ABC executive producer Rob Mills is opening up about The Bachelor‘s low ratings for Matt James’ season. This season, the show isn’t getting nearly as many views as it previously has. Additionally, Mills discusses the potential diversity of The Bachelor viewers.
The ABC show and its many spin-offs have been pretty popular for years. The Bachelor is currently on its 25th season. So, there’s been plenty of time for it to gain viewers’ attention.
The past two weeks of the show saw fewer than 5 million viewers. These views are much lower than expected.
Rob Mills predicts higher ratings in near future
In an interview with Variety, Mills explained what he expects to happen later on. He says, “I actually think you’re going to see ratings rise more exponentially than you would during previous seasons because people are going to start talking about it and word-of-mouth is going to kick in.”
Additionally, the views may be delayed due to more people watching the show on streaming platforms, such as Hulu, the next day. Live views may be down for that reason in particular.
Matt James is a Bachelor Nation rookie
When it comes time for new Bachelor and Bachelorette leads to be cast, they’re typically chosen from previous seasons of the show. For example, previous Bachelor lead Peter Weber was a contestant on Hannah Brown’s season of The Bachelorette.
This time, James was chosen independently. He’s friends with Tyler Cameron, who was a contestant on Brown’s season too. But, other than that, James has no obvious ties to the franchise.
Mills comments on this, saying, “We’re sort of starting on a blank page, which I think is good. It’s definitely great to have the connective tissue over several seasons, but then I think it’s good to start a new chapter.”
Matt James is the first Black Bachelor lead
Mills then opened up about how the show hadn’t previously featured a Black Bachelor lead. Rachel Lindsay was the lead on The Bachelorette in 2017. At the time, she was the only Black lead that the franchise had seen.
Mills explains, “We’ve been very public about our shortcomings and how we have to really do better, and we’re certainly trying. Starting with Rachel as our first diverse lead, hopefully now, we are really showing a person of color that, ‘This is a show for me,’ where gosh, I hate to say that even five years ago, that probably wasn’t the sentiment.”
Going forward, Mills hopes that a more diverse cast will bring in a more diverse audience. People often want to see themselves in the shows they watch and the books they read.
Mills doesn’t seem to understand why viewers wouldn’t want to see a diverse cast, but he says, “So, if we happen to be aging out because people don’t want to see more diversity, well then, they’re missing out and they’re going to out of the demo soon anyway, and it will certainly allow the franchise to have a much longer lifespan.”
So, have you been watching Matt James’ season of The Bachelor? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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