The Bachelor Australia is set to return on Wednesday, 21 July at 7.30pm on 10 and 10 Play, as 31-year-old pilot Jimmy Nicholson goes on a quest for love.
Mediaweek spoke to the executive producer of The Bachelor, Hilary Innes, about what to expect from the latest iteration of the famed franchise.
“It is a whole new show, whilst there is the brand it is all about the hero and their journey,” Innes told Mediaweek.
Hilary Innes
This year piloting the show is Jimmy Nicholson, who Innes described as a charming and lovely guy, something she learned first hand during auditions.
“We were going up to casting for his last formal casting session and we just chatted on the street while he was waiting for coffee. I just thought ‘you are just a lovely guy, and you charmed me’. Not saying it’s as simple as that but he is just really genuine, has lovely manners, is really likeable and has this job that he is very passionate about.
“He is also really passionate about finding his partner and them fitting into the very close family he comes from.”
When asked where Jimmy falls on the scale of Bachelor personalities, Innes said that the show is going back to what the show is all about with this latest selection.
“That old-fashioned romantic hero, a guy that is really handsome, aspirational, nice, a breath of fresh air and not frightened to be romantic or to talk about his feelings and to reveal layers of himself as he gets to know the girls.
“You think of people like our original bachelor Tim or Sam Wood or Matty J those types of guys. He is his own man but he is reminiscent of all of those.”
The Bachelor has opted for a fresh face approach this year in casting Jimmy, which Innes said was an approach that she loved.
“People are right for different seasons for different reasons, and I think it is great we are able to move between different worlds, it keeps you on your toes.”
Filming with Covid-19
This is the third production in The Bachelor/Bachelorette universe that Innes has helmed that has been affected by Covid-19. She said they understand it a lot better than they did last year.
“We were all flailing around a bit last year without knowing what the hell this virus was going to do and trying to put protocols in place. But I think now we have got more of a grip on that, so it is a bit more of a well-oiled machine in regards to the standard protocols.
“We didn’t have these outbreaks that we have at the moment. We were lucky for that and were able to travel a bit too which makes life pleasant, and were able to lift in scenery on occasion.
“Him being a pilot we were able to get in the air a bit which was really refreshing, it is not often you see a plane these days but Jimmy takes us up in a couple.”
“At least for the finale we were able to get out of New South Wales.”
Lots of Love
With Farmer Wants a Wife and Beauty and the Geek both coming out recently there is a lot of love in the market at the moment, and when asked how The Bachelor stands out Innes’ answer was simple: It’s the original romance show.
“I just think they are bringing their shows out because The Bachelor has been so successful!
“Going way back to the 80’s we had studio dating shows but then romance went away from TV, dating shows went away from TV for a long time in this country. They were popping up in different parts of the world but we just couldn’t get them away in Australia. Until The Bachelor came up about 20 years ago, that brought it back and put dating on the map internationally. It is not going anywhere anytime soon. 25 seasons in the US is amazing.
Innes also said that the show has been so popular because it focuses on one person’s journey.
“It is one person’s story, there is a nice purity to that. If you get that right and the people around them right then it is an amazing journey.
“We have had five couples come out of it and to my count five babies, which is more than the US has had in 25 series.”