Many Canadians have tried — and failed — to make a match on The Bachelor. Now our neighbors to the north won’t have to cross the border in order to embarrass themselves seek out true love on television, thanks to The Bachelor Canada, which will premiere this fall on Citytv.
Hopelessly devoted Bachelor host Chris Harrison was on hand to make the big announcement on Breakfast Television (whatever that is, it sounds delicious) this morning.
“The Bachelor has long been a fan favourite on Citytv, and we look forward to putting a Canadian spin on this thriving franchise,” Claire Freeland, director of original programming for Rogers Media, and executive producer of The Bachelor Canada, said in a media release.
“Canada is brimming with eligible bachelors and bachelorettes, and we’re excited to offer them the opportunity to embark on their own quest for love through this entertaining series.”
Rogers has begun preproduction on the nine-episode series, with casting details — who will be Canada’s first most eligible Bachelor?! — to come later. Unlike the American version, which accepts maple-leaf-lovers with open arms — before systematically pulverizing their hearts, that is — The Bachelor Canada will be “100% Canadian” in its casting choices. (Are you or someone you love enough to punish thoroughly Canadian, single and insanely optimistic? Apply to be on The Bachelor Canada here.)
Bachelor fans likely recall the franchise’s Canadian cast members of yore — most notably, designer Jillian Harris, star of The Bachelorette season 5 in 2009. Her quest for a hunky American man began in Los Angeles, but quickly put a “Canadian spin” on proceedings as she and her suitors traveled through large parts of British Columbia and Alberta, where they engaged in such romantic, quintessentially Canadian activities as snowmobiling, curling and taking shots at an outdoor ice bar.
Canada’s Justin “Rated R” Rego, a reality-show-hopping entertainment wrestler by trade, made his name and embarrassed his country on The Bachelorette season 6, when he lied to Ali Fedotowsky about having two girlfriends back home in Toronto. After his lies were exposed and the broken-footed bachelor hobbled off the show in shame, Justin resurfaced on Bachelor Pad 2, where he quickly solidified his reputation as an insufferable creep and was eliminated the first week. He also made headlines for briefly dating the only Jersey Shore cast member who was so obnoxious that even her castmates couldn’t stand her and kicked her out.
Naturally, Rated R has already come up in a few places as a potential choice for Canada’s first Bachelor. With a resume like that, how could he not?
Will you watch The Bachelor Canada? Any ideas for how the series can get out of the American version’s shadow and really put a “Canadian spin” on all the steaminess and suffering?
(Image courtesy of ABC)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
Meghan hails from Walla Walla, WA, the proud home of the world’s best sweet onions and Adam West, the original Batman. An avid grammarian and over-analyzer, you can usually find her thinking too hard about plot devices in favorites like The Office, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and How I Met Your Mother. In her spare time, Meghan enjoys drawing, shopping, trying to be funny (and often failing), and not understanding the whole Twilight thing. She’s got a BA in English and Studio Art from Whitman College, which makes her a professional arguer, daydreamer, and doodler.
