [Click here to vote]( Yes, where do I sign up?No way.If it means I can meet Chris Harrison... 💬 let's talk! In Friday’s poll about bed bugs, 65% of you have been lucky enough to avoid them, while 35% of you have been through bed bug hell and live in terror of their return. 🤔 [What did you think of today’s email?](mailto:obsession%2Bfeedback@qz.com?cc=&subject=Thoughts%20about%20The%20Bachelor%20&body=) 💡 [What should we obsess over next?](mailto:obsession%2Bideas@qz.com?cc=&subject=Obsess%20over%20this%20next.&body=) [🎲]( [Show me a random Obsession]( Today’s email was written by Bachelor fans [Annabelle Timsit]( and [Katherine Foley]( edited by [Annaliese Griffin]( and produced by [Tori Smith](. [facebook]( The correct answer to the quiz is We’re seeing real kissing—actors on scripted TV don’t use tongue.. Enjoying the Quartz Daily Obsession? [Send this link]( to a friend! Want to advertise in the Quartz Daily Obsession? Send us an email at ads@qz.com. Not enjoying it? No worries. [Click here]( to unsubscribe. Quartz | 675 Avenue of the Americas, 4th Fl | New York, NY 10011 | United States