The Bachelor Nation knows that Colton Underwood is the next Bachelor, and fans have some questions and concerns.
Chris Harrison has come forward to address at least some of those worries. He promises that fans will have a good time.
He shares how the show plans to tackle Colton’s virginity — and how this season’s Fantasy Suites will be very special.
At the New York premiere of A Simple Favor on Monday. September, 10, Chris Harrison told Entertainment Tonight about why they picked Colton.
“No matter what we say, if we said Jason, if we said Blake, it doesn’t matter,” Chris admits. “There’s going to be backlash, that’s the way social media works these days.”
In case you’re wondering why so many celebs keep saying problematic stuff, it’s that exact attitude and an inability to distinguish between trolls and actual feedback.
“Colton’s going to be good TV, and that is the reason we chose him,” Chris explains bluntly.
That sounds very honest.
Chris then cracks a joke that will honestly sell more viewers on Colton than anything else: “He probably won’t have his shirt on after night one, so it’s going to be a good season.”
Chris does admit that the fans aren’t sure if Colton is ready for marriage.
And, as Chris says, “that’s the whole point of the show.”
Looking for candidates for marriage is the whole point of The Bachelor franchise. Finding out if Colton is ready for it is the point of this season, we guess.
“Maybe at the end of it, he’s not, and it’s a complete disaster,” Chris says. “That’s the way it goes, that’s life”
Chris does address that the Fantasy Suite is going to be a little more intriguing since Colton has never banged before.
“Well, this year, because I know he’s the Bachelor, I brought in props,” Chris jokes.
His joke continues: “So there’s going to be a big presentation of what happens in the fantasy suite [with] 3D models.”
That sounds painfully awkward. Fortunately, to make sure that we know (we hope) that this is a joke, Chris continues.
“It really gets interesting,” Chris says. “And I’m going to bring my son in as well, who is a teenager, so I can knock out the talk.”
If you haven’t had the talk with your teen yet, they already got it from their friends. But, again, Chris is joking. We hope.
Chris does take a slightly more serious tone as he discusses the implications of Colton Underwood’s virginity.
“No, but it’s part of the storyline, the fact that Colton’s a virgin, clearly,” Chris affirms.
“How will the women react to that?” Chris asks rhetorically. “How is he going to handle that?”
That’s a good question. And, of course, we already got a taste of that narrative after the episode aired in which Colton confessed to Becca.
“It’s something that he’s obviously dealt with his entire life,” Chris reminds viewers. “And he got emotional about it.”
Chris mentions how Colton spoke “about when he was in the NFL and having to fake it.”
Actual locker room talk, for Colton, involved pretending that he’d had sexual experiences that he had not.
“So, we are going to deal with that,” Chris says. “We’ll dive into that.”
We’re sure that they will.
So we suppose that Chris Harrison’s pitch for Colton’s season is: Come for the shirtless eye candy, stay for the virginity drama.
Will it work?
For the network, it’s a gamble. Especially if someone comes forward and claims that Colton has been lying about his virgin status.
Fans have already been warned that Colton is a selfish jerk who may be more interested in fame than finding love or marriage.
Some think that, after Arie, the network should have gone with the most trustworthy, non-controversial pick that they could.
Others say that people are simply being unfair to Colton. We’ll all find out together.
