‘The Bachelorette’ Australia made history by casting the worldwide franchise’s most diverse lead yet. However, the casting choice wasn’t the ratings boom that was expected.
Brooke Blurton, a queer Indigenous Australian was Australia’s answer to the criticism over whiteness and heteronormativity faced by every country’s Bachelorette casting. Though Demi Burnette shouldered the bisexual load for the American version of the show on Bachelor in Paradise, a full season that includes men and women vying for Brooke’s roses made headlines the world over.
But so far it has not parlayed into ratings.
‘The Bachelorette’ Australia: First Bisexual Lead is a Ratings Nightmare
The premiere of Blurton’s groundbreaking season of the dating show this month only brought in a pitiful 397,000 viewers. Granted, there are less Australians than Americans available to tune in, but that number was the worst in the franchise’s entire history. Even the spin-off Bachelor in Paradise, which was recently shelved by the network due to poor performance, has delivered stronger ratings across its three seasons.
The Bachelorette Australia’s low numbers on Australia’s Network 10 has even led to Channel Nine deciding not to air the current Michelle Young helmed U.S. version as it usually does mere hours after it premiers in the U.S. (to clear up confusion Network 10 has the rights to the Australian franchise, Channel Nine has the rights to the US version).
Blurton, and the new shake up to the format, however, are not to blame for the tanking of the ratings. The Australian franchise’s ratings have been diving lower and lower with each season that comes out, mirroring the trend of the U.S. franchise.
2.84 million viewers tuned in for The Bachelorette Season 18 premier last Tuesday. Though this topped the Tuesday ratings, it marked a premiere low for the series, down from the season 17 premier lead by Katie Thurston that brought in 3.59 million viewers.
As much as Bachelor Nation may not want to admit it it’s possible that the two decade reign is over for the dating serial and if Australia’s inclusivity (which some pan as a Hail Mary or a gimmick) still didn’t help with drawing audiences back (and many of us really, really wanted it to work), it sounds as though the end just may be nigh.
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