As a longtime fan of “The Bachelor” franchise, I anxiously awaited the announcement for who would be named the next “Bachelorette” in the Season 28 finale. Of course, it’s exciting to see how the season ends and who the bachelor ends up with, but it’s also equally exciting to see who the next Bachelorette will be, which is one of the season’s stand-out contestants. Season 28 of “The Bachelor” featured Joey Graziadei, a 28-year-old tennis pro from Pennsylvania, as the lead. Graziadei  was looking for his future wife among 32 contestants. 

Graziadei’s season was one of the most popular with the season finale bringing in 6.31 million viewers, which is the most watched Season Finale in the history of “The Bachelor” franchise. The fan favorite contestant was Maria Georgas, who I was also hoping would be selected since her unfiltered and authentic personality shone through in Graziadei’s season. However, Jenn Tran was announced as the lead for “The Bachelorette” Season 21. Tran is a 26-year-old physician assistant and was loved by the fans during Graziadei’s season due to her compassionate and sweet personality.

Jenn Tran is Vietnamese American, making her the first Asian Bachelorette, and first Asian lead of any “Bachelor” franchise season. 

“Growing up, I’ve always wanted to see Asian representation on TV,” said Tran, in response to this historic moment, “And I feel like it was really sparse. Any time Asians were in the media, it was to fill a supporting character role, to fulfill some sort of stereotype, and I always felt boxed in by that. And now to be here today, standing in this position being like, I am going to lead my own love story. I am going to be the main character in my story, I just can’t help but think about how many people I’m inspiring and how many lives I am changing.” 

“The Bachelor” franchise has faced controversy in the past and criticism due to its lack of diversity and racism scandals. In the 21 years the show has been on air, there have only been two other leads of color, Matt James and Charity Lawson. During James’ season, there was controversy that the show had perpetuated racial stereotypes in James’ storyline after he spoke out about how his father, who is Black, was presented as an absent father. The former host, Chris Harrison, exited the show after he defended Rachel Kirkconnell, a contestant on James’ season, who had attended a party at a plantation and liked social media posts with the Confederate flag in them. 

For many years, the cast of “The Bachelor” has been overwhelmingly white and homogenous. I can remember watching prior seasons with majority white and stereotypically beautiful contestants, many of whom were former pageant contestants or NFL cheerleaders. Of course, the contestants themselves did nothing wrong. The fault lies with the casting and production. The lack of racial, body type and socioeconomic diversity in the shows remains exceedingly obvious. Over the past few seasons, there has been greater racial diversity, but often these contestants have been given unequal storytime editing and screen time. Jokingly, I’ve often mentioned to my friends that it seems like they only keep the Asian contestants on long enough to be tokenized before the white lead chooses another white contestant at the end. 

Not only are there issues with a lack of diversity in “The Bachelor,” but there are also issues of cyberbullying and harassment that contestants of color experience from fans and online users. Social media following can be viewed as a proxy for fans’ support for certain contestants, and white contestants see a greater growth in following after being on the show than contestants of other races, according to Bachelor Data. In addition to unequal support from fans, many contestants have faced online hate and racism. Rachel Nance, a contestant on Graziadei’s season who finished in the top three and is African and Filipino American, spoke out about the racially motivated hate she’s received from fans. Nance said, “I was nervous to talk about it because I know some people feel uncomfortable when they hear that racism is still going on in 2024. But I think people need to sit in feeling uncomfortable because, how do you think I feel getting those messages?”

It’s easy to write off the show’s casting and historic decision as trivial since, after all, it’s just a reality show. However, as an Asian woman, I believe that this moment is important and that more people should take notice of it. As Jenn Tran pointed out, Asians are overlooked in almost all forms of media, and when they are portrayed, they’re often stereotypical or relegated to supporting roles. I think it’s important for an Asian-American woman to finally be a star in her own story rather than a token who is overshadowed by white voices. I’m excited to see how her journey plays out and am hopeful that her season will be a turning point for reality TV to showcase more Asian contestants. 

You can catch the new season of “The Bachelorette” on ABC airing on Jun. 1, 2024. 

“The Bachelor” is a romantic game show in which an eligible bachelor tries to find love by eliminating contestants. Fans of the popular television series are delighted to witness the new season with a unique twist. The latest installment features Gerry Turner, a father from Indiana, who at 72 years old holds the record for the oldest bachelor on the series. In the first episode of the season, Turner said among the 16 eligible women, he’s hopeful to find his future partner.

