HOME / ENTERTAINMENT / TV

Is it time for 'The Bachelor' franchise to have a queer season? Fans sure think so

Recently fans have been hinting that they would like to see the Bachelor franchise have a queer season, or at least a queer couple during Bachelor in Paradise. 

'The Bachelor' season 23 might have come to an end, but that does not mean the franchise's fan following has diminished in any manner. Now with 'The Bachelor' season over, fans have shifted their attention toward 'The Bachelorette' season 15 that will premiere on May 13, and 'Bachelor in Paradise' that recently announced its season 6 will premiere in July. 

Fans have started to show interest in the forthcoming season of 'The Bachelorette' and 'Bachelor in Paradise' as they eagerly wait to see who are the contestants and what drama they might bring during their season. A Monday night filled with drama, confessions and slightly scripted scenes is a guilty pleasure for most fans. 

'The Bachelor' and its other sister series have been known for its heterosexuality. The franchise is so much into its heteronormative love portrayal of a cisgender man proposing to a cisgender woman during the season finale, so much so that anything outside the box is not considered. But recently fans have been hinting that they would like to see the Bachelor franchise have a queer season, or at least a queer couple during Bachelor in Paradise. 

"As a bi woman, I think it would be SO fun (though unlikely) if “The Bachelor” franchise chose to incorporate more representation of queer people. I also feel like it’s odd that, with the several contestants that have come through the show, we haven’t seen more bisexual contestants!" wrote a fan on Reddit. 

Adding to that another fan said, "I think it would be awesome and they would have to have in more of a BIP format. From what I've read, it seems like they very much try to put the contestants in a bubble where they are obsessing and solely focusing on the lead, so even having bisexual contestants would be straying from that strategy as they could end up develop(ing) feelings for other contestants." Another fan wrote, "yeah i’ve been wanting a queer bachelor for a while but you’re totally right! BIP would be so damn perfect. especially cuz you could have a mix of preferences (straight, bi, gay, pan, etc) and get lots of different connections happening. we saw a touch of this on BIP australia and i think it could open a lot of potential. i’m getting excited thinking about it!!!" 

Apart from this, fans also speculate that even if the bachelor franchise does happen to have bisexual contestants, they might be conservative and not open about it because the show's audience might end up scrutinizing them. "I think there probably have been contestants who are bisexual and haven't been open about it because the show's audience tends to skew conservative (middle America) and it's not everyone's desire to reveal their sexuality on TV and open themselves up to scrutiny, especially when  the show they're on is heteronormative." 

If the bachelor franchise ever decides upon having a queer season, the ratings, without doubt, would skyrocket. But before that we will have to see what happens on 'The Bachelorette' when the season premieres on May 13 on ABC with former Bachelor contestant Hannah Brown as the Bachelorette. 

Check your local listings for more information.