Latest / The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast / A Pop Culture Pro Knows Who Should Be The Next Bachelor

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A Pop Culture Pro Knows Who Should Be The Next Bachelor · The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast

0:00
Speaker 1: This is the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast
0:03
Speaker 1: with iHeartRadio.
0:07
Speaker 2: Welcome back to the Almost Famous Podcast. I'm here holding
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Speaker 2: it down today, and my guest is the managing editor
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Speaker 2: who writes Worth the Chat, a pop culture newsletter at
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Speaker 2: Pix Media. Now, I cannot personally wait to hear her
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Speaker 2: thoughts on the Bachelor franchise. We have the perfect person
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Speaker 2: to dive into this with. Let's bring in Meredith Laverne
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Speaker 2: to the pod.
0:35
Speaker 3: Hello. So happy to be here.
0:38
Speaker 2: Meredith, you're obviously somebody we can call an expert. And
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Speaker 2: experts are always fun for me to talk with because
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Speaker 2: I am not an expert. I am somebody that forms
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Speaker 2: opinions based on the information I have. But you have
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Speaker 2: more information than I could ever dream of. Uh, let's
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Speaker 2: start with this before we dive into the bachelor franchise.
1:00
Speaker 2: Another thing that the almost famous listeners are really into
1:02
Speaker 2: right now is the real housewives of Rhode Island. Are
1:05
Speaker 2: you watching?
1:07
Speaker 3: Oh, am I watching? It is the best thing I've
1:09
Speaker 3: seen this year. And like, I saw the odyssey.
1:12
Speaker 2: Oh, let's go.
1:13
Speaker 3: It's, it's so good. Like, are you, what's your experience
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Speaker 3: with Bravo? Like, are you a housewives watcher?
1:21
Speaker 2: Well, I am now. I started because of Rhode Island.
1:25
Speaker 3: Okay.
1:26
Speaker 2: And now I am following along with the ultimate girls trip,
1:30
Speaker 2: road trip.
1:31
Speaker 3: Yeah.
1:31
Speaker 2: Yeah. Kind of celebrating 20 years. And I'm picking up
1:34
Speaker 2: on the ins and outs of the franchise. It's not
1:37
Speaker 2: easy because I think when you miss out on 20
1:39
Speaker 2: years of content, there's a lot to catch up on.
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Speaker 3: Yeah. Well, that's exactly my point though. Like it's the
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Speaker 3: perfect entry point for people. Like, like you said, 20
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Speaker 3: years of housewives, it's overwhelming. You have like 15 seasons
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Speaker 3: to catch up on, which you should because it's iconic.
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Speaker 3: But this, I thought Rhode Island was like the perfect
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Speaker 3: entry point. It's reminiscent of like the OG, you know,
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Speaker 3: Jersey seasons, which are very iconic. It has to me
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Speaker 3: what I think is the most important quality in a
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Speaker 3: new Housewives franchise, which is there's lasting relationships that predate
2:16
Speaker 3: the casting of the show, which I think is so important.
2:19
Speaker 3: And obviously Ashley is coming into a newer friend group,
2:22
Speaker 3: but she has her friends there. And there's the core
2:27
Speaker 3: group that have known each other since diapers, literally since
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Speaker 3: they were born. The families are so entwined. And that's
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Speaker 3: where you get the real drama. So I think it's
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Speaker 3: the perfect entry point. And it's reviving Housewives in general,
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Speaker 3: alongside Salt Lake City, which would be my second recommendation
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Speaker 3: for someone hopping in this late.
2:45
Speaker 2: Did you... I mean, so you're a real Housewives fan. from...
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Speaker 2: It sounds like the beginning. Did you get more or
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Speaker 2: less excited about Housewives Rhode Island because of Ashley?
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Speaker 3: Great. Well, I would say most people were super excited
3:01
Speaker 3: for Dolores as our entry point into Rhode Island, who
3:05
Speaker 3: is from Jersey, someone I love. But for me, it
3:09
Speaker 3: was Ashley I. I mean... people who haven't watched, like
3:14
Speaker 3: for me, you guys are the golden era of The Bachelor.
3:17
Speaker 3: And to me, Paradise, Bachelor in Paradise season two with
3:22
Speaker 3: Ashley and Jared, Jade and Tanner, like that is some
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Speaker 3: of like the creme de la creme of, like any
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Speaker 3: of the bachelor shows. And so like her cry count,
3:33
Speaker 3: the fact that we still have an Ashley, I cry
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Speaker 3: count in 2026. I mean, we're blessed. So I knew,
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Speaker 3: I knew she could. And it's like the fact that
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Speaker 3: Ashley is kind of like the viewer perspective, almost like she's,
3:47
Speaker 3: I hate to use the word like normal. I mean, these,
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Speaker 3: they're like, these women are iconic, but the fact that
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Speaker 3: she's like the voice of reason is so funny to me.
