Summary
The Bachelorfranchise has been working with great leads for the last several seasons, butthe franchise should choose a villain to lead the next season to spice things up for viewers who are beginning to get bored. WhileThe BachelorandThe Bachelorettetypically choose leads who are viewer’s favorites in the franchise, the majority of leads in the last few years have become boring after moving from contestant to lead. Despite knowing that the leads on the series have to move away from their personalities in many ways,BachelorNation often roots for their favorites to become leads.
AfterThe Bachelorseason 28plucked Joey Graziadei from Charity Lawson’s season,where he was a funny, vulnerable, spontaneous contestant, he became the lead of his season. WhileJoey was a great contestant onThe Bachelorette,many found him boring as aBachelor. This tends to happen throughout the franchise, even though manyBachelorNation viewers push for their favorite contestants to move into the lead position every season. In earlier years of the series, the casting of the lead would be less about whoBachelorNation liked and more about who was dynamic enough to hold down a season.
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The Bachelor Often Chooses A Sweet Lead
They’re Looking For Someone To Root For
Each season ofThe BachelorandThe Bachelorette,the show often casts its lead from the previous season of the opposite show in the franchise.Bachelorstend to be the sweetest man who couldn’t make the cut onThe Bachelorette,whileBachelorettestend to be the strongest woman who didn’t fit the bill onThe Bachelor.Opting for leads who are softer and less polarizing in recent years, theBachelorfranchise has been hopeful they’ll be able to continue to cast less dynamic leads, asthe production side of the series feels leads have to be more diplomatic than contestants.
Leads Like Joey Graziadei & Jenn Tran Come Off Boring
Dynamic Contestants Make Boring Leads
While Joey was one of the most fun contestants to watch onThe Bachelorette,the dynamic side of his personality that drewBachelorNation in didn’t completely make it to his time asThe Bachelor.Instead of the spontaneous, fun guyBachelorNation met during Charity’s season, Joey became diplomatic, stressed, and lost the sparkle he’d had during his original season. Similarly, Jenn Tran first appeared onThe Bachelorseason 28 with Joey and was a fun, bubbly figure onThe Bachelor,but throughoutThe Bacheloretteseason 21has been far more diplomatic, having to tamp down her effervescent personality.
People who work well as contestants in theBachelorfranchise tend to have to tone things down considerably as leads, as they’re in a position of power. Being considerate of the contestants' feelings and trying to make sure they come off as fair on screen,the leads have to be a bit more boring than the contestants, especially when they were cast as a nice or kind figure on their original season. This makes choosing the lead from a pool of well-liked contestants far more difficult thanBachelorNation realizes, but leaves an option open for the production team.
Villains On The Series Could Revitalize The Franchise
Villain Figures Make Better Leads
Although it hasn’t been done in years,the villain figures ofBachelorNation tend to make better leads than the contestants who are well-liked by the viewers. There are some villains who shouldn’t be given the lead, like those who have made hateful public statements against specific groups or seem to be genuinely bad people. However, mostBachelorNation villains are simply fun, funny characters who don’t necessarily have a deep connection with the lead and choose to be chaotic on the show instead.
Famously,The Bachelorseason 21 cast Nick Viallas a lead, who was initially a villain figure on the first two seasons of the series he appeared on. Nick’s season was an incredible turning point forBachelorNation, as he was able to be a bit more dynamic as the lead of his own season, offering commentary and quips that a normal “nice” lead wouldn’t be able to. Casting a villain creates an interesting space forBachelorNation to root for an underdog, and hear the sort of commentaryThe Bachelorfranchise normally wouldn’t allow for a lead.
Source:The Bachelor/Instagram
The Bachelor
A captivating reality TV franchise, The Bachelor and its spin-offs follow a single man or woman as they date multiple people over several weeks, eliminating contestants along the way. The goal is to find true love, culminating in a dramatic final rose ceremony where they propose to their chosen one, blending romance and high-stakes drama.
