Television February 13, 2017
'The Bachelor’s’ Rachel to Be First Black 'Bachelorette’
ABC
The “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” TV shows have a combined 33 seasons under their belts, and now ABC has cast Rachel as the first black woman to be Bachelorette!
As Hollywood Reporter reported, Rachel Lindsay, currently on “The Bachelor” with Nick Viall, will be announced on tonight's “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
Bachelor creator Mike Fleiss has been teasing on his Twitter that tonight will be a historic night, writing, "Tonite's the night!!! #thebachelor #historic.”
Tonite's the night!!! #thebachelor #historic
@fleissmeister
On Monday night, Rachel appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," telling Jimmy, "I'm ready to find a husband. Someone who is ready to start a family... I'm looking for someone to make me laugh." Watch!
This is not only the first time the show has selected a black lead, but also the first time they've announced the next lead while they are still in the running on the current season — so spoiler alert, Lindsay must not be the final one?
Nick Viall's season is one of the most diverse seasons yet on the show, with 8 non-white contestants and 22 white contestants. On the first night, Nick decided to give the the first impression rose to Lindsay.
ABC has taken heat over the years for a lack of diversity on the show. Now, the Texas attorney will have her chance to take over the reins.
Channing Dungey, ABC Entertainment President and the first African-American woman to run a broadcast entertainment division, told Hollywood Reporter the show likes to select the Bachelor or Bachelorette from the prior season because the audience feels more engaged. "What we'd like to do is broaden that. We need to increase the pool of diverse candidates in the beginning. That is something we really want to put some effort and energy towards.”