3:54
Speaker 3: Like it just goes to show the characters that we
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Speaker 3: have on the show.
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Speaker 2: I think you said it best. And I would agree
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Speaker 2: with you. She is the voice of reason. And I've
4:03
Speaker 2: worked alongside Ashley for over 10 years now doing this show.
4:09
Speaker 2: And she is a voice of reason. But she also
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Speaker 2: has her moments, especially pre-Jared, where things would go off
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Speaker 2: the rails and you'd be like, hey, come back to Earth.
4:20
Speaker 2: Come back to reality. She doesn't have those as much anymore.
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Speaker 1: Right.
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Speaker 2: She's a mother. But it is interesting how... much of
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Speaker 2: a voice of reason, like how high above the rest
4:32
Speaker 2: at times it feels than the other cast. And I
4:36
Speaker 2: think that brings a great factor. Now I do want
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Speaker 2: to transition this though. You have already mentioned what you
4:42
Speaker 2: feel like are the golden years of The Bachelor. And
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Speaker 2: I think if Ashley was here, I know she would
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Speaker 2: feel this way and I feel this way. And I'm
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Speaker 2: proud to hear that. The show, even though my life
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Speaker 2: has moved on to a marriage and kids and that
4:56
Speaker 2: The Bachelor has very little to do with my day-to-day life,
5:01
Speaker 2: I think it always feels good to know that something
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Speaker 2: that you participated in is viewed at as positive for
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Speaker 2: whatever positive means in that world. Now, we sit in
5:12
Speaker 2: a really interesting season of The Bachelor.
5:15
Speaker 3: To say the least.
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Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, it's been 10 years since I've been
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Speaker 2: on the show. So if the golden years were kind
5:20
Speaker 2: of that 10 years to 15 years ago time period,
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Speaker 2: we are now, I think, at a season that all
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Speaker 2: of us, and even I'm hoping when the producers and
5:30
Speaker 2: the owners of the show listen to this, they kind
5:33
Speaker 2: of agree, it's not the golden years.
5:36
Speaker 3: No. I would go as far to say it's not
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Speaker 3: relevant anymore.
5:40
Speaker 2: And why is that? So for 20 years, this show is...
5:44
Speaker 2: At its peak of relevancy. It is changing culture. It
5:47
Speaker 2: is changing conversations. It's cool within sorority houses. And it's
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Speaker 2: cool for moms and families to sit and watch on
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Speaker 2: a Monday night. When I was on the show, it
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Speaker 2: felt like everybody was watching the show.
6:01
Speaker 3: Yeah, appointment TV, for sure.
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Speaker 2: Not because of who the lead was. I can't take
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Speaker 2: credit for that as much as my ego would love
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Speaker 2: for me to. It just felt like it was kind
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Speaker 2: of a given. Like, you're going to watch The Bachelor.
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Speaker 3: Yeah. It's an event. It's appointment TV. And I mean,
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Speaker 3: there is a sense of like, yeah, with the streaming
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Speaker 3: era and with social media, it's hard to have monoculture
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Speaker 3: events like that. Because everyone's watching on their own schedule and...
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Speaker 3: I think one of the criticisms is, well, everyone who's
6:35
Speaker 3: coming on the show just wants to be famous. Well,
6:36
Speaker 3: it's like, okay, we need to adjust our perspectives there.
6:39
Speaker 3: All of the reality TV shows that we're watching, we
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Speaker 3: want characters who want to be on the show and
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Speaker 3: be vulnerable on camera. And I think someone who is
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Speaker 3: interested in elevating their platform is the person that can
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Speaker 3: do that. I think it would be harder now with
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Speaker 3: how much... comes at you when you're on TV now. Like,
7:00
Speaker 3: I am curious, like from your season, that was like, what, 2015, 2016.
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Speaker 3: We had social media starting back then. Like, did you
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Speaker 3: feel like the brunt of like the comments and the
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Speaker 3: messages like that people throw at you? Like, I feel
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Speaker 3: like it's so much worse today, but I don't know.
