Things are not going well for Matt James, the first Black ‘Bachelor’ in franchise history. Ratings are so low that ABC executives are searching to find an answer to the ratings dilemma.
ABC named Matt as The Bachelor to add diversity to the franchise. But rumor has it that Matt and his roommate of many years, reality TV personality and model Tyler Cameron, are lovers.
While some women expressed an interest in dating bisexual men, not all women are there yet.
The Bachelor‘s TV ratings have been under 5 million viewers for the past two weeks. But ABC executive Rob Mills is not concerned about the low ratings. He said the ratings will rise once women get to know Matt better.
“I actually think you’re going to see ratings rise more exponentially than you would during previous seasons because people are going to start talking about it and word-of-mouth is going to kick in,” Mills told Variety.com.
Mills said producers are looking into “every single reason” why The Bachelor‘s ratings are so low.
“When the numbers are down, we look at every single reason, but I certainly think it’s more to the fact that people are just getting to know Matt,” he explained.
“It’s the first time in so long we have someone who has no connection to the franchise whatsoever, and when you have a Bachelor who comes through that season, everybody knows who this person is and what their story is and wants to watch them get their turn, after seeing them get their heart broken on TV.”
Matt was previously cast on Clare Crawley‘s season of The Bachelorette. ABC pulled Matt and offered him The Bachelor lead. Matt was announced as the new Bachelor star in June 2020.
