WEBVTT - Dropping like Fleiss 0:00:00.960 --> 0:00:04.840 This is the most dramatic podcast ever and I heart 0:00:04.960 --> 0:00:09.400 radio podcast. Welcome to the most dramatic podcast ever. I 0:00:09.440 --> 0:00:11.880 am Chris Harrison alongside Lauren Zima. It's so good to 0:00:11.880 --> 0:00:14.400 have everybody here today. Because the show is about you. 0:00:14.840 --> 0:00:17.400 We are going to open the phone lines, take your calls. 0:00:17.440 --> 0:00:19.520 It's always one of our favorite episodes that we do 0:00:19.760 --> 0:00:22.240 when we get to interact with you because this show's 0:00:22.239 --> 0:00:25.600 about you. Well, I was we were about to sit 0:00:25.640 --> 0:00:29.159 down and do this episode. I mean, we're planning to 0:00:29.200 --> 0:00:32.680 do it, and then some major news did hit though, babe, 0:00:32.680 --> 0:00:34.280 and I have to say, it's making me wonder what 0:00:34.360 --> 0:00:37.040 kind of questions we might get today because I've had 0:00:37.040 --> 0:00:39.800 several people text me, call me ask if you were 0:00:39.800 --> 0:00:42.320 going to do a podcast about the news that broke 0:00:42.360 --> 0:00:46.599 this week, which is that the creator of The Bachelor, 0:00:47.360 --> 0:00:51.920 Mike Flice, your longtime boss of about twenty years, the 0:00:51.920 --> 0:00:57.240 man who hired you, has quote per the article, stepped down, 0:00:57.480 --> 0:01:01.200 stepped away from the show. So several people reaching out 0:01:01.200 --> 0:01:04.640 and asking is Chris gonna do like an emergency podcast 0:01:04.680 --> 0:01:07.759 on this But you know, obviously, you know, I've had 0:01:07.760 --> 0:01:10.880 like twenty four hours to process this news. I didn't 0:01:10.880 --> 0:01:13.920 want to ask for everybody out there, though, what was 0:01:13.959 --> 0:01:16.640 your first reaction? I actually what was giving me your 0:01:16.680 --> 0:01:19.679 first emotional or one word for when you first saw 0:01:19.720 --> 0:01:26.640 the headline? Surprising. I was surprised. It was news that 0:01:27.520 --> 0:01:32.760 filtered out early Tuesday morning. Obviously planned very carefully to 0:01:32.760 --> 0:01:36.720 come out after the finale on Monday night, early Tuesday morning. 0:01:37.080 --> 0:01:42.399 This announcement comes out and very surprising. I would say, 0:01:42.720 --> 0:01:45.360 I had to sum it up in one word, it's 0:01:45.480 --> 0:01:48.360 very interesting. It's very interesting to me. Obviously, before you 0:01:48.360 --> 0:01:51.280 and I ever started dating, I covered the show as 0:01:51.280 --> 0:01:55.880 a journalist for three three I don't know, three four 0:01:55.960 --> 0:01:58.960 years before we started dating. And then we started dating, 0:01:58.960 --> 0:02:02.360 and I continued to written. We kind of kept things separate, 0:02:02.480 --> 0:02:04.800 you know. I wanted to cover it from a place 0:02:04.840 --> 0:02:07.240 of also joy, and so I would ask you to 0:02:07.320 --> 0:02:10.320 not tell me spoilers and not tell me things. But 0:02:10.560 --> 0:02:13.040 this is very it's very interesting. Maybe do you want 0:02:13.040 --> 0:02:15.880 to explain for everybody because this is kind of, on 0:02:15.919 --> 0:02:18.880 the one hand, huge news for the Bachelor world, but 0:02:18.960 --> 0:02:20.320 on the other hand, like I watched a lot of 0:02:20.320 --> 0:02:22.119 shows and I don't know who the creator of those 0:02:22.160 --> 0:02:23.920 shows might be, So do you want to explain for 0:02:23.919 --> 0:02:26.240 everybody who make places. Yeah, because it's kind of interesting. 