ABC: Nick Viall is 'The Bachelor' because he's not like Ben Higgins, not a bro

Nick Viall has the makings of a perfect The Bachelor star, at least according to ABC executive Robert Mills.


"I think part of his charm that's really come out on Bachelor in Paradise is he's so great with the girls, and not as a romantic interest to all of them, but almost as a big brother or good male friend," Mills told SirusXM's LA Daily radio show.

"And you see, he's not really cut out for [The Bachelorette], where sometimes it's like if you're not a bro, you're not necessarily gonna fit in."

A "bro" on The Bachelorette tends to love working out, drinking protein, partying, and bonding over sports and girls. But Viall's personality is quite different.

The 35-year-old software salesman was deeply connected to his feelings and behaved in a more sophisticated, confident and reserved manner on The Bachelorette because he was very comfortable in his own skin. Men therefore found him intimidating and treated him like the enemy or an outcast. 


Viall, however, was also never afraid to spark up a controversy, especially when it came to openly talking about sex on the show.

"He was the first one to blow the lid off the Fantasy Suite and sort of be honest about it, and I for one, I don't know what he's gonna do, but I'm interested to see what are his conversations gonna be like on those exotic dates?" Mills said, suggested Viall is a bit of a badboy.

"What is he gonna say when his Fantasy Suite card comes? Is he gonna say, 'You know, I'd like to take you back and make love, but I'm also gonna make love to two other women...?' I never really thought of Nick as a villain, but I think there are others that do."

Mills said JoJo Fletcher's ex-boyfriends, Luke Pell and Chase McNary from The Bachelorette, were contenders for The Bachelor role and producers had a "high-class problem" with so many "great guys" to choose from.

However, the ABC executive all but confirmed Pell and McNary would be a little too boring after having such a nice, sweet guy like Ben Higgins star on the franchise last season.


"Ben was absolutely fantastic. He had a great season, and sometimes when you follow the same with the same, you end up with something lesser," Mills said, comparing Pell and McNary to Higgins.

"You can say what you want, but certainly from a ratings perspective, when we followed [nice guy] Sean Lowe with [the polarizing Juan Pablo Galavis], which was sort of a left-turn, it worked out really well for us. A lot of people watched. I remember when we announced Juan Pablo, it was like being at a rock concert."

Viall also redeemed himself with fans on this summer's edition of Bachelor in Paradise.

"We started seeing people say, 'I can't believe this, God help me, I like Nick,' when Bachelor in Paradise started airing," Mills explained to LA Daily.

"Certainly someone who had gone on Bachelorette twice, was the runner-up and then had gone on Bachelor in Paradise, that just didn't seem like something that was even in the realm of comprehension. But there was a lot of, 'I really like him, and I can't believe I'm saying this.'"


Season 21 of The Bachelor will premiere in January 2017.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski