1. The Proposal
What it is: A “spin-off” of the ABC juggernaut The Bachelor in which audiences don’t have to wait two months to see if the two people will get engaged. In this show, a handful of “contestants” vie for the attention of one, anonymous suitor, and could possibly become engaged at the end of the episode.
The yuck factor: Pretty high. Even as a fan of reality dating shows, this one is pretty gross. It’s designed to satisfy our very short attention spans, and the likelihood of these two partners making it through the end of the week is very low.
It’s produced by Mike Fleiss, Bachelor franchise creator and showrunner, so it will look and feel very familiar to fans. However, all illusion of the “right reasons” or the “journey” are dispensed in lieu of the instant gratification of the getting the payoff before any of the obligatory romance.
Even a hopeless optimist like myself can’t really get on board with the premise, as it doesn’t even pretend to honor commitment or love itself. That doesn’t mean I won’t watch it, but I will definitely feel gross about it the whole time.
Where and how: The show premiered on ABC June 18th, following its predecessor The Bachelor.