Part of the reason that fans tune into The Bachelor (and its sister shows The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise) is to witness the wide spectrum of drama which is sure to unfold in each season. But, man, Peter Weber's time as the Bachelor has offered up more drama in the form of tears, emotional breakdowns, backstabbing, rumors, bad decisions and verbal sparring than anyone could have been expecting. In fact, not only is much of Bachelor Nation attacking Peter for his many poor choices, they're also going after the women of his season for being so mean to each other.
And, a lot of fans have decided that one of the reasons that Season 24 has been so chock-a-block with unbearable drama is the fact that so many of the participants (Peter included) are under 30. In fact, many of the women our Bachelor is trying to woo this year are a (still quite young) mere 23-years-old. Rob Mills, ABC's Senior Vice President of Alternative Series, Specials & Late-Night Programming, was recently asked about the current season and admitted that he can see that fans miss the way the women used to support each other in the mansion.
Mills was then asked if he'd change anything if he could go back and cast this season again, and it sounds like some changes might be afoot as we get into later seasons. Here's what he told Entertainment Tonight:
We’ll look at everything. I don’t think you ever say you’d do anything differently, but I think it’s that we need to look at things going forward. You see a lot of people talking about the age of contestants, I think that’s something we’d probably look at and say, 'Does it need to be aged up? Are these girls ready?' This is a show about hopefully finding a life mate, and that has happened on this show. I think just making sure everybody’s ready, and you can’t ignore the fact that, not even for the right reasons anymore, but are you there to be an influencer? Are you there for Peter? Looking at all that. They all, I think, are very sincere; I think the girls are actually great, but you look at everything and take that into account moving forward as we think about who the next Bachelorette is going to be.
Oh, as a relatively new member of Bachelor Nation who's already quite tired of the obvious emotional youth of so many of the participants, particularly on The Bachelor, just give me a moment to breathe a sigh of relief...AHHHHHHH. OK, I realize that Rob Mills' words here are not an indication of definite change with regards to the cast on upcoming seasons being older, but I do think it would help with several of the issues that people have been having with the show lately.
While Rob Mills did point out the fact that he believes all of the women on Peter's season to sincerely be there to try to find love, he does seem to think that the ages of the contestants may have played a part in the general lack of decent behavior this season. Another negative that's been lobbed at the casts in recent seasons is the appearance of them going on the show just to increase their social media profiles, instead of that being a bonus that might come from looking for their forever love on national TV.
We've certainly seen at least one suitor, Jed Wyatt from Hannah Brown's 2019 season of The Bachelorette, admit to going on the show in the hopes of furthering his music career. And, considering how that giant mess turned out, the number of models, pageant people and other entertainment types who go on the shows and clearly wouldn't turn away a good Instagram influencer endorsement deal has got to have Rob Mills and his team rethinking whether or not people are being honest in their desire to find love in such an odd and public way.
Of course, having said all of this, I, and many fans, do realize that being older won't automatically mean that everyone who goes on The Bachelor or The Bachelorette in the future will be drama free and have no desire to use their social media to sell hair growth serums, diet pills or whatever. But, it sounds like Rob Mills' hope is that it might at least help cut down on the amount of cast members who aren't ready for any kind of romantic commitment, and really don't want one, anyway.
Also, let's not forget that when Rob Mills says "aged up," he might mean that most of the ladies will now be 26, instead of 23. We'll have to see what The Bachelor 2021 will bring, but honestly, at this point, I will take what I can get. Though, I still think it would be a fantastic idea to have everyone be in their mid-30s through mid-40s (Or, go even older. Yes, older! But still a hot and sexy mess!), just to see how the season might play out differently.
In the meantime, we're sure to have some more outrageous drama ahead on Peter's season of The Bachelor. We've been told (several times and by several people) that his season will end like none before it. There have also been some mega-wild rumors floating around about Peter maybe ending up with one of the show's producers, Hannah Brown, or, possibly, even getting one of the women he does not choose to propose marriage to pregnant, so we'll have to wait and see how this televised bundle of bullshit turns out.
You can keep up with Peter, who's down to his last four ladies, Mondays on The Bachelor at 8 p.m. EST on ABC. Once that's done, we'll have the new franchise entry, The Bachelor: Listen to Your Heart this spring, with The Bachelorette (Please pick Natasha!) and Bachelor in Paradise following as usual, so strap in for a year filled to the brim with Bachelor Nation...goodness, I suppose.
For more on what else you can watch right now, check out our 2020 winter / spring premiere guide!