0:02:26.400 --> 0:02:30.080 You know, this is huge news, It is massive. Mike 0:02:30.120 --> 0:02:33.320 Flice created The Bachelor, it was his idea, it was 0:02:33.360 --> 0:02:35.720 his baby. He's the person who hired me, as Lauren 0:02:35.800 --> 0:02:38.240 said back in two thousand and one, that's who I 0:02:38.280 --> 0:02:41.520 met first. That's who I had several meetings with. That's 0:02:41.560 --> 0:02:45.120 who was on hand every day of the show, especially 0:02:45.120 --> 0:02:47.680 early on. His involvement ebbed and flowed throughout the years, 0:02:48.280 --> 0:02:51.120 but that's who's made every major decision casting who the 0:02:51.120 --> 0:02:54.000 Bachelor bacherette is, the direction of the show, the pulse 0:02:54.040 --> 0:02:58.120 of the show. That is what the creator and slash 0:02:58.200 --> 0:03:01.760 executive producer does. So that's who Mike Fleiss is or 0:03:02.000 --> 0:03:05.800 was to the show before he quote unquote stepped away 0:03:06.280 --> 0:03:09.359 as of Tuesday morning. And I say that because this 0:03:09.400 --> 0:03:12.560 is what I found confusing about this surprising announcement is 0:03:12.560 --> 0:03:16.079 I'm not sure what that means stepped away, Because as 0:03:16.080 --> 0:03:18.320 the creator of a show, you can be a lot 0:03:18.360 --> 0:03:20.440 of things. You can be active, you can be an 0:03:20.480 --> 0:03:23.120 executive producer and be there day to day, or you 0:03:23.120 --> 0:03:25.760 can just sit at home and collect mailbox money. There's 0:03:25.760 --> 0:03:29.800 nothing to step into or step away from? Right. Yeah again, 0:03:29.880 --> 0:03:32.440 I guess I'll put on my journalist hat here. And 0:03:32.480 --> 0:03:35.200 when I first read this article, the first sentences Mike 0:03:35.240 --> 0:03:38.560 Fleiss is stepping down in the I'm in the article 0:03:38.640 --> 0:03:41.080 Deadline Hollywood, which is where I think it first came out. 0:03:41.360 --> 0:03:44.480 Mike Fleiss is stepping down from the creative team of 0:03:44.480 --> 0:03:49.080 the Bachelor franchise after more than twenty years. Look, I'll 0:03:49.120 --> 0:03:53.720 be honest. My first reaction was l ol, I just 0:03:53.800 --> 0:03:56.320 don't buy it. I don't think that Mike is stepping down. 0:03:56.440 --> 0:04:00.800 I don't know why he would. It's the this franchise 0:04:00.960 --> 0:04:04.520 is from what I always understood his whole world. This 0:04:04.640 --> 0:04:07.560 is the show he's known for, and these are the 0:04:07.680 --> 0:04:11.360 only shows he does. And there's no reason. There's not 0:04:11.440 --> 0:04:14.640 a reason ever given in the article. And I don't 0:04:14.640 --> 0:04:16.440 know why it's something you would need to announce like 0:04:16.520 --> 0:04:19.479 stepping down. Why would you need to Why would what 0:04:19.560 --> 0:04:21.880 would be the points like there's no he's stepping down 0:04:21.920 --> 0:04:24.599 to do this or away from or there's no reason given, 0:04:24.640 --> 0:04:26.640 which is very strange to me. Maybe let me give 0:04:26.760 --> 0:04:29.440 some some backdrop on what Lauren saying that has nothing 0:04:29.480 --> 0:04:30.880 to do with this show and nothing to do with 0:04:30.920 --> 0:04:36.479 this person. Mark Burnett incredibly creative, brilliant man, creator of Survivor, 0:04:36.560 --> 0:04:39.919 if you didn't know, among many other things, The Apprentice 0:04:39.920 --> 0:04:43.800 and other great shows. He quote unquote stepped away from 0:04:43.839 --> 0:04:48.279 Survivor many moons ago. Jeff Probst and his crew took 0:04:48.320 --> 0:04:51.039 that show over a long time ago. There's no major 0:04:51.040 --> 0:04:54.159 announcements because Burnett's still it's still his baby, it's still 0:04:54.200 --> 0:04:57.240 his show. He's still the creator of the show. But 0:04:57.560 --> 0:05:00.440 he quote unquote stepped away. Would you compare if you're 0:05:00.440 --> 0:05:04.400 a parent and you announce I'm stepping away from