The Bachelor is an American romance and relationshipmultimedia franchise which began with thereality television seriesThe Bachelor in 2002 and now includes multiple spin-off television series, a podcast network, a website, live tour, and more.

The franchise has been financially successful, bringing in $86 million in advertising revenue alone in 2017.^[1]

The Bachelor revolves around a single bachelor who begins with a pool of romantic interests from whom he is expected to select a wife. During the course of the season, the bachelor goes on group and one-on-one dates to get to know the candidates, and eliminates some of them each week, eventually culminating in a marriage proposal to his final selection.

Following the success ofThe Bachelor creatorMike Fleiss producedThe Bachelorette, in which the format is gender-reversed. The bachelorettes are often eliminated contestants fromThe Bachelor. Season 11 ofThe Bachelorette had two bachelorettes (but only for the first episode). Season 16 had two bachelorettes (one for the first half of the season, the other the rest of the season). Season 19 had two bachelorettes for the whole season.

Bachelor Pad premiered in August 2010, giving previous contestants of bothThe Bachelor andThe Bachelorette an opportunity to compete in dating-themed eliminations for $250,000. This summer series lasted three seasons.^[2]

Bachelor in Paradise premiered on August 4, 2014, giving previous contestants of bothThe Bachelor andThe Bachelorette the opportunity to compete for another chance in love in dating-themed eliminations.

Bachelor in Paradise: After Paradise premiered on August 3, 2015 and was a live, weekly talk show that features cast of the series and celebrity fans discussing the most recent episodes of Bachelor in Paradise. The series also featured questions from the audience, deleted scenes, outtakes and exclusive extra content. The talk show was hosted byMichelle Collins and co-hosted bySean Lowe.

Bachelor Live premiered on January 4, 2016, and was a one-hourtalk show hosted by Chris Harrison which aired directly afterThe Bachelor.^[3]

First airing in October 2016 onFreeform,Ben and Lauren: Happily Ever After? showcased the relationship of Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell following season 20 ofThe Bachelor on their plans for marriage and Bushnell's new life in Denver.^[4] The couple eventually parted ways in May 15, 2017.^[5]

On March 20, 2017,The Twins: Happily Ever After premiered on Freeform. The series stars Haley and Emily Ferguson from season 20 ofThe Bachelor and showcases them "saying goodbye to the comfort and luxuries of living under their mom's roof and beginning the hilarious journey of figuring out life on their own while searching for independence and a new career."^[6]

The Bachelor Winter Games premiered on February 13, 2018. The show follows a similar premise to that ofBachelor in Paradise with a few twists. One stand out twist is that the cast is made up of international contestants fromThe Bachelor franchise. All contestants participate in various winter sports in order to win a date card.^[7]Ashley Iaconetti (American) and Kevin Wendt (Canadian) were the winning couple of the first season, after competing in an ice skating dance routine against three other couples.^[8]

The Bachelor Presents: Listen to Your Heart premiered on April 13, 2020. follows single men and women, who are musicians or work in the music industry, hoping to find love through music. The contestants will sing well-known songs, both individually and as couples, and explore their relationships while living together and going onBachelor-style dates that focus on music.^[9]

On April 29, 2020, a 10-episode documentary series titledThe Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons – Ever! was announced. It premiered on June 8, 2020.^[10] It was originally titledThe Bachelor: The Most Unforgettable—Ever! before its name was changed on May 11, 2020.^[11] The series contains recaps of previous seasons ofThe Bachelor andThe Bachelorette and features interviews with former cast members. It is hosted by Chris Harrison.

In January 2020, a casting call was issued for men and women aged 65 and older, for an edition ofThe Bachelor starring senior citizens.^[12] On May 16, 2023, after a 3-year-delay due to theCOVID-19 pandemic,ABC commissioned the first season ofThe Golden Bachelor, to premiere in Fall 2023.^[13]

The weddings ofTrista Rehn (the 1st Bachelorette), Jason Mesnick (13th Bachelor), Ashley Hebert (the 7th Bachelorette), andSean Lowe (the 17th Bachelor) were broadcast as television specials. Rehn's vow-renewal ceremony upon her 10-year anniversary was also broadcast.Bachelor in Paradise season 2 couple Jade Roper and Tanner Tolbert's wedding was also broadcast as a television special in February 2016. In addition, the inaugural couple fromGolden Bachelor, Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist, aired their wedding as a live special,The Golden Wedding, in January 2024.

In 2020, ABC announced plans to produce a summer counterpart ofThe Bachelor Winter Games, which would have presumably aired against the2020 Summer Olympics (just asWinter Games aired against the Winter Olympics). On March 30, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic (which itself caused the 2020 Olympics to be postponed to 2021), it was reported that production of the spin-off had been cancelled.^[14]

The Bachelor Live On Stage was announced on January 23, 2019 during the Men Tell All episode. A local Bachelor would go through group date challenges and coveted one-on-ones with local ladies in the audience. Audience members and hosts would assist the Bachelor.^[15] Ben Higgins andBecca Kufrin are slated to host the 63 stop tour starting in Mesa, Arizona on February 13, 2020 with the final stop in Austin, Texas, was scheduled on May 17, 2020. However due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, half of the shows have been postponed and they were rescheduled to January 24, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio.^[16]

Bachelor Happy Hour is a podcast series hosted byJoe Amabile and Serena Pitt. It was originally hosted byRachel Lindsay andAli Fedotowsky. It premiered on July 19, 2020 and features weekly guests from various Bachelor Nation shows.^[17]

The franchise has launched numerous digital series featuring cast members from the various television shows.

One-on-one interviews with cast members not shown in the television shows.

Expanded video version of the podcast Bachelor Happy Hour.

Deleted and extended scenes not seen in the television show.

Interview series whereYouTube creatorLisa Schwartz interviews various cast members in the back of a limo.

Comedic recap show featuringNick Viall.^[18]

The Bachelor: The Videogame was released in 2010 forNintendo Wii andNintendo DS. It gives players the opportunity to compete in a series of dates inspired by the television show.

Critical reaction to the game was negative.^[19]

  An upcoming season

  No longer airing

Note:

• Reruns of the original American version are also broadcast in Australia onNine Network.
• Originally, the Indonesian show, The Bachelor Indonesia was set to air on NET. based on The Bachelor, Warner Bros. Television deals with the format of the show in collaboration with distribution and production in Indonesia through PT Dunia Visitama Produksi, known under the nameFremantle for the Indonesian version.^{[clarification needed]} However, this show was canceled for an unknown reason. Finally, the show was confirmed to be aired on HBO Asia.^[27]

Cast members featured on the show often gain a large social media following, which in turn creates various sponsorship and employment opportunities once they leave the show.^[38] In recent seasons some cast members have been accused of going on the show specifically for this reason, leading to accusations of "being here for the wrong reasons."

The various television series shoot on location in cities around the world, and promotion from these visits has been coined "The Bachelor Effect." Exposure on the shows has led to increased tourism and economic activity in the locations featured.^[39]

The franchise inspired the fictional showUnReal, which starsShiri Appleby as a youngreality television producer pushed by her unscrupulous boss (Constance Zimmer) to swallow her integrity and do anything it takes to drum up salacious show content.

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