The Bachelor star Matt James was announced as The Bachelor back in June last year, months before they were set to start filming in Pennsylvania.
Matt is the first person of color to take the lead as The Bachelor.
This was a conscious decision by The Bachelor producers, who decided to cast him to avoid any further criticism over a lack of diversity.
But producers were surprised to learn that Matt had a record amount of people apply to be on the show.
In fact, he already had a record amount of women show up on the first night, as 32 women arrived.
Then, during Monday’s episode, another five girls joined the group.
Matt James had record-breaking submissions as The Bachelor
But why would producers allow more women to join? As it turns out, producers got a record number of applicants and they thought that many of the women needed a chance to meet Matt.
“We got a record number of submissions. We couldn’t fit everyone in night one, and we had some really interesting girls,” Rob Mills told Variety.
“These were women that we had already met with. It was decided pretty much before filming began [that they would join later]. It was good to throw them in the mix. It wasn’t just to shake things up.”
The women told Matt that they had been waiting to meet him for weeks, making it seem like their late entry to the show was planned by producers.
Plus, producers are making a show that needs headlines.
“You can’t have people who are not going to do really anything and will just be wallflowers,” Rob explained of the controversial cast. “I’m not saying the show is made purely to stir up drama, but certainly a strong personality like [Victoria] is good. And look, Matt has said that is something that he is attracted to — a woman who is her own woman and who is strong-willed — so you can’t argue that Victoria is not that.”
Matt welcomed the new women, causing some issues with the existing women. Four of the five new women got a rose.
Matt James continues to deal with low ratings
Even though the five women joined the show and caused some drama, Matt’s season is still suffering from low ratings.
ABC executives believe that the ratings are low because viewers don’t know Matt. They don’t know him from a previous Bachelorette season, which means they are learning something about the women and Matt – all at the same time.
We already have a feeling as to how things will play out on the show, as Rachael has been named as the possible winner as The Bachelor spoilers continue to leak. The reason is that Rachael’s mom supposedly can’t stop talking about the show and how her daughter is the winner.
The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.