parenting 0:05:04.640 --> 0:05:10.960 my Child's like, get it? It doesn't make sense to me. 0:05:11.279 --> 0:05:15.080 And there's one sentence in particular that I actually take 0:05:15.160 --> 0:05:17.359 issue with it this article having covered the show for 0:05:17.440 --> 0:05:22.000 many years quote. While he's remained associated with the franchise, 0:05:22.440 --> 0:05:25.920 Fleiss hasn't been involved in the day to day operations 0:05:26.000 --> 0:05:30.359 of each series in about a decade. First of all, 0:05:30.400 --> 0:05:32.680 if you just go look at his Twitter, Mike, that's 0:05:32.720 --> 0:05:34.640 either not true or Mike doesn't want you to think 0:05:34.640 --> 0:05:37.400 that's true. Because he would tweet photos from the set. 0:05:37.640 --> 0:05:39.880 He would say at night one, here we go. He 0:05:39.920 --> 0:05:43.039 would tweet that he was making major announcements about the show. 0:05:43.200 --> 0:05:45.280 He would say, this news is coming up. He would say, 0:05:45.279 --> 0:05:48.800 are you watching? And I mean, it was always my 0:05:48.920 --> 0:05:52.839 understanding that he was like I'd heard from other journalists 0:05:52.880 --> 0:05:55.159 that he was in the control room on night one. 0:05:55.200 --> 0:05:57.479 There were some journalists who were sometimes brought into the 0:05:57.480 --> 0:06:00.919 control room. I never was I and that and that 0:06:00.960 --> 0:06:02.960 was very recent. That was in my time on the show. 0:06:03.240 --> 0:06:05.240 I think somebody did. Somebody did like a piece like 0:06:05.279 --> 0:06:08.080 reporting from the control room a few years ago. Who 0:06:08.240 --> 0:06:11.719 was it. Was it Christin Baldwin, Yes, and she was 0:06:11.760 --> 0:06:13.880 like live in the control room, and I think she 0:06:14.000 --> 0:06:17.440 talked about it. So if you're in the control room 0:06:17.440 --> 0:06:20.440 on night one, I don't that's you being pretty involved 0:06:20.440 --> 0:06:24.360 in the operations of the show. And I mean, I 0:06:24.400 --> 0:06:26.960 have met Mike a few times, but it's been at 0:06:27.000 --> 0:06:29.240 Bachelor things. He was when they started to do the 0:06:29.600 --> 0:06:32.159 those Bachelor live when they tried to do that live 0:06:32.240 --> 0:06:34.960 tour with Ben and Becca a few years ago, he 0:06:35.080 --> 0:06:37.520 was like there on the opening night. It was my 0:06:37.640 --> 0:06:40.240 understanding that Mike was still involved in a lot of 0:06:40.279 --> 0:06:42.440 the show, and to say he wasn't for a decade 0:06:43.240 --> 0:06:46.120 is wild to me. There are obviously a lot of 0:06:46.120 --> 0:06:52.440 things I know and I just can't say, but there 0:06:52.440 --> 0:06:57.080 are a lot of things that make you go. I 0:06:57.080 --> 0:06:59.680 can definitely say more will come out only that I know. 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:02.479 I don't know what these people are working on, but 0:07:02.600 --> 0:07:06.720 I heard that there are multiple journalists working very hard 0:07:07.360 --> 0:07:11.200 on this story, and that I found very interesting. And again, 0:07:11.280 --> 0:07:13.920 I don't know anything about what those journalists are working on, 0:07:14.160 --> 0:07:16.080 but I did hear that that is happening, So there 0:07:16.160 --> 0:07:18.200 is a lot more to come. We will follow this 0:07:18.200 --> 0:07:20.880 story because obviously it is a big story that I 0:07:20.920 --> 0:07:23.440 don't think we'll just be swept under the rug because 0:07:23.440 --> 0:07:26.160 it came out Tuesday morning, the night after The Bats 0:07:26.160 --> 0:07:28.840 are finale. Hey, guys, sorry to interrupt, but I'm just curious, 0:07:28.840 --> 0:07:31.360 who are these producers that are taking over? How do 0:07:31.400 --> 0:07:34.360 you feel about this, Kendall Producer Kendall. I love when 0:07:34.400 --> 0:07:36.560 Kendall jumpson because Kendall is such a long time fan 0:07:36.600 --> 0:07:38.520 of the show. Kendell, I'm glad that you brought that 0:07:38.640 --> 0:07:41.160 up because that stuck out to me too, actually, and 0:07:41.200 --> 0:07:44.560 I'd forgotten to mention it. So it says longtime executive 0:07:44.560 --> 0:07:49.200 producer Bennett Grabner, along with Claire Freeland and Jason Erlick. 