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Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, I think we did because it happened
7:24
Speaker 2: so fast. I always say, I don't know if I
7:27
Speaker 2: look back, revisionist history and you say it was worse
7:31
Speaker 2: or better than it was today. I think when you're
7:34
Speaker 2: working in an office in a cubicle and then all
7:37
Speaker 2: of a sudden you find yourself on a television show
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Speaker 2: and you get off this television show and everybody has
7:44
Speaker 2: an opinion about you and you're not You haven't gone
7:48
Speaker 2: through the work to know really your own opinions of yourself.
7:52
Speaker 2: I think it hits hard, right?
7:54
Speaker 1: Yeah.
7:55
Speaker 2: You get your head too big and you get your
7:56
Speaker 2: head too small. You know, you get beat up and
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Speaker 2: you get praised and it's a roller coaster. Over time,
8:02
Speaker 2: you kind of get used to it. I think it
8:03
Speaker 2: still can affect and hurt.
8:05
Speaker 1: Yeah.
8:06
Speaker 2: But you said something there that's interesting. I do think
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Speaker 2: the casting of the show has changed because when I
8:13
Speaker 2: was on it and social media wasn't as big as
8:16
Speaker 2: it is today.
8:16
Speaker 1: Yeah.
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Speaker 3: You weren't guaranteed a platform from it.
8:19
Speaker 2: And it wasn't a financial outlook of changing career paths.
8:24
Speaker 2: I went back to work for two years post me
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Speaker 2: being the bachelor selling software because financially, I couldn't leave
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Speaker 2: my job. It wasn't a gift that says, hey, here's
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Speaker 2: a new path. I do think though, as I was
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Speaker 2: on the two seasons, not only the men I was
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Speaker 2: living in the house with, but then also the women
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Speaker 2: who were a part of that season it was very
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Speaker 2: like i don't i could only pick maybe three names
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Speaker 2: that i thought were on that show to get famous
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Speaker 2: from it or we're going to really soak in the
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Speaker 2: fame you have people like tanner right tanner blew up
9:02
Speaker 2: because of his time on paradise he got married so
9:04
Speaker 2: you have jared Jared is famous by default because his
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Speaker 2: wife is back on Housewives, but he's running a coffee
9:12
Speaker 2: shop every day.
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Speaker 3: Exactly.
9:14
Speaker 2: You go through the list of people there who you
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Speaker 2: knew had just genuine desires to maybe meet somebody or
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Speaker 2: to shake life up a bit, to be open through
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Speaker 2: the process. And I think as a result, America watched
9:28
Speaker 2: and said, I relate to that person at some level.
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Speaker 3: Yeah.
9:32
Speaker 2: I relate with the contestants today, I think.
9:35
Speaker 3: Exactly. I think, but I think we need to like
9:38
Speaker 3: lean into that. You know, I think with, if we
9:42
Speaker 3: look at the shows that are like feeling culturally relevant
9:46
Speaker 3: right now, whether it's, you know, like love Island is
9:49
Speaker 3: a great example. Love is blind. Like, do we think
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Speaker 3: there's going to be these great loves coming out of
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Speaker 3: the show? Like, no, I think it's like acceptance of
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Speaker 3: the rule. If someone is like getting married or, you know,
10:00
Speaker 3: and right now it's all about like clip farming. Like
10:03
Speaker 3: we're all like half the time I'm watching a show
10:06
Speaker 3: on TikTok, like in eight parts. And so if we
10:09
Speaker 3: need these like dramatic character moments and I think I
10:14
Speaker 3: don't know whether it's, you know, because it's ABC and Disney,
10:18
Speaker 3: but they've kind of... Bachelor has had this, like, wholesome,
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Speaker 3: you know, kind of, like, fantasy of falling in love.
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Speaker 3: You know, it's the castles, the helicopters. And I think
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Speaker 3: we need some, like, messy... Relatedly messy. Like, I don't
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Speaker 3: want just, like, chaos for chaos' sake, but I think, like,
10:37
Speaker 3: the real-life grittiness is what we're missing a bit. And I...
10:45
Speaker 3: I think obviously with the Taylor, Frankie, Paul casting, they're
10:49
Speaker 3: signaling to us that they're, well, I don't know if
10:52
Speaker 3: they're really risk averse now after everything that unfolded, but
10:56
Speaker 3: I think that they're willing to take more risks. And
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Speaker 3: I think we should lean into the stunt casting and
11:03
Speaker 3: people that are up for that lifestyle. Like if you
11:06
Speaker 3: were genuinely going to marry a reality TV star or
11:10
Speaker 3: an influencer, like you have to be in that world.
11:13
Speaker 3: And so I think that would be interesting. I don't know.
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Speaker 3: Have you guys thought about like stunt cast if you,
11:20
Speaker 3: if you had to pick?
11:21
Speaker 2: Oh, sure.
