Clayton Echard's season of The Bachelor may have proved that the franchise is on a downward spiral that it cannot get out of. When The Bachelor first aired on ABC 20 years ago, viewers were surprised but intrigued by the premise of the reality series. The lead dates 25-30 women and throughout the season and would slowly widdle it down to just one and propose. Through this series, the network was able to create several spin-offs, such as The Bachelorette and Bachelor In Paradise.
However, in recent years, the franchise hasn't been the same. Viewership has gone down quite significantly, with some Bachelor fans cutting off the show completely. The Bachelor franchise was the one show where fans would get together and have screening parties, and now, for some, it feels like a chore to watch. While no one knows what could make the show what it used to be, Clayton's season certainly didn't help.
After the conclusion of Katie Thurston and Michelle Young's seasons of The Bachelorette, many viewers believed this was the end of the road for The Bachelor franchise. Viewership went down significantly for their seasons compared to the seasons prior. Katie's season received 3.77 million viewers for the premiere episode, while Michelle's only got 3 million. Since their numbers were so low, Clayton's season wasn't expected to do so well. His premiere received 3.54 million views, which is almost 2 million less than Matt James' season 25 premiere episode. Fans weren't so excited about Clayton in the first place as he didn't make an impression on fans while competing for Michelle on The Bachelorette. Since Clayton wasn't a fan-favorite during Michelle's season, Bachelor viewers weren't so inclined to tune in for his season.
Even though ABC attempted to be more inclusive and cast three Black leads as The Bachelor/ Bachelorette over the last couple of years, it seems those attempts didn't help save the franchise. Inclusivity didn't help because The Bachelor is just no longer a show viewers find as entertaining as they used to. As the years go on, the leads become increasingly immature, especially the male leads. For example, Matt, in theory, was a great choice, but he clearly was not ready for marriage. In fact, Matt is still dating his winner Rachael Kirkconnell, and there have been no signs of a proposal or marriage in their future. As for Clayton, he clearly isn't taking the process seriously like Bachelors from the past. He admitted to sleeping with two of his final three women and justified his actions by saying he wanted to "fully" throw himself into the experience. At least The Bachelor's from the past pretended they were actually looking for a wife throughout the process.
Overall, the reason why The Bachelor is on a downward spiral is that the show is no longer believable. Clayton's season proved that theory, and now it seems the franchise may be coming to a complete end. If Clayton's season is the final one in the franchise, the show will not be missed by fans.
The Bachelor finale airs tonight at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.