0:07:49.600 --> 0:07:52.720 We'll be taking over as executive producers and showrunners for 0:07:52.720 --> 0:07:55.760 the franchise. Now. I know Bennett. I'd met Bennett several 0:07:55.760 --> 0:07:59.120 times covering the show over the years, and he's just 0:07:59.160 --> 0:08:01.320 been there a long time. That was not surprising to me. 0:08:01.400 --> 0:08:05.800 But having covered it and met meeting several of the 0:08:05.880 --> 0:08:09.640 producers year after year, I was really surprised by these 0:08:09.680 --> 0:08:13.000 other two names because I don't know them, and many 0:08:13.160 --> 0:08:16.080 other producers had come to mind for me. Who I 0:08:16.120 --> 0:08:19.680 would have thought the show would have promoted along with Bennett, 0:08:19.680 --> 0:08:22.240 people who've been putting their time in there, who are 0:08:22.320 --> 0:08:26.960 incredibly talented people. So, Babe, do you know Claire and Jason? 0:08:27.000 --> 0:08:29.480 I think it says Claire was from Bachelor Canada. Yeah, 0:08:29.480 --> 0:08:32.040 so Claire, I do not know she came from Bachelor Canada. 0:08:32.840 --> 0:08:36.280 Jason Erlich worked with me. He's an old friend. I've 0:08:36.280 --> 0:08:40.040 known Jason for many, many years. Famous uncle Kenn Erlick 0:08:40.160 --> 0:08:42.440 who did the Grammys and a lot of award shows 0:08:42.480 --> 0:08:47.440 for many years. Yeah they're related. Nepo baby, no different story, 0:08:47.720 --> 0:08:50.640 but yeah, Jay worked on the show for many years 0:08:50.679 --> 0:08:52.319 and then went off and then kind of came back 0:08:52.360 --> 0:08:54.360 and forth and jumped in a bunch of reality shows. 0:08:54.520 --> 0:08:56.600 And then obviously Bennett, as you said, you know Bennett. 0:08:56.640 --> 0:08:58.880 He's an old friend as well. Bennett's been with me 0:08:59.000 --> 0:09:02.040 on the show for decades. He came rose through the 0:09:02.120 --> 0:09:06.960 ranks and talented producer. And so yeah, those three are 0:09:07.000 --> 0:09:10.800 now according to this article in Charge, you know the 0:09:10.840 --> 0:09:13.880 Bennet of it all. Even Jason Erlick not there's most shocking. 0:09:13.920 --> 0:09:16.960 But I was a little surprised. There were a lot 0:09:16.960 --> 0:09:21.000 of people I worked with for decades who are unbelievably 0:09:21.080 --> 0:09:23.840 talented that I thought that their names would be on 0:09:23.880 --> 0:09:27.520 this list. Were even either executive producers or co executive 0:09:27.520 --> 0:09:32.800 producers that aren't there anymore. And that's that again surprises me. Again. 0:09:32.880 --> 0:09:37.360 I'm just speaking from my experience of covering the show. Look, 0:09:37.520 --> 0:09:40.040 I would sit on set for hours to explain you, guys, 0:09:40.080 --> 0:09:41.920 like I would go on what's called a set visit, 0:09:42.000 --> 0:09:43.840 and so that means you sit on the set and 0:09:44.200 --> 0:09:47.160 you wait for hours waiting for the contestants or the 0:09:47.200 --> 0:09:50.320 bachelor bachelorette to be available to do an interview. And 0:09:50.440 --> 0:09:53.200 during those hours of waiting for when they'd have a 0:09:53.200 --> 0:09:55.800 break in production, I would talk with the producers and 0:09:55.840 --> 0:09:57.320 make small talk with