Finally, some progress is being made within the Bachelor franchise.
After 40 seasons, 18 years, one Black Bachelorette, many tweets, many podcasts, many articles, and a petition nearing 90,000 signatures, ABC announced that Matt James has been cast as the first Black Bachelor.
The move is an interesting one for multiple reasons. Normally, Bachelor leads are chosen from the contestants of the most recent or at least a previous season, and normally, they’re chosen after the most recent season of The Bachelorette. Matt James has not appeared on any Bachelor show before, and the next season of The Bachelorette hasn’t been able to film because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Matt is, however, known to Bachelor Nation thanks to being best friends with Tyler Cameron, and subsequently close with reigning Bachelorette Hannah Brown. He had been cast as a suitor for next Bachelorette Clare Crawley, though even that was met with some confusion, since he’s a full decade younger than the 39 year-old hairstylist.