22 years is a long time to keep a reality format going, but The Bachelor has the staying power to double its 28 seasons over the next two decades.
28 seasons is an impressive tenure for any show, but there’s enough intrigue packed into each fresh season of The Bachelor and its spin-offs to provide the franchise with persistent popularity. That popularity only seems to grow with each subsequent season, particularly as the franchise leans into its most popular contestants by bringing them back in various iterations.
The franchise’s most recent Bachelor, Joey Graziadei, was first introduced via The Bachelorette, and his popularity earned the 28-year-old a return via the show’s sister program. The same tactic will see one of his runner-ups, Jenn Tran, receive the same treatment — her loss in season 28 of The Bachelor is The Bachelorette‘s win, as it preps to welcome the 25-year-old to its upcoming season.
Is Jenn Tran set to become The Bachelorette‘s first Asian American lead?
The Bachelorette has been on the air for only eight seasons less than its mega-popular predecessor, and over its 20 seasons on the air the romantic series has seen a range of gorgeous women pass out roses. The announcement of Jenn Tran as the official season 21 Bachelorette is historic for the franchise, however, as Tran serves as the first Asian Bachelorette — specifically, she’s Vietnamese American — in the history of the show.
Previous seasons of The Bachelorette have seen women from various walks of life, and various cultural backgrounds, participate in its unique reality formula, but the franchise’s reliance on a rather typical, white-washed formula is apparent. Its not entirely unknown for women from other backgrounds to cinch a spot as the Bachelorette, but the show is notably slow to diversify its cast. It took until 2017 for the first Black Bachelorette to debut, for God’s sake — and that’s not all. Rachel Lindsay served as the first Black person to helm any series in the entire Bachelor franchise, and it took 21 seasons to happen. Catch up, Bachelor Nation.
With that in mind, Tran’s presence as the first Asian American Bachelorette is all the more impressive. She serves as a necessary step forward for the franchise, and her presence could pave the way for future Bachelorettes from various backgrounds outside of the almost exclusively white pool the show has pulled from thus far.