them and get to know them 0:09:57.320 --> 0:09:59.160 a little bit. And again, many of them are just 0:09:59.280 --> 0:10:02.600 lovely and talented. Some incredible female producers there by the way. 0:10:03.559 --> 0:10:09.600 And I would hear a lot from producers frustrations that 0:10:09.640 --> 0:10:15.400 they were not getting the chance to move up, that 0:10:15.480 --> 0:10:17.960 they were not getting their talent fostered, that they were 0:10:18.000 --> 0:10:24.400 not getting opportunity on the show. So that popped into 0:10:24.440 --> 0:10:28.720 my mind a little bit when I saw that these 0:10:28.720 --> 0:10:31.640 other two names, again, I just knew. I mean, I 0:10:31.679 --> 0:10:35.480 covered the show for like six seven years, and there 0:10:35.520 --> 0:10:38.120 are so many other producers who I thought would have 0:10:38.160 --> 0:10:40.640 been in that trio with Bennett, and so I was 0:10:40.679 --> 0:10:42.720 just a little bit surprised by this. And I don't 0:10:42.720 --> 0:10:45.120 really understand why, what it means, or where it comes from. 0:10:45.280 --> 0:10:49.760 It's another strange point of note in this article to me, 0:10:51.120 --> 0:10:55.440 so very mysterious. I think what it leads you to 0:10:55.520 --> 0:10:59.000 believe is that there is more to this story, more 0:10:59.120 --> 0:11:04.360 to this than what was kind of quietly put out 0:11:04.600 --> 0:11:09.080 Tuesday morning, the day after the finale. So there's a 0:11:09.120 --> 0:11:11.160 lot more to talk about when it comes to this. 0:11:11.320 --> 0:11:14.800 I know there's journalists and other people looking into this 0:11:15.200 --> 0:11:19.400 that think there is more smoke where this fire's burning. 0:11:19.880 --> 0:11:22.280 So we'll see, We're gonna wait and see. We'll continue 0:11:22.280 --> 0:11:35.520 to follow it up with you, Chris. We actually had 0:11:35.559 --> 0:11:38.080 a direct message. That's a great question, and I'm actually 0:11:38.080 --> 0:11:41.400 curious what the answer is. Did Mike Fleiss hire you? 0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:44.000 And how did he find you? Yeah, it was he 0:11:44.080 --> 0:11:46.320 actually did. Being the creator of the show, he was 0:11:47.000 --> 0:11:49.600 you know, there were others involved, obviously from the network 0:11:49.600 --> 0:11:52.120 in the studio, but yes, he was the first meeting 0:11:52.120 --> 0:11:54.360 I had, and he was essentially the person that had 0:11:54.400 --> 0:11:57.440 to give the final say, just like he does on 0:11:57.480 --> 0:12:00.000 who the Bachelor Bacherette's going to be, etc. So yeah, 0:12:00.040 --> 0:12:02.320 he hired me. And it was really a funny story 0:12:02.360 --> 0:12:04.600 because I did less to get this job as the 0:12:04.640 --> 0:12:07.040 Bachelor host than pretty much any job I had ever 0:12:07.120 --> 0:12:10.760 had in my life. There were you know, usually you'll 0:12:10.800 --> 0:12:13.280 have to go in and read or you'll audition, but 0:12:13.440 --> 0:12:16.080 there was just this show that was rumored about for 0:12:16.160 --> 0:12:18.400 quite some time, like six to eight months, and I 0:12:18.440 --> 0:12:21.400 had an agent. My agent said, there is this reality 0:12:21.480 --> 0:12:24.040 show and again this is early days, so that didn't 0:12:24.080 --> 0:12:27.600 even mean much. And it's this kind of relationship show 0:12:27.640 --> 0:12:31.760 about dating and it seemed very odd, very weird, and 0:12:32.160 --> 0:12:34.240 all I knew it was from the guy who did 0:12:34.760 --> 0:12:36.559 it Who wants to Marry a Millionaire or whatever that 0:12:36.600 --> 0:12:39.120 old Rick Rockwell Darvia Congress show that was on Fox. 0:12:39.480 --> 0:12:44.480 And when the list there was, you know, there's always 0:12:44.520 --> 0:12:47.280 a list in Hollywood. This list got narrowed down, narrowed down, narrowdown. 