Bachelor in Paradise brings sexy back
Show says it learned from scandal but titillation still fills TV menu
By rights we should be speaking about Bachelor in Paradise in the past tense. Let’s consider the facts, shall we? In early June, just days after the Bachelor/Bachelorette spinoff began production of its fourth season in Mexico, came news that the cast had been sent home and shooting halted.
The reason? Allegations of misconduct on the set. As anonymous reports leaked out, it became clear the hullabaloo centred on a sexual encounter between two established villains of the franchise: Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson.
But this seemed more serious than the usual titillating shenanigans on the series, which puts Bachelor and Bachelorette castoffs in a resort in Mexico for a few weeks in the hopes they’ll form relationships or, at the very least, hook up.
TMZ used the words “alleged sexual assault;” Olympios hired a lawyer and put out a statement describing herself as a victim; Jackson got a lawyer of his own.
It was hard to imagine the show bouncing back from that kind of scandal, yet here we are: the fourth season of Bachelor in Paradise debuts Monday at 8 p.m. on ABC and City. The series is even using the contretemps as a selling point and seems to be doubling down on the kind of sexually charged content it’s known for, or at least that’s the impression left by a promo unveiled during last week’s Bachelorette finale.
It includes video of Olympios and Jackson getting into a pool together then scenes of filming being shut down and cast members seeming confused.
“Are Corinne and DeMario OK? All we know is we aren’t filming,” Danielle Maltby says.
And then the tone changes. We see sunny skies, the beach and happy cast members as the theme music kicks in and host Chris Harrison intones, “But now Paradise is back: bigger, better and wetter than ever before.”
The word “wetter” accompanies video of contestant Taylor Nolan in a pool, her legs wrapped around Derek Peth as she arches her back and closes her eyes. Talk about double entendres.
“The sexiest Bachelors and Bachelorettes return for a second chance at love,” Harrison continues.
Some of the other teasers: Canadian Daniel Maguire straddling a woman on a bed and talking about making a sex tape; Jasmine Goode grinding her buttocks against Matt Munson in a pool; Alexis Waters talking about a man making her “vagina dance;” and lots and lots of passionate kissing, including a snog between two women.
The last word goes to Nolan: “Welcome to Paradise, bitch.”
Not exactly the demeanour of a production company chastened by an ugly scandal, is it?
Some would argue Warner Bros., which produces the show, has nothing to be chastened about.
The company investigated the allegations and found no wrongdoing had occurred, at which point production resumed.
The tape of the notorious incident showed there was no misconduct and that the safety of cast members was never in jeopardy, Warner Bros. said in a statement at the time. And yet . . . Olympios has said she blacked out during the encounter with Jackson, reportedly as a result of mixing alcohol and prescription drugs, something she’s expected to discuss during the season.
Notwithstanding the fact Jackson and other cast members have said Olympios did not seem unduly impaired; and notwithstanding Olym- pios’ previous sexually aggressive behaviour on The Bachelor, her contention that she was too inebriated to remember what happened gives one pause at a time when the issue of consent is front and centre in our culture. Warner Bros. and ABC have made noises about taking the welfare of cast members seriously.
As reported by the Los Angeles Times, ABC entertainment president Channing Dungey told the Television Critics Association press tour that what happened was “a little bit of a wake-up call to really make sure that we have all of the right processes in place.”
To that end, producers instituted a two-drink-per-hour maximum for cast members (a limit they reportedly weren’t happy with), a luggage check for drugs, with prescription medications to be dispensed by a nurse on set and held conversations with contestants about consent.
And yet, the promo suggests the new rules didn’t tamp down the show’s sexualized behaviour.
Of course, promos can be deceiving, as any longtime watcher of the franchise knows. We won’t know how wild things really got until the series airs. It’s also clear the incident that shut down production isn’t being swept under the rug. Harrison told Entertainment Weekly, “You’re going to see more than enough to show you what was happening that led up to the shutdown, within certain taste (sic) and values of what we can show on network TV.”
He has also said in-depth interviews with Olympios and Jackson — who did not return as contestants — will be aired during the season. Is it enough? One could argue — and in fact, I have — that the most respectful course of action would have been to stop making the show or at least go on hiatus for a season.
It’s hard to escape the feeling that, despite the drink limits and drug checks, the sex scandal is a gift to a franchise that has been knocked lately for prioritizing drama over the romance that’s supposed to be its raison d’être.
We’ll see soon enough whether anything has really changed in the making of Bachelor in Paradise, and whether the scandal will prove a ratings bonanza or turn viewers off. Despite her misgivings, Debra Yeo will be recapping Bachelor in Paradise at thestar.com/television.