Fox premiers ‘Farmer Wants a Wife’
Fox introduces the new dating series “Farmer Wants a Wife” (9 p.m., TV-PG). Reactions should range from serious cringe to “What took them so long?”
The “Farmer” formula has been tried out in 32 countries worldwide. And unlike ABC’s version of “The Bachelor,” “Farmer” appears to have resulted in relationships that have endured after the camera crews departed. According to Fox, the series has led to 180 marriages, resulting in 410 children.
“Farmer” features four bachelors who are adept at roping and riding, hunting, fishing and animal husbandry. But rather than scour the local 4-H clubs for willing worthies, “Farmer” imports what it calls “city girls” for a taste of rustic recreation.
The resulting culture clash is as old as time itself, reminiscent of “The Simple Life,” the 2003 reality series that set Paris Hilton and Nicole
Richie loose on the heartland. Look for a lot of plucked eyebrows and broken fingernails on the way to love connections.
Grammy-winning entertainer Jennifer Nettles serves as host.
In its promotions, Fox is already calling this series a blend of “The Bachelor” and “Yellowstone.” And who can blame them? “Yellowstone” is a hit.
“Farmer” continues television’s long and complicated relationship with “country”-based entertainment.
Rural series have often had impressive ratings, but the advertisers who sponsor programs did not always see them as attracting “the right” audience — the kind of people with disposable income who lived close enough to department stores and shopping malls to buy their products.
As a result, networks have often been unsubtle and even brutal about jettisoning series that seemed too hayseed.
After CBS scored success with “All in the Family” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” it spent the early ’70s dumping an entire roster of highly rated rural fare, from “Gunsmoke” to “The Beverly Hillbillies,” “Green Acres” and “Petticoat Junction.” It has been referred to as “the rural purge.”
During the cable era, advertisers clamoring for MTV’s audience avoided anything to do with country. So the Nashville Network, the cable outlet most associated with country music, went through a series of undignified name changes. It became The National Network in 2003. Then it was called The N, and then Spike, before being rechristened the Paramount Network — which happens to be home to “Yellowstone.”
Go figure.
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› Disney+ streams “MPower,” a new cartoon adventure from Marvel.