0:12:47.320 --> 0:12:48.679 I ended up on the final four, and they said 0:12:48.720 --> 0:12:50.560 they would like to meet with you. I went in 0:12:50.640 --> 0:12:53.600 and met with Mike and some other executives and the 0:12:53.640 --> 0:12:57.200 meeting was horrible. I mean it was a disaster. Mike 0:12:57.240 --> 0:13:00.520 and I hated each other. It was like oil and water. 0:13:00.760 --> 0:13:03.120 Really yeah, it was, I mean the worst meeting hate 0:13:03.160 --> 0:13:05.280 someone in a meeting. What happened? We just we just 0:13:05.320 --> 0:13:07.880 didn't get along, honestly. So, my son Josh had just 0:13:07.920 --> 0:13:10.240 been born. He was like six weeks old. I was 0:13:10.320 --> 0:13:13.080 so tired. I think I probably had spit up on 0:13:13.120 --> 0:13:17.560 my jacket. I was just a mess, and so on me. 0:13:18.000 --> 0:13:20.360 I did not put my best face forward. They were 0:13:20.400 --> 0:13:22.640 looking for. What I heard was the guy next door 0:13:22.720 --> 0:13:26.240 kind of that just married, you know, a dad, someone 0:13:26.240 --> 0:13:28.280 who wasn't threatening. Yeah, you know it was interesting. I 0:13:28.280 --> 0:13:31.280 remember you told me they really wanted someone who was married. Yeah, 0:13:31.320 --> 0:13:34.000 and another thing that was in my favor, they wanted 0:13:34.040 --> 0:13:36.480 a no name. A lot of times, what they'll do 0:13:36.480 --> 0:13:38.360 with shows is, oh, we really want a name that'll 0:13:38.400 --> 0:13:41.040 help sell and help promote the show, and so you know, 0:13:41.080 --> 0:13:43.000 it's like, oh, bring in Jimmy Kimmel, will bring in 0:13:43.080 --> 0:13:46.559 Jerry Seinfeld or whatever, so that'll help. And they wanted 0:13:46.640 --> 0:13:49.120 an unknown. They didn't want anybody to steal the limelight 0:13:49.160 --> 0:13:52.160 from who the Bachelor bacherette was. Thankfully that played right 0:13:52.160 --> 0:13:55.360 into my hands because I was an absolute nobody. When 0:13:55.400 --> 0:13:57.360 it makes sense they wanted someone married because you're going 0:13:57.400 --> 0:13:59.760 to be around possiful of women. Yeah, they didn't want it. 0:14:00.000 --> 0:14:02.280 I want questions raised or but I did hear later 0:14:02.280 --> 0:14:05.000 it's funny that first season because nobody knew the concept. 0:14:05.040 --> 0:14:06.480 No one knew what the heck was going on, and 0:14:06.520 --> 0:14:09.720 we didn't even really understand how to set up Night one. 0:14:09.840 --> 0:14:12.160 When everyone got out of the limo, there was Alex Michelle, 0:14:12.200 --> 0:14:15.239 the first bachelor, and I stood like twenty feet behind him, 0:14:15.280 --> 0:14:17.959 and I heard later, you know, to us, he was obvious, 0:14:17.960 --> 0:14:20.400 but the women, they had no clue. So they got 0:14:20.400 --> 0:14:21.840 out of the limo and the women said, well, I 0:14:21.840 --> 0:14:24.160 don't know who the bachelor, which one is the guy? 0:14:24.440 --> 0:14:26.200 Which dude is it? Yeah? Which one am I supposed 0:14:26.240 --> 0:14:28.760 to be excited about. So that's how it kind of started. 0:14:28.920 --> 0:14:31.000 And then later obviously I was nowhere to be seen 0:14:31.080 --> 0:14:33.800 on the arrivals and all that stuff. We clearly got 0:14:33.800 --> 0:14:36.920 the hint. But that's how it all started. When. But 0:14:37.000 --> 0:14:39.560 so in that meeting, what went wrong? It was just 0:14:39.800 --> 0:14:41.800 we were like oil and water. Realized we were you know, 0:14:41.880 --> 0:14:44.920 I was, you know, buttoned up and my suit and tie, 0:14:44.920 --> 0:14:48.640 you know, hair combed, combed over and you know, typical 0:14:49.000 --> 0:14:52.640 ready