The Bachelor producers have weighed in on Zach Shallcross' unprecedented virtual cocktail party and Rose Ceremony, admitting there was fear it would look embarrassing or be a parody.
|
ADVERTISEMENT
|
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Zach also missed the group-date afterparty, and then the next day, The Bachelor host Jesse Palmer announced that Zach had tested positive for COVID-19 and needed to quarantine. The news was especially devastating for Charity Lawson, who was supposed to get a solo date with Zach that day.
According to The Bachelor's executive producers Bennett Graebner and Nicole Woods and director Dave Miller, production was in crisis and began scrambling after finding out the bad news, Entertainment Weekly reported.
"Talking to Zach, he was quite adamant that he was not going to send anyone home without spending time with them. The options were limited, and I believe it was [Disney/ABC exec] Rob Mills who said, 'We should do a virtual cocktail party and a virtual rose ceremony,'" Graebner recalled to EW.
"In full disclosure, I thought it was a bad idea, and I told him. I said, 'I really don't think this is a good idea.' He said, 'Why? What are you so worried about?' What I was worried about was that, here we are two-and-a-half years into a pandemic, where people are just so fatigued by looking at people interacting on screens."
He continued, "We have to project forward five months later to when this airs, and I think people will be even more fatigued and less interested in seeing people communicate on screens. I wasn't supportive of it for that reason."
Graebner also admitted he was "concerned" the outcome of filming such scenes with a virtual twist "wouldn't look like The Bachelor" fans have come to "know and love."
"To be frank, I thought it might look embarrassing," he confessed.
"I remember telling Rob that, and he said, 'Well, let's give it a shot.' So, we sat down in a large group with our tech department, our audio department, our lighting department, our director here, to try to figure out how we would get it done -- knowing that we couldn't even get into Zach's room."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
As The Bachelor's latest episode showed, Zach, guided by assistance over the phone, had to set up all of the audio and lighting equipment himself in his hotel room.
FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS!
Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source!
"The first reaction was like, it feels like we're shooting an SNL skit or something. Let's not let it become that," Miller explained.
"There were many different turns that we could have taken where it would've gone into parody. And I think we found the next best thing. Like, if we can't have two people in the room talking to each other, how do we create the best version of that virtually?"
Miller pointed out how using an iPad seemed like a great option because "the technology" already exists and "people are used to it."
The producers pictured each woman holding Zach in her hands, with Miller adding, "It's a language people understand. So, let's just have the girls hold an iPad -- so they can kiss the screen."
The show had originally booked a beautiful castle for an off-site Rose Ceremony in London, but the location didn't have WiFi, which completely threw off their plans.
"Like, do you move all the ladies out there and then you're just basically on iPads and stuff?" Miller recalled.
"That felt wrong too, like a television show getting in the way of what people would normally do. The call to do it in the hotel where everyone already was -- it's weird and it's not the show normally, but it was the best idea."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
ADVERTISEMENT
A platter of roses was displayed in front of the TV monitor in the small hotel room, and as Zach called each bachelorette's name, the woman was able to grab one of the available roses.
"So many of these things that we take for granted that are effortless when we're shooting with everyone in person became really difficult. I'll give you an example: The handing out of the roses, we discussed that at length," Graebner said.
"Does Zach also have roses in his room? Does he hold up a rose on the monitor and then the woman says, 'Yes, I'll accept the rose,' but she's taking another rose [off the tray] and you're trying to match the action. Or is that just ridiculous? So you're trying to figure out what looks and feels best."
The producers revealed that the entire The Bachelor cast and staff was "fully vaccinated," and that Zach and his bachelorettes were tested daily for COVID-19, every morning.
Graebner said, up until production's virtual solution, that Zach was "disappointed and despondent" about being "stuck in his room" and missing out on valuable time with his remaining bachelorettes, one of whom he was hoping will become his future wife.
And for those fans worried about Charity, Graebner confirmed, "Charity does finally get her date, and it's beautiful and romantic, and it's everything that she'd wanted and hoped for in London."
At the end of The Bachelor episode, Zach eliminated Kylee Russell and Mercedes Northup.
The Bachelor star now has nine women remaining on his journey to find love, which continues on Monday, February 27 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Interested in more The Bachelor news? Join our The Bachelor Facebook Group!
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
