At this rate, people appearing on the Bachelor franchise may as well start brainstorming ideas for a podcast series during their limo ride to the mansion. The amount of alums who now run their own podcasts is staggering, and some shows are better listens than others. In case you're tired of the typical Bachelor podcast's brand-building attempts and wine club ads, we've narrowed down five reality show podcasts for any kind of Bachelor fan, whether they want a deep delve into the season's drama or just intelligent insight into the magic of reality TV.
I've probably sampled every podcast from a former franchise contestant at least once, and you can quickly feel depleted about Bachelor Nation if you listen to enough of these. You should feel free to explore the options out there and just stick with the Bachelor-related shows you enjoy the most. After all, any Bachelor Nation podcast host is bound to guest star on a fellow contestant's show someday, so don't fall into the pressure to follow all of them. There is such a thing as too many chats about roses and group dates.
That being said, I like to maintain a well-curated queue of entertainment podcasts hosted by Bachelor insiders, analytical fans, and TV lovers who just want to gab about the latest reality show trend. What you'll find below are both Bachelor and general TV podcasts that will hopefully keep you up to speed during this peak age of reality television. Happy listening!
Led by HuffPost reporters Emma Gray and Claire Fallon, Here to Make Friends is a feminist take on the Bachelor franchise, closing each recap with a ranking of an episode's "feminist fails." The women and a guest host dissect each date, conversation, and rose ceremony for hints of what the events say about modern dating, love, and gender politics. Chances are that they'll echo many of the same points you and your friends made in your own Bachelor group text. Past guest hosts include Girls star Allison Williams, New York-based Bachelor alums such as Ashley Spivey, Michael Garofola, and Caila Quinn, and the occasional franchise lead like Nick Viall.
Bachelor Season 22 contestant Jacqueline Trumbull teams with TV Guide Bachelor expert Liam Mathews for A Beautiful Podcast to Fall In Love, a recap series of Colton Underwood's Bachelor season. As explained in the show's Season 23 preview, Jacqueline plans to evaluate Colton's tenure and the contestants' mindsets in comparison to her own experience on Arie Luyendyk Jr.'s season.
On Arie's season, Jacqueline developed a reputation as the quiet brainy girl, and her intellect wasn't just the result of editing. If you're in the mood to discuss the science behind why the Bachelor women are compelled to "steal him for a sec," trying out A Beautiful Podcast... is probably your best bet.
Whether or not you follow his Bachelor spoilers, Steve Carbone, aka blogger Reality Steve, produces podcast interviews with Bachelor cast members and other reality TV figures that are hard to beat. Taking a deep dive into contestants' pre-TV lives, their time on a show, and what happened afterwards, Steve consistently wrangles out the juicy dirt from both recent and old-school Bachelor stars. Within his Bachelor archive, you can even find episodes with forgotten leads like Ben Flajnick, Desiree Hartsock Siegfried, and Lorenzo Borghese. In addition to chats with Bachelor Nation people, the spoiler guru has interviewed entertainment journalists, reality TV producers, and former contestants from Survivor, The Challenge, and Married at First Sight.
Despite rumors that Southern Charm star Kathryn Calhoun Dennis could be the next Bachelorette, Bravo has yet to cross paths with the Bachelor franchise. However, if you crave the indulgently guilty feeling that The Bachelor gives you, you're probably already an avid viewer of Bravo reality shows. On Married to Bravo, a longtime Bravo fan convinces her husband, a network novice, to watch the shows with her and comment on them during recap episodes. As of now, the show's focus is mainly on the Real Housewives franchise, but if you want a hilarious angle on your favorite reality shows from another outsider's perspective, Married to Bravo is worth trying.
ICYMI, Season 20 contestant Olivia Caridi has succeeded in using her podcast to spread the word about the show's often unfair and inaccurate editing of its "villains." Open about her depression and suicidal thoughts post-Bachelor, Olivia is remembered for making seemingly inappropriate comments to the season's other women. In between sharing her relatable perspective of those experiences, the former broadcast journalist has interviewed countless social media and reality TV stars. Although she's spoken primarily with underrated Bachelor alums in recent weeks, Olivia also counts cast members from Jersey Shore, Million Dollar Matchmaker, Teen Mom, and several Bravo shows as podcast guests.
With the start of Colton Underwood's Bachelor season, expect an influx of recaps and interviews related to the show in the next few weeks. By trying out one of the podcasts above, hopefully you won't have to quit his journey toward love because of a Bachelor overdose. Good luck, rose lovers!
