Will the Bachelor Franchise Give Asians Their Flowers?

I was a latecomer to The Bachelor franchise. It was the first year of COVID,  we’d gotten past the lockdown stage but it meant that new scripted content had dried up. So naturally, my husband and I turned to the backlog of Bachelor episodes on streaming services to keep the drama alive and well. That’s how it works, right? Either way, we were hooked and took enjoyment in watching every bloated episode of “starting to fall in love”-isms. 

I think part of our viewing enjoyment was being detached from the real time drama that unfolds between each week of an episode’s release. We could speculate in our own little bubble how serious Greg was about Katie or if Becca regretted not choosing Blake. Reality dating shows have long struggled with addressing social media. Should they focus on what was presented during the show or touch on the narrative created outside of the show on social media? It’s a tricky balancing act. Just ask Vanessa Lachey after the season 4 reunion of Love is Blind. The Bachelor franchise, which includes The Bachelorette; Bachelor in Paradise; The Golden Bachelor; and soon to be The Golden Bachelorette iteration to air this fall, is no exception to this. In fact, The Bachelor franchise first piqued my interest when Season 13 Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay published her article on being the first black person to lead the franchise and the challenges and failed expectations that came with that. This coincided with the surfacing of photos of Season 25 Bachelor contestant Rachel Kirkconnell attending an Antebellum-themed party. At that time, The Bachelor was airing Season 25 with Matt James, their first black man to lead the franchise. I followed these headlines loosely as it made the pop culture news rounds but I still brushed off the show, thinking that it was something not worth investing in, as ultimately, this was a dating show by white people, made for white people. 

Cut to March 2024, and I have now become well versed in the Bachelor universe, having now watched 8 Bachelor seasons and 10 Bachelorette seasons. I have my favorite contestants (Gabby Windey), favorite seasons (Tayshia Adams’s half of The Bachelorette), and honestly look forward to whenever Jesse Palmer pops up to do some hosting. I had found my trashy T.V. , my guilty pleasure, the thing I can turn on to turn off my brain. It was supposed to just be something I could watch and that’s it. But to be a part of Bachelor Nation is more than that. 

Bachelor Nation is known to dig. No matter how beloved or trivial a contestant, they will find something that could move the dial in a devastating way. Some of it hilarious, like Season 28 Bachelor contestant, Daisy Kent, being a part of a music video, featuring the poetic lyrics of “I think I’m better and I don’t give a f*ck now / So you can lick on my sack suck my nuts now / That ain’t no fossil, oh bitch this a bust down / I feel alright ain’t dark like the sundown”. While some are worth discussing like Season 19 Bachelorette contestant Erich Schwer dressing up as Jimi Hendrix in blackface for a Halloween party; which the show ultimately ignored during their finale because Schwer ended up being Gabby Windey’s choice and the show needed their happy ending since co-Bachelorette lead Rachel Recchia’s choice ended up cheating before they could even air the finale. While not ultimately a part of the show, I do view it as supplemental material that either enhances or informs my viewing. Bachelor Nation has done my research for me so that I don’t have to. But there’s only so much I can consume. I’m not one to engage in the comments, whether it’s reading them or writing them. Whatever Bachelor Nation has found, I get nice little summaries of it from my favorite recaps such as The Ringer’s podcast Bachelor Party and YouTube channel Bachelor Fantake. 

