Introduction

One of the most interesting seasons of ‘The Bachelorette’ has just wrapped up. After a sustained drop in ratings, the show’s producers announced a big shift in the core mechanics of the show - Brooke Blurton was announced as this year’s Bachelorette making her both the first Indigenous and queer woman in the role, and for the first time, contestants would be a mix of men and women.

So did it work in injecting some new energy into what has become a pretty predictable and tired format? And are there lessons for the rest of Australia’s reality TV ecosystem, which has basically been unchanged for the past decade?

Joining The Culture this week is Patrick Lenton, the deputy arts editor at The Conversation and the co-author of ‘The Bachelorette’ recap newsletter ‘All the heterosexual nonsense I was forced to endure’. He helps us review this season of ‘The Bachelorette’, and discuss the future of reality TV in Australia.

Guest: Patrick Lenton, writer and Arts and Culture Deputy Editor at The Conversation.

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