11:22
Speaker 1: Yeah.
11:22
Speaker 2: A hundred percent. And I, and I think they tried.
11:26
Speaker 3: Yeah.
11:27
Speaker 2: Didn't work out this time. I think there was probably
11:31
Speaker 2: signs that it might not work out. It was, they didn't,
11:34
Speaker 2: they just, the interesting part about the decision to cast Taylor,
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Speaker 2: Frankie Paul as the lead was, outside of everything else,
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Speaker 2: is they went from being risk-averse to fully diving into
11:44
Speaker 2: the deep end.
11:45
Speaker 3: Swung too far.
11:46
Speaker 2: Swung way too far. It was like, we're trying to
11:49
Speaker 2: hit home runs when we just need a base hit here.
11:52
Speaker 2: You haven't lost your fan base. They just have been
11:55
Speaker 2: disinterested in it because of who's been on the show.
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Speaker 2: This is a good opportunity to shake it up. Do
12:01
Speaker 2: you think when you talk about stunt casting and we
12:03
Speaker 2: talk about the casting process, and you already mentioned it
12:07
Speaker 2: does live on ABC.
12:09
Speaker 3: Yeah.
12:10
Speaker 2: So many shows that we can think of have found
12:12
Speaker 2: really good homes with other networks. And I have this,
12:17
Speaker 2: you know, you think about like Fox revitalizing American Idol.
12:22
Speaker 3: Yeah.
12:23
Speaker 2: Temptation Island was on Fox and then went over to Netflix,
12:26
Speaker 2: which I think is a better home for that. That
12:27
Speaker 2: makes more sense to me today. Yeah. Love Island was
12:30
Speaker 2: on CBS and now on Peacock. I think of The
12:34
Speaker 2: Bachelor and I think it is a Fox show. In
12:37
Speaker 2: a lot of ways, Fox will push the envelope a
12:39
Speaker 2: little bit further than most. And it has the money
12:42
Speaker 2: to still maybe bring in the aesthetically pleasing television show
12:47
Speaker 2: that we all fell in love with. Do you think
12:50
Speaker 2: that would be a good step for them?
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Speaker 3: Well, to me, I think I think we actually a
12:56
Speaker 3: great use like an example is Dancing with the Stars.
13:00
Speaker 3: which you know they're on like season 30 or something
13:02
Speaker 3: it's long-standing it was also on abc they tried to
13:06
Speaker 3: go direct to disney plus um a few seasons ago
13:10
Speaker 3: and now what they're doing is i think kind of
13:11
Speaker 3: like a good uh middle ground is it's it's on
13:15
Speaker 3: abc but it's also like drops immediately on streaming like
13:19
Speaker 3: simultaneously and i think that's we have to evolve to
13:22
Speaker 3: streaming i feel like No one has cable anymore. Like
13:26
Speaker 3: my parents, my grandma doesn't have cable anymore. Like we're
13:29
Speaker 3: all streaming. And I think that's part of that. Like,
13:31
Speaker 3: how do we get that monoculture back? That event eventizing
13:34
Speaker 3: the show? Is it everyone like it should be watching
13:38
Speaker 3: at the same time or like within the same 24 hours?
13:41
Speaker 3: Because when it drops on ABC on like a Monday night, like,
13:44
Speaker 3: no one is going to watch until the next day
13:46
Speaker 3: on Hulu. And so I still think like, despite the
13:50
Speaker 3: wholesome vibe of Disney, I mean, if you look at
13:52
Speaker 3: some of the other shows, you know, we have Love
13:54
Speaker 3: Thy Nader with Brooks Nader's family, Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, obviously,
14:00
Speaker 3: like they're, you know, they're not, they're not as afraid anymore.
14:02
Speaker 3: They're getting a little bit more, like we said, into
14:06
Speaker 3: like taking some risks on that wholesome level. So I think,
14:09
Speaker 3: I think we just need to do streaming. Like let's,
14:12
Speaker 3: you can keep it on ABC. I know obviously like
14:15
Speaker 3: with commercials and advertisers, like that's important, but let's do
14:19
Speaker 3: it simultaneously on, on Hulu or Disney plus even. I
14:22
Speaker 3: think that'll help.
14:34
Speaker 2: I remember when I was on the show, There is
14:38
Speaker 2: an element here where The Bachelor sees itself, and I
14:41
Speaker 2: actually think it can live in this space, as the
14:44
Speaker 2: reality show that stands apart because it is, at most levels,
14:48
Speaker 2: or used to be, family-friendly. I would hope that when
14:53
Speaker 2: I think back on season 20 of The Bachelor, I
14:56
Speaker 2: don't know what age would be appropriate, but teenagers could
15:01
Speaker 2: be watching this with their parents, and there'd be very
15:04
Speaker 2: few moments where, Where the parents would feel uncomfortable or
15:08
Speaker 2: close eyes or be like, hey, you can't do this.