The first episode opened with a heartbreaking monologue from Turner, detailing the loss of his wife due to a bacterial infection. Throughout the episode, you get to meet a man desiring a second chance at finding someone with whom he will spend the rest of his life, and also all of the women competing for that special spot in his heart. Due to the number of contestants and the creativity that each one brought to the show, it was clear from the start that this would be a tough competition. From tear-away costumes to a surprise motorcycle entrance, everyone is brought their all.

 So far, the series has been well-received with some reviews like “…make sure you tune in” and  “Completely obsessed” from social media users. I found this first episode outstanding and it seems like the type of show that is here to stay for a good while. Not only was there a dramatic rose ceremony, but I also enjoyed a variety of contestants. A notable contestant was a woman named April who brought a calendar full of fabulous pictures of herself and every month was replaced with her name. Another was Jimmy Kimmel’s 83-year-old aunt chippy who heard about the show and wanted to be a part of it. Unfortunately, she slept through the rose ceremony and will not be progressing through the competition.

With “The Golden Bachelor”, not only is it entertaining to see romance unfold, but also to witness the rivalries and dramas as they blossom between the contestants. Some significant challenges with the stigmas behind dating later in life will certainly present themselves in the future of the show. Not only will “The Golden Bachelor” show that it’s never too late for love to prevail, but it shows how exciting and beautiful people are in their “golden years” despite negative representation. It is certain that viewers will be treated to an exciting and unpredictable plot, with some surprising twists and turns. The previews show an absolute emotional rollercoaster including plenty of tears between Turner and the contestants. As the season progresses, romances and rivalries are sure to escalate.

When people think of “The Bachelor” on ABC, they think of pretty dresses, sobbing women, petty drama, more sobbing women and fake heterosexual romance. One thing that isn’t included on this list is diversity – but that shouldn’t be a surprise.

“The Bachelor” is a show ripe for comedic pickings. “Saturday Night Live” has parodies of this show, including skits entitled “Virgin Hunk” – a parody of Colton, whose gimmick as a bachelor was that he was a virgin –, “Bland Man” – making fun of perhaps every bachelor that show has ever had – and many others. 

One common thread linking almost every Bachelor-related skit on “Saturday Night Live” is their repeated mentions of race. In the cut-for-time skit “New Bachelorette,” ABC flaunts their new progressive perspective on the show by including a black bachelorette. During the skit, almost every contestant is white and makes crude, insensitive remarks about black people in an attempt to be relatable to the black bachelorette. In other skits, Asians are mentioned to be minimally part of the script. While “Saturday Night Live” does this as part of their comedy sketches, there’s more truth to them than meets the eye.

A similarity between the “Saturday Night Live” skits and the actual show is that every bachelor has been white. In the almost two decades that “The Bachelor” has been around for, why has there never been a bachelor of color? In perhaps one of the most radical attempts of inclusivity in the franchise’s history, they chose a black bachelorette, Rachel Lindsay.

There has been little reference to the LGBTQ+ community in “The Bachelor” franchise. In some aspects it makes sense. If there’s a gay bachelor with male contestants, who’s to stop the contestants from getting with one another? On that argument, how has there been zero bisexual or pansexual relationships between two contestants? 

The closest the franchise has gotten to LGBTQ+ inclusivity was in the 2019 season of “Bachelor in Paradise.” In this season they brought back Demi, who was revealed to have a girlfriend between seasons. However, this girlfriend has never been on any season of “The Bachelor” – until she was chosen to be in Bachelor in Paradise. She was the first contestant to be on this show with no prior experience with the franchise. Why else would she be on this season, save for the forced diversity two lesbians would create? I’m all for inclusivity here, but bringing someone who has never been part of the franchise is pushing it.

The only example of true LGBTQ+ inclusivity was on “The Bachelor Vietnam,” during which two female contestants left the show together and are still in a deeply committed relationship to one another. American Bachelor, take notes!

One black bachelorette, a handful of contestants of color, and one instance of LGBTQ+ inclusivity – which hardly counts –isn’t enough to promote diversity in a show of this magnitude. With this statement out of the way, let’s examine one of the biggest complaints by fans in The Bachelor history: when Mike Johnson was not chosen to be the next bachelor.

