Love, sex and marriage are hot topics in Latter-day Saint culture, where marriages are deemed eternal and premarital sex is taboo. This may help to explain Provo’s infatuation with ABC’s The Bachelor, and its spinoff show, The Bachelorette.
In 2018, Brigham Young University advertising student Remington Butler and his friend Carson Bown created The Bachelor of Provo, an obvious duplication of ABC’s programs, in order to find Butler’s roommate, Colin Ross, a girlfriend.
Season 1 of The Bachelor of Provo aired on YouTube for only a few weeks before ABC and Warner Brothers contacted Butler to shut it down because it followed the same format as The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. Thus, the show was rebranded and became Provo’s Most Eligible.
The production crew was just learning how to capture the best shots while keeping the action fast-paced, and the season ended as Colin got down on one knee and asked Annalee Ross to be his girlfriend.
Provo’s Most Eligible provides a look into the dating scene at BYU and general LDS culture. The dates and events that the contestants go to don’t involve alcohol, and there are no hot tub scenes (as commonly seen on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette). The contestants don’t talk about sex, nor are they put in intimate situations. Still, there are plenty of ways to sell sizzle in showbiz, even at BYU.
The show gained quite a following during Season 1. As talk of a second season buzzed, Butler decided that he and Bown “wanted to change things up and create our own dating show.” Season 2 followed three bachelorettes as they date 30 male contestants. Each bachelorette chooses contestants for her team, and every week there’s an elimination ceremony. There is also an element of competition between the women because the male contestants can switch teams, which has happened several times. Each week an elimination ceremony takes place and the bachelorettes end with an equal number of contestants.
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The show features contestants from Provo. Over 1,200 applications were received for Season 2 (including both male and female applicants).
The all-volunteer production staff said it was hard to narrow down the contestants to just three women and 30 men. They wanted men with charisma and personality, but also who could connect with the bachelorettes.
Filming started at the end of May and wrapped in the middle of July. Since the production team are volunteers, and most of them are college students, as are most of the contestants, summer became the most reasonable time to film. It also allowed time to edit the footage and build up their social media presence.
Season 2 has better filmography, was better scheduled, and most of it was filmed on location, whereas most of Season 1 was filmed in someone’s basement and backyard.
The fan base has 17,000 YouTube subscribers, and the Season 2 finale had viewers on the edge of their seats. Many viewers were happy with the outcome, but others felt blindsided. Each bachelorette chose a man and got a kiss during the finale. However, many viewers were saddened to hear during a Men Tell All episode that each bachelorette is now single.
Fans can only hope romance in Provo will prove luckier now that Season 3 will be filmed next summer.
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