15:11
Speaker 2: I'm hoping, and I think that that's what the show
15:13
Speaker 2: is really counting on, that this could still be that
15:15
Speaker 2: event television where the families could sit down and the
15:17
Speaker 2: moms and daughters could watch kind of their entry level
15:21
Speaker 2: into reality dating.
15:23
Speaker 3: Right.
15:24
Speaker 2: And so I don't know if they want to lose
15:26
Speaker 2: that demo or maybe they've already lost it.
15:28
Speaker 3: I think they've lost it. I think like, It's a
15:32
Speaker 3: good point. Like with teens, I feel like they're all
15:35
Speaker 3: watching Love Island too. You're not watching with their parents.
15:38
Speaker 3: I think maybe in separate rooms of the house, we're
15:40
Speaker 3: all watching the same thing. But yeah, I think that's
15:45
Speaker 3: a dream. And like with streaming, you can have less
15:48
Speaker 3: of that like consciousness of we need to keep a G.
15:53
Speaker 3: One of the other things that I think actually would
15:55
Speaker 3: be interesting, and I'm curious your perspective as like, you know,
15:58
Speaker 3: being a lead before is like, getting a more of
16:01
Speaker 3: like breaking the fourth wall a little bit more and
16:04
Speaker 3: like getting more of that producer perspective. Like I think
16:07
Speaker 3: back to Caitlin Bristow season, I feel like a big,
16:10
Speaker 3: like marketing driver was like, she's making her own rules.
16:13
Speaker 3: And like, we, we would see her and Nick, like,
16:17
Speaker 3: you know, devise a plan to like go hook up
16:19
Speaker 3: in one of the hotel rooms or like go chat
16:20
Speaker 3: or something. And like, I would have loved to turn
16:23
Speaker 3: the camera and like see how the producers were like, oh, like,
16:27
Speaker 3: oh gosh, like some, get the cameras up. Like, like,
16:29
Speaker 3: you know, then freaking out.
16:31
Speaker 2: Fence jumping. Oh my gosh, yes.
16:33
Speaker 3: Like flip the camera. Like, let's see like what, like
16:37
Speaker 3: how that works. I mean, I'd be curious, like, obviously
16:40
Speaker 3: you want the lead to like feel comfortable and safe,
16:43
Speaker 3: like with their producers, which is definitely relevant right now with,
16:47
Speaker 3: you know, the book going around.
16:50
Speaker 2: So I'd be curious, like, Maybe not that comfortable.
16:54
Speaker 3: Let's have some professionalism.
16:55
Speaker 2: Yeah.
16:56
Speaker 3: But I would like to see, yeah, some of that
16:58
Speaker 3: behind the scenes. Like, let's break the fourth wall a
17:00
Speaker 3: little bit. I think that is an interesting entry point.
17:03
Speaker 2: Well, you know, I think there was a constraint. You know,
17:06
Speaker 2: they wanted to protect the lead.
17:08
Speaker 3: Yeah.
17:09
Speaker 2: And I don't know how many leads. There's been some
17:12
Speaker 2: great ones in the last 10 years. There's also been
17:15
Speaker 2: some duds.
17:16
Speaker 3: Yeah.
17:17
Speaker 2: I think the show is nervous to expose the duds.
17:20
Speaker 2: And I think they have, you know, they've always wanted
17:23
Speaker 2: to control and formulate what the public will see when
17:26
Speaker 2: it looks at the lead of the show, how they're
17:27
Speaker 2: going to root for them, what storyline is going to
17:30
Speaker 2: relate to the viewership. But I'm with you where I
17:34
Speaker 2: almost think let loose. Like if the public is against,
17:40
Speaker 2: you know, some of these people, that's okay. Like that's fine.
17:42
Speaker 2: Show off who they are. Exactly. It was it was
17:45
Speaker 2: and I don't know him personally. It was one of
17:48
Speaker 2: my issues with Grant Ellis's season, which was recent, was
17:51
Speaker 2: it felt like we were getting nothing from or Mel.
17:55
Speaker 2: You know, you go back one season to the Golden Show.
17:58
Speaker 2: I don't think it's them personally. I don't know them personally.
18:00
Speaker 2: I still don't feel like I know them personally, even
18:02
Speaker 2: from watching the show.
