We’re only one episode into The Golden Bachelor, and honestly, they could wrap it up now.
The women vying for Mel’s heart are accomplished, inspiring, and genuinely worth rooting for.
But no amount of depth or charm from them can make up for where this season has gone wrong: Mel Owens simply isn’t a charismatic lead. And isn’t that half the battle?
The casting misfire is baffling.
If you watched The Golden Bachelorette, you know the franchise had its pick of warm, engaging, dynamic men who could’ve carried this season with ease.
Instead, we got Mel — stiff, aura-less, and, from the looks of the premiere, barely invested in the process.
And that’s where the season may already be off to a rough start. If many viewers can’t connect or invest in Mel as the lead, then can the season be a success?
It doesn’t help that Mel had to start the season off by addressing comments he made on a podcast that frankly should have had the network showing him the door to spare themselves the controversy.
The 66-year-old lawyer and former NFL player shared that he didn’t have interest in dating anyone beyond 60.
Yes, we got his age right before. No, while disappointing, this is not at all surprising. Go figure.
I just said, ’45 to 60,’ just being honest. If they’re 60 or over, I’m cutting them.’ This is not The Silver Bachelor; this is The Golden Bachelor.
[The executive producer] goes, ‘But they’re going to be hot, don’t worry about it, don’t worry about it.’ He goes, ‘You can’t use the word cut,’ I go, ‘That’s an NFL term…’ They’ve got to be fit, because I stay in shape and work out and stuff. And I told them to try to stay away from the artificial hips and the wigs.
- Mel Owens
Oh, we have a real charmer here who has completely missed the entire point of The Golden Bachelor. He also subscribes to the usual ageism the series tries to combat by implying that women his own age could be anything less than beautiful, fit, and worthy of romance and time.
Yes, he apologized — in front of 23 women, most of whom fall into the exact age range he’d written off. But when someone tells you what they really think on a podcast, no amount of backpedaling can put that genie back in the bottle.
Instead of charming audiences, Mel only underscored that he has a type — younger, fitter. The rest of the season now feels like we’re watching brilliant women fight for a man who may never truly want them.
He didn’t lie. Mel told us exactly what he was looking for. And now, we’re supposed to watch him fake the funk out of obligation? Not fun.
That kills the fantasy.
At its core, The Bachelor franchise works because audiences buy into the illusion of romance, however contrived.
Even when we know it’s TV magic, we can suspend disbelief if the lead feels genuine, compelling, and root-worthy. Mel stripped away that veil before the limo entrances even began.
When you see the likes of an incredibly accomplished Peg, or find yourself adoring the extremely effervescent Gerri, or worried that Cheryl and her Lifetime Thriller level experiences are more than enough drama for one woman to have, it’s hard to envision even rooting for them to end up with someone who only goes through with it for the ratings and commitment he made.
Two hours worth of the premiere, Mel struggled to appear like anything other than a stiff, aura-less guy going through the motions.
From the previews, the only thing they’ll have to lean on moving forward is his ability to smooch the various women most competitive over him. Because even if he’s not interested, surely, he’ll get off on the attention.
I can’t think of what’s worse now, heading into a season where the monochromatic bachelor has outright let us know that we won’t get a happy ending, or reconciling with the blindside of charismatic Gerry Turner, who burst our collective bubbles of real romance in the Golden Years.
So where does that leave us?
A season propped up by its contestants, led by a bachelor who already feels like a miscast, and a franchise once again reminding us that the idea of The Golden Bachelor may always be more alluring than its reality.
Because without a lead worth rooting for, no number of roses will save this season.
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The post All Glitter, No Gold: Mel Owens Leaves The Golden Bachelor Feeling More Like Bronze appeared first on TV Fanatic.
