There's A New Show Coming From 'The Bachelor' Franchise, And Yes, Please
Prepare to be serenaded, Bachelor Nation! The franchise has a new musical spinoff on the way with Chris Harrison at the helm
Listen, it won’t be long before Pilot Pete flies into the sunset with one of the women currently vying for his heart, and then what’s a Bachelor fan to do? Um, count down the days until the franchise’s next series starts a new season, obviously. And while there used to be a pesky gap in between The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, that gap is no more — host Chris Harrison just “officially” announced that The Bachelor: Listen to Your Heart is headed our way on April 13 with him at the helm, no less.
The longtime host took to social media on Monday to confirm his involvement with the intriguing new series, which was first announced on Jan. 8 at ABC’s Television Critics Association winter press tour. It’s hard to imagine how Harrison can squeeze any more Bachelor-related activity into his life but, then again, it was practically impossible to imagine an installment of this highly addictive dating franchise without him steering the ship.
Fortunately, we won’t have to find out what a Harrison-less Bachelor spinoff might look like.
“Hey, Bachelor Nation. Hopefully by now you’ve heard of the exciting new show coming from all of us here at The Bachelor called Listen to Your Heart — think A Star Is Born meets Bachelor in Paradise,” he began a short video message on Instagram. “Yeah, I know… sounds good, right? Well, I’m here to officially announce that I will be hosting this exciting new show. We got a new mansion, new drama, but it’s still also about love. Well, and also this time about music. Can’t wait for the journey to begin.”
Honesty, we’re kind of surprised it took this long for ABC to make a music-themed spinoff. Any self-respecting Bachelor fan who’s sat through one of the show’s super-cheesy one-on-one concert dates likely wondered when hopeful singles and country music would converge into a full-blown tribute to lyrics and love.
The gist of the show is this: 20 single men and women will live together (hello trouble, my old friend) while going on Bachelor-style dates where they put their musical chops to the test. As the season progresses, relationships will be explored and the contestants will begin to pair up. Once that happens, they’ll have to go through musical challenges together — including ones where they’ll be judged by music industry heavyweights. Because intense pressure and scrutiny in the early phases of a relationship always works out so well for everyone.
The duos will be scored on their chemistry, their perceived devotion to each other, and presumably their musical talent to narrow down the competition. Ultimately, only the duo with the highest marks consistently throughout the competition will remain.
When rumors first began circulating about Listen to Your Heart, fans couldn’t help but wonder whether the franchise’s most memorable aspiring country singer, Jed Wyatt, might make an appearance. ICYMI, he became Bachelor Nation’s Public Enemy No. 1 when it came to light that he had a girlfriend while competing on Hannah Brown’s season of The Bachelorette. And, oh yeah, not only did he ghost that girlfriend, but he didn’t come clean with Brown until after they were engaged. Yikes.
But according to Harrison, the new spinoff could help Bachelor fans to see musicians in a more positive light. “We aim to change that,” Harrison told ET of the sordid reputation singers have developed on the show. “Maybe or maybe not. Maybe it proves that musicians are cheaters.”
Sheesh, why don’t you just go ahead and say it, Chris Harrison? This is shaping up to be the “most dramatic” Bachelor spinoff yet.