18:03
Speaker 3: Exactly.
18:04
Speaker 2: But it felt like it was too curated, curated, protected.
18:09
Speaker 2: formulated and I want to see them, you.
18:13
Speaker 3: Know, be a bit realer. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And it's like,
18:16
Speaker 3: we just, yes, it's the protection and like making it
18:19
Speaker 3: feel like perfect. I think that is exactly the problem.
18:24
Speaker 3: Like we just want, obviously it's reality TV. We're aware
18:27
Speaker 3: that it's not always a hundred percent real, but like,
18:32
Speaker 3: I want more real stakes and like, I want to
18:36
Speaker 3: see them interact. For instance, there's always a moment in
18:40
Speaker 3: every Bachelor season when we're canceling the the cocktail at party.
18:45
Speaker 3: Like we're going straight to the boat. Like, no, like
18:47
Speaker 3: let's have these hard conversations. Let's like air it out.
18:50
Speaker 3: Let's get some content, you know, versus like, I feel
18:52
Speaker 3: like bachelor really lives in like the fluff and the
18:56
Speaker 3: like padding of storylines. Like let's just like be a
19:00
Speaker 3: bit more raw. I think people would really respond to that.
19:03
Speaker 3: Cause it's, it's just, it's real. And I, it's so
19:06
Speaker 3: easy to spot now because all these other shows are
19:09
Speaker 3: really exposing.
19:11
Speaker 2: So many of the moments when somebody asks me, like
19:14
Speaker 2: what are your favorite times from the show? Well, I
19:18
Speaker 2: look back and it's stuff that was never shown, never explained.
19:22
Speaker 2: They're funny. There are human moments, right? Stomach illnesses, or
19:27
Speaker 2: like we're traveling around the world and like somebody's falling
19:29
Speaker 2: asleep because like of jet lag, like those are good
19:32
Speaker 2: moments that we can all say, Hey, I see myself
19:35
Speaker 2: in that person. And I enjoy watching somebody on TV
19:41
Speaker 2: have to deal with this too with, 20 cameras around
19:44
Speaker 2: them and a ton of people.
19:46
Speaker 3: Exactly.
19:58
Speaker 2: One of the conversations I want to get into, I
20:01
Speaker 2: think he's an incredible host. I think he's an awesome dude.
20:05
Speaker 2: Jesse Palmer has stepped in and I think had one
20:08
Speaker 2: of the hardest shoes to fill in any job ever.
20:11
Speaker 2: Chris Harrison was the face of the show. Outside of
20:13
Speaker 2: everybody liking The Bachelor, they watched it because Chris was
20:16
Speaker 2: their comfort, right, in a lot of ways. Jesse steps in,
20:19
Speaker 2: and to his credit, I think he stepped in really
20:21
Speaker 2: well and done great doing it. I think there is
20:25
Speaker 2: this moment where the show has to decide. Jesse hasn't
20:27
Speaker 2: fully became the face. We love him. Do they need
20:31
Speaker 2: to change that up too? Do they need to make
20:33
Speaker 2: it go back to having a female host for one
20:37
Speaker 2: of these shows or maybe having a consistent host that
20:41
Speaker 2: isn't Jesse? Because Jesse, I think, kind of had to
20:45
Speaker 2: fall on the sword for this. He took over.
20:47
Speaker 3: Exactly. It was, it's a lose-lose situation for him. And
20:50
Speaker 3: I think he has done well. Like I wouldn't fault
20:53
Speaker 3: Jesse for any of the like what's.
20:55
Speaker 2: Wrong with Thatcher. I don't want that to come off
20:57
Speaker 2: that way.
20:57
Speaker 3: No, totally. And, but I also don't think any host
21:02
Speaker 3: necessarily would make that big of a difference. I mean,
21:07
Speaker 3: if I think back to, I keep bringing up Love Island,
21:09
Speaker 3: which was like, my whole summer when that started really
21:14
Speaker 3: taking off with season six, a couple of like two
21:16
Speaker 3: seasons ago. And that was when they swapped Sarah Highland
21:21
Speaker 3: for Ariana Maddox, who was fresh off the scandal ball, huge,
21:27
Speaker 3: you know, Bravo banner pump rule scandals. And so it
21:32
Speaker 3: was like a culturally relevant switch. Like, I think like
21:36
Speaker 3: I tuned in to that season of love Island for
21:39
Speaker 3: Ariana and I think it's hard to find that. Like
21:43
Speaker 3: it was kind of like a perfect symphony that lined up,
21:47
Speaker 3: but I mean, I think that would help. I think it's,
21:50
Speaker 3: I think it's cast like, or what if the host
21:53
Speaker 3: is like, I'm going to say like their best friend
21:57
Speaker 3: or something. Like I want to have some rapport with
21:59
Speaker 3: the host that can like, or with the lead that
22:02
Speaker 3: they can actually like kiki about like what's happening organically.
