The Bachelorfranchise has struggled with its casting in the last few seasons, but its most recent blunders have proven that itneeds an entirely new casting team, as its current one doesn’t care about the leads. AlthoughThe Bachelorhas been running since 2002, the most recent seasons of the series have seen an uptick in the leads of the shows coming out of their seasons unhappy or blindsided. WithThe Bacheloretteseason 21having surrounded Jenn Tran with a cast of men who ranged from slightly uninterested to literal criminal, the franchise is having problems throughout its shows.
While the long-running franchise has produced many successful couples, there have been some major red flags in the contestants of the last few seasons that aremakingBachelorNation beg the question: are these contestants being background checked?ThoughThe Bachelorproducers have shared that they background check their contestants, it’s clear that either the checks aren’t thorough, or there are incidents they’re not concerned about. With issues coming out ofThe Bacheloretteseason 21 winner Devin Strader andThe Golden Bacheloretteseason 1 contestant Gil Ramirezin just the last few weeks, producers have a lot to answer for.
Casting Has Been Abysmal For Recent Bachelor Franchise Shows
WhileThe Bachelorfranchise has had a history of questionable casting choices, the issues that have come up in recent seasons have more to do with the safety of the leads than ever before. DuringThe Bacheloretteseason 21, Jenn’s font-runner Devin seemed to be more of a villain than a hero, but his penchant for starting drama didn’t seem to be a major red flag until after the season ended. When Jenn and Devin appeared onThe Bachelorette: After The Final Roseand explained they’d split up,Devin’s behavior toward Jenn was lackluster, givingBachelorNation pause.
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When viewers and spoiler accounts dug around to check on his past,Devin’s criminal history was shocking. With a restraining order against him from an ex who he was physically and mentally harmful toward,Devin was a dangerous person in the past and shouldn’t have been cast onThe Bachelorettebecause of it. WithThe Golden Bachelorettegetting started, viewers checked into the cast members on the show as well and found that another contestant, Gil, had an even more recent restraining order against him, leading ABC to share they’d be editing him out of future episodes.
Poor Casting Proves The Franchise Doesn’t Care About Leads
The Producers Aren’t Protecting The Leads
Although everyone has a past and many deserve second chances,Devin and Gil having restraining orders against themfrom ex-partners is enough to giveBachelorNation pause. Casting people who have been in relationships where they’ve instigated hurtful or harmful behavior, especially if it comes up on a background check, is a questionable practice. While they may be changed, casting them despite the issues provesThe Bachelorproducers don’t care about their leads in the way they claim to. If production actually cared about the leads,they would be casting contestants who didn’t have histories of violent or harmful behavior.
The Bachelor Franchise Needs To Find A New Way To Vet Their Cast Members
The Casting Team Needs To Be Replaced
At this point,The Bachelorfranchise needs to make some major changes to continue to have the trust of its audience. WithDevin and Gil being examplesof just a few of the more harmful casting choices they’ve made in recent years, they’re only the tip of the iceberg.There needs to be a change in howBachelorproducers choose the people who join inon the journeys of a lifetime for their leads, and it needs to happen now. There needs to be better ways to vet cast members who joinThe Bachelorand its spin-offs in the future.
Source:The Golden Bachelorette/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.