Johnson was on Hannah Brown’s season of “The Bachelorette” and became popular almost instantly. He didn’t win and was instead slated to appear on the following season of “Bachelor in Paradise.” This move completely deconfirmed his status as the next Bachelor, and the position was given to “Pilot Pete” instead. I don’t need to tell you that Pete is white. 

Johnson revealed his disappointment with this decision during an interview on the “Bachelor Happy Hour With Rachel and Ali” podcast, stating that he wanted the role because it was “bigger than [him] and [he] wanted to represent for all people of color.” He goes on to say that “The Bachelor” needed an Asain Bachelor, an Indian Bachelor and more people outside of “just black and white.” He admits that he did audition to be the Bachelor and completely wanted to be the next Bachelor. And yet, despite what would have been a groundbreaking move, ABC chose yet another white Bachelor.

So how do we make “The Bachelor” franchise more open and inclusive? The network ought to pick more diverse people to appear on their shows in more ways than just contestants. They should offer better support to couples in the “Paradise” series, especially with the potential LGBTQ+ pairings. While LGBTQ+ people will likely not fit into the standard “Bachelor” and “Bachelorette” series, the Bachelors and Bachelorettes need to be racially diverse. We live in a diverse society, so why should our reality television shows not be a reflection of the society we live in?

Your first interaction with it was by chance. Maybe your mom had it on the living room television or your best friend invited you to a viewing party. Perhaps you saw a tweet and decided to play an episode using your sister’s Hulu login information.

You told everyone that you watch the show only to make fun of it. You feel a wave of shame every time you tune in. Slowly, you get invested. You are devastated when your favorite goes home. You follow several contestants on Instagram and listen to a podcast recap after every episode.

Without you even realizing it, you’ve become addicted to “The Bachelor.”

Don’t worry – you aren’t alone. An average 7.8 million people viewed “The Bachelor” every Monday night of Arie Luyendyk’s 2018 season. Many Bachelor alums have over a million followers on Instagram and have built careers on social media. Talk show hosts such as Ellen Degeneres and Jimmy Kimmel have popular segments recapping and referencing ABC’s hit reality dating show.

The premise is pretty simple: 30 stunning and eligible women – or men, if it’s “The Bachelorette” – go on elaborate dates all around the world with an attractive lead of the opposite sex. Each week, the lead gives out roses to those they would like to continue dating. Camera crews constantly track the contestants to catch all the drama – and there’s a lot of it.

30 contestants living together with no technology or entertainment who are competing for the same significant other makes middle school seem like a peace rally. The two-month filming period ends with one of the two final contestants getting engaged to the lead.

Yes, it is ridiculous.

I watched my first season of a Bachelor franchise show 10years ago. It was Jillian Harris’s season of “The Bachelorette” and I was 9-years-old. Do I recommend parents allow their 9-year-olds to watch “The Bachelor”? Maybe not, but I do think that those who choose to watch “The Bachelor” should not be shamed.

I have always felt a lot of guilt for enjoying “The Bachelor.” It makes me laugh and is something I get excited about, but for what price? The show objectifies both men and women. It reinforces the idea that a fairytale relationship – the type that pop culture teaches us that we need to be happy – must be heterosexual. In all 22 seasons of “The Bachelor” there has never been an African-American or Asian lead.

These are serious flaws that the show should correct, but “The Bachelor” does have some good going for it.

Watching “The Bachelor” is a great way to connect with other viewers. In Becca Kufrin’s season of “The Bachelorette,” contestant Blake Horstmann discussed his experience of being in a school shooting. Contestant Caelynn Miller-Keyes talked in detail about being sexually assaulted on the Jan. 28 episode this season. Both of these instances brought attention to important current issues and sparked conversation.

This season’s Bachelor is Colton Underwood. Episodes have involved many scenes of the football player showering and tons of entertaining drama. He is a virgin and while I have been annoyed with the amount of time spent discussing this highly personal fact, it has lead to more fans discussing the stereotypes around virginity after the episode ends.

I like to listen to “Here to Make Friends,” a HuffPost podcast hosted by Emma Gray and Claire Fallon, after every episode. The podcast lightheartedly laughs about things that happen on the show and discusses feminism fails. It strikes a good balance between silly chatter and social consciousness.

The Bachelor is not without faults. However, there is fault in judging those who enjoy watching the television show. Nobody should feel guilty for taking a few hours every week to relax and watch consenting adults build genuine friendships and relationships. By using the show to start conversations about our society’s views on romance and gender, viewers can get some good out of a show that has the possibility to be more than just a guilty pleasure.