22:06
Speaker 3: And I think that only works. Cause I mean, hosting
22:09
Speaker 3: a show, I mean that, you have to have that skill.
22:11
Speaker 3: So I think that only works when you do stunt casting,
22:13
Speaker 3: like a, like an influencer or another reality show person,
22:16
Speaker 3: someone that can handle the role. But I do think
22:19
Speaker 3: it would be fun if it's like a dynamic that's
22:23
Speaker 3: like super natural and allows them to like open up
22:27
Speaker 3: and be more vulnerable. I think that would be interesting.
22:29
Speaker 2: I agree with you. I mean, I don't want to
22:32
Speaker 2: see Jesse go. I think he is a great host
22:36
Speaker 2: for this show, but it does need, I think I
22:39
Speaker 2: only bring it up because it feels like the show
22:41
Speaker 2: needs some fuel here. It needs something to light it
22:45
Speaker 2: back up again. And if that's a new network, if
22:47
Speaker 2: that's a new host, if that's kind of a new
22:49
Speaker 2: format and concept, all these things are worth talking about
22:53
Speaker 2: as the show supposedly is going to enter into a
22:56
Speaker 2: whole other season of The Bachelor. Two things I want
22:59
Speaker 2: to talk to you about before we let you go.
23:02
Speaker 2: All these other shows we've talked about that have been
23:04
Speaker 2: successful have really gotten behind their talent. and tried to
23:10
Speaker 2: prop them up. The networks have given them other jobs.
23:13
Speaker 2: They've kept them in the timeline, the storyline, so that
23:16
Speaker 2: they continue to point back to the show they came from.
23:18
Speaker 2: The Bachelor has admittedly not done that. They don't necessarily
23:23
Speaker 2: love the idea of building up their talent to become
23:26
Speaker 2: bigger than the show itself or to be viewed at
23:29
Speaker 2: as a brand in itself. In today's world, do you
23:33
Speaker 2: see that being successful or do you think The Bachelor
23:36
Speaker 2: is on the right track where They kind of hold
23:38
Speaker 2: all the leverage. You're successful because of us.
23:42
Speaker 3: And I, I've never understood that. Like, I think the
23:45
Speaker 3: perfect example of that is when Caitlin Bristow came off
23:49
Speaker 3: of being the her dream to be on dancing with
23:51
Speaker 3: the stars and they, they wouldn't let it happen. I don't,
23:55
Speaker 3: I don't get that. I feel like it's, what is
23:57
Speaker 3: that phrase? Like rising tides, raise all ships. Like It's
24:01
Speaker 3: only helping you because it's people investing in the story.
24:04
Speaker 3: I'm sure then that person comes back. I feel like
24:07
Speaker 3: Bachelor does cameos. They'll bring some former Bachelorettes on to
24:12
Speaker 3: give advice or whatever. I feel like that is only
24:15
Speaker 3: going to be helpful for them. I don't know why
24:17
Speaker 3: you wouldn't.
24:18
Speaker 2: I think all of us are asking the same question.
24:21
Speaker 2: There are things that happen post even my time where
24:25
Speaker 2: opportunities were in front of me. I'm like, this could
24:26
Speaker 2: be good for everybody. And they're like, nope, can't do it.
24:28
Speaker 2: And you're like, this... doesn't make sense. One, I don't
24:32
Speaker 2: want to sell software anymore. Please let me go do this.
24:35
Speaker 1: Exactly.
24:36
Speaker 2: Yeah. You know, you don't pay me enough to just
24:39
Speaker 2: retire now.
24:40
Speaker 3: Yeah.
24:40
Speaker 2: And two, it is fun when you are in that
24:44
Speaker 2: like world to take advantage of opportunities and to meet people.
24:47
Speaker 2: And I think their talent would be a lot more
24:50
Speaker 2: appreciative for the show. Yeah. And speak more highly of
24:54
Speaker 2: the show. Exactly. Also, if that was the case, okay,
24:58
Speaker 2: final question for you. Um, there's rumors that they are
25:03
Speaker 2: beginning the casting for, um, the next bachelor season. Is
25:08
Speaker 2: there somebody in your mind right now when we talk
25:10
Speaker 2: about stunt casting or maybe just a single popular person
25:16
Speaker 2: who could carry this franchise as the lead of bachelor season,
25:20
Speaker 2: I believe 30 wild, wild, that comes to mind that
25:25
Speaker 2: you would love to see kind of get put in
25:26
Speaker 2: that place.