The latest season to air this year, Season 28 of The Bachelor starring Joey Graziadei seemed to reignite Bachelor Nation’s love for their leads. Off the heels of the very successful debut of The Golden Bachelor, despite the fallout of Gerry Turner post the show’s airing, Bachelor producers capitalized on the moment and it seemed that everyone fell in love with Graziadei. Heck, I did too! I mean the emotional intelligence and the way he looks at you! With all eyes on the bachelor, it meant that close attention was also paid to the Bachelor contestants. Nothing too disparaging was found, with the exception of the already mentioned Kent music video, but that’s more unfortunately hilarious than damning. Instead, the discourse came well into the season, when fan favorite, Maria Georgas asked Graziadei for a moment to speak to him privately just as the final 3 rose ceremony was about to begin, and when Goergas came back to join the rest of the women, fellow contestant Rachel Nance asked, “What was that about?”. Out of context, this seems like a simple enough question, and even watching the moment play out, there was nothing to clock. In fact, what I found to be slightly irritating was Georgas’s response to Nance, “I’ll tell you one day.” But Bachelor Nation perceived this differently. Immediately attacking Nance, not necessarily for what she did (ask a question), but for who she was (half Black/half Filipino). I don’t gotta say it but this is where I mention that Goergas is a white woman. Call me biased but Nance was my favorite contestant on Season 28 of The Bachelor.  Sure, partly because she’s Filipino, but she also seemed like a really cool, chill, no fuss kind of gal. As down to earth as a person can be considering they decided to be on a reality T.V. show. The kind of woman I want to be. When she made it all the way to hometowns, I was fist pumping over her teaching Graziadei how to greet her parents with mano po and her saying she likes the fattier parts of the lechon. This was exposure to a culture for a viewership that is predominately white. I was thrilled! So it saddened me when the Women Tell All aired with a segment where host Jesse Palmer discusses the racist comments fired at Nance over social media. Hearing her repeat what had been slurred at her reinforced to me that Bachelor Nation still isn’t accepting of a black lead and is not ready for an Asian lead. This show that I love to indulge in, will continue to be ruled by whiteness.

So to my surprise, and most likely disappointment of Bachelor Nation, Jesse Palmer announced the next lead of The Bachelorette, Vietnamese-American Season 28 Bachelor contestant Jenn Tran as the franchise’s first ever Asian-American lead. It’s been made public that Tran was not the first pick (Maria Georgas), nor was she even the second (Daisy Kent). This is also reinforced by the casting of Tran’s men, predominantly virtually white men with just one Asian man. While Tran does not have to date a fellow Asian, it shows how little Bachelor producers have thought this through. Pre-casting under the assumption that surely one of the 2 fan favorites from the top 3 will say, “yes” but then having to pivot to a contestant who placed fifth and focusing on the historic casting of it all to try and gain brownie points worries me.

I must admit, I was also skeptical of Tran’s casting and I felt guilty over that. Shouldn’t I have been thrilled that there was meaningful representation for a show that caters to whiteness? But I was placing unrealistic expectations on Tran that I wouldn’t have any other lead. Watching her Bachelorette announcement segment started out on a high that quickly deflated as Tran failed to meet what my expectations were for Asian representation. In a quick effort to make Jenn relatable, producers went with the “Fun Jenn” angle where she’s just a gal who wants to have a good time and will ask for shots to get the party started. To me, it came off as someone not ready to take on the responsibility of being the first Asian-American to lead this franchise. It’s always tough to be the first in something where barriers need to be broken. You need to be so many things for a marginalized group of people that contains a multitude of perspectives and values. By already dismissing Tran as not my type of Asian, I missed sight on what she was trying to achieve and move forward for the Asian American community. I projected my own baggage of having to prove myself in white spaces. She doesn’t have to be all the things, she just has to be herself, which looking back at that announcement segment, she already was doing. That in of itself is progress. We can also let loose, have a good time, and also still bear the weight and responsibility of what it means to be an Asian-American, a child of immigrant parents, a woman of color, and more all at the same time.

Tran has mentioned in interviews, “I just never saw herself as a main character.” A sentiment that I connect to deeply. Growing up in the 90’s, there wasn’t much Asian representation in the television or movies I watched. And now, as an adult, trying to carve my spot in acting, I’m constantly trying to prove to casting that I’m worth it. That I can be that person you cast as your lead because my voice is worth hearing.

Tran will now do the same as The Bachelorette premieres tonight. Like the many Bachelorette leads before her, her journey of love begins as she meets the men and hands out roses until the final rose that leads to engagement. She’s going to do it her way and America will watch every week, captivated by the choices she’ll make.

Bring on the Jenn-ergy. 🌹