25:28
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I've definitely, like, seen the rumors that
25:31
Speaker 3: they're considering someone from Taylor's season, which I think is
25:35
Speaker 3: a terrible idea.
25:36
Speaker 2: I don't get that.
25:37
Speaker 3: Yeah, like, let's start fresh. Yeah. It's, yeah, completely. But
25:42
Speaker 3: I think, I think thinking realistically in the world of Disney, Hulu, ABC,
25:50
Speaker 3: and all of their, you know, cast of characters, I
25:53
Speaker 3: think it would, I have so many, like, women in
25:55
Speaker 3: mind for The Bachelorette. Like, But if we're talking male
26:00
Speaker 3: leads for The Bachelor, I want to see Rob Kardashian
26:04
Speaker 3: come out of hiding. He has, you know, Kardashians are
26:08
Speaker 3: now on Hulu and he has not been in the
26:12
Speaker 3: public eye or even on cameras for that show in years.
26:16
Speaker 3: He's a lover boy. We have seen that. I think
26:19
Speaker 3: that would be, I mean, break the internet. Let's see that.
26:24
Speaker 2: I've never heard that name thrown out here and I
26:26
Speaker 2: love it.
26:27
Speaker 3: I mean, they'd have to shell out so much cash. Like,
26:29
Speaker 3: I don't know how we get Rob on the show,
26:31
Speaker 3: but I think that would be amazing. And then I
26:35
Speaker 3: also think because dancing with the stars is like really
26:39
Speaker 3: like bringing new life into the show and like becoming
26:42
Speaker 3: more culturally relevant. I think, and you know, so many
26:45
Speaker 3: of the bachelor and bachelorette leads are fed into the show.
26:48
Speaker 3: Like let's swap that. Like there are these gorgeous men
26:52
Speaker 3: who are professionals on the show. Like, um, My pick
26:57
Speaker 3: would be Jan, who is he was new last year
27:01
Speaker 3: and he was a heiress to her dancer for Taylor
27:06
Speaker 3: Swift's concert. And now he is a pro on the show.
27:10
Speaker 3: He's so funny personality. He's gorgeous. Like, I think that
27:14
Speaker 3: would be really fun.
27:17
Speaker 2: I like the idea because it's already kind of been
27:20
Speaker 2: talked about just because of the break in The Bachelor,
27:23
Speaker 2: where Dance with the Stars feeds into maybe who the
27:26
Speaker 2: next lead will be, or at least it's an option
27:28
Speaker 2: of this person's done great.
27:31
Speaker 1: Right.
27:31
Speaker 2: It would have been awesome. I think so many wanted
27:33
Speaker 2: to see Robert Irwin take that role. And now, you know,
27:37
Speaker 2: wherever his romantic life is at. But if he would
27:41
Speaker 2: have gotten off Dance with the Stars and then on
27:44
Speaker 2: the finale, he announces, hey, and I'm going to be
27:46
Speaker 2: your next bachelor because I want to meet somebody.
27:49
Speaker 3: Exactly.
27:49
Speaker 2: Goodness.
27:50
Speaker 1: Yeah.
27:50
Speaker 2: Like what? What an amazing success story. Meredith, it's awesome
27:56
Speaker 2: to have you here. Thank you for jumping on. Thank
27:57
Speaker 2: you for being the expert that we need to break
28:00
Speaker 2: down everything pop culture. If you're listening and you just
28:05
Speaker 2: want to stay more informed on things happening and the
28:08
Speaker 2: opinions being shared and the storylines that are being created,
28:13
Speaker 2: it's always worth your time to visit PixMedia.com. You'll learn
28:19
Speaker 2: about the best shows, movies, books, and podcasts there. And again,
28:23
Speaker 2: Meredith is the managing editor. Is that your title?
28:27
Speaker 3: Yep, yep. So we have all of our newsletters that
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Speaker 3: go out. We tell you what's worth your time to watch, read,
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Speaker 3: listen to. And yeah, we just launched Pix Plus, which
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Speaker 3: is our subscription bundle. That's where we're going deep and
28:40
Speaker 3: unfiltered thoughts. So find me on Worth the Chat. Let's chat.
28:44
Speaker 2: Let's chat. Hey, Meredith Laverne, thanks for jumping on today.
28:49
Speaker 3: Yeah, thank you so much. So nice to meet you.
28:51
Speaker 2: You too.
28:51
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