for a job interview. And Mike Flice is kind 0:14:52.640 --> 0:14:56.880 of this large man that wears sunglasses indoors and wears 0:14:56.880 --> 0:15:00.400 flip flops and yeah, very la. And so I see 0:15:00.400 --> 0:15:03.280 you were like Texas, We're a college shirt and he 0:15:03.360 --> 0:15:05.120 was like, lam in my flip flop. Yeah. At that 0:15:05.160 --> 0:15:06.640 point in my life, I was fresh off the boat 0:15:06.640 --> 0:15:10.440 from Oklahoma City. So I'm coming out of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, 0:15:10.440 --> 0:15:13.520 where I'm a newscaster, sportscaster, and I meet this very 0:15:13.800 --> 0:15:17.120 La guy, and I don't get this city. I don't 0:15:17.160 --> 0:15:19.720 get to Hollywood. That's not me it's not my family, 0:15:19.760 --> 0:15:22.960 it's not my life. So we just didn't click at all. 0:15:24.400 --> 0:15:27.280 But bizarrely, I got a call several weeks later that says, 0:15:27.320 --> 0:15:29.520 they want to meet you again, And I said, why 0:15:29.640 --> 0:15:32.600 to continue this joke? Like are they punking me? They 0:15:32.680 --> 0:15:34.720 just want to see how much worse I can be. 0:15:35.200 --> 0:15:37.440 But I went in and flies came out and he 0:15:37.960 --> 0:15:40.640 yelled across the room. He's like, Harrison, you were horrible 0:15:40.640 --> 0:15:42.280 at our first meeting, but I hear you're a good guy. 0:15:42.400 --> 0:15:46.720 Let's do this again. And despite our differences, we hit 0:15:46.760 --> 0:15:49.520 it off and I got the job and the show 0:15:49.560 --> 0:15:53.080 began that spring. That was like in October whatever, November 0:15:53.080 --> 0:15:57.080 two thousand and one, heading into the holidays. And then 0:15:57.680 --> 0:15:59.360 that spring of two thousand and two is when we 0:15:59.400 --> 0:16:02.280 started shooting the show and we started the Bachelor franchise. 0:16:03.200 --> 0:16:04.920 But that's how it all began. And so yeah, he 0:16:04.960 --> 0:16:08.320 was he was there from day one. Let's go back 0:16:08.320 --> 0:16:12.440 to the phone lines. Julie's calling in from Sacramento, California. Julie, 0:16:12.480 --> 0:16:16.000 what's on your mind today? Well, I'm wondering your thoughts. 0:16:16.080 --> 0:16:20.040 I've watched this show from the very very beginning, and 0:16:20.280 --> 0:16:24.200 this was the one season that I chose not to 0:16:24.200 --> 0:16:27.960 watch it. I couldn't even record it. Oh wow, why what? What? 0:16:28.200 --> 0:16:32.040 What made you change like that? What made you turn away? 0:16:32.280 --> 0:16:36.640 I don't know. I'm just bored. I'm bored with that 0:16:36.920 --> 0:16:40.720 super predictable, you know. I mean, I just feel like 0:16:40.800 --> 0:16:44.400 I could write the script. Well that's I guess if 0:16:44.440 --> 0:16:46.280 you feel like if if you feel like there is 0:16:46.320 --> 0:16:49.400 a script and there's a format that's repeating itself over 0:16:49.480 --> 0:16:51.920 and over and over, then yeah, that that you know 0:16:52.280 --> 0:16:55.200 is something and you know, look there there is something 0:16:55.280 --> 0:16:58.880 to that of the ratings, you know, being down there. 0:16:58.920 --> 0:17:02.720 This season was again the lowest rated season. Monday Night's 0:17:02.720 --> 0:17:05.480 finale was by far the lowest rated finale in the 0:17:05.560 --> 0:17:10.240 history of the show. And there was something to know 0:17:10.359 --> 0:17:13.919 going in and talking to the bachelors or bachelrettes and 0:17:13.920 --> 0:17:16.080 I would say, Okay, we're getting ready to travel or 0:17:16.080 --> 0:17:19.200 we're doing this, and there was nothing that they didn't know. 0:17:19.359 --> 0:17:21.879 I mean, these people, as you just said, Julie, you 0:17:21.920 --> 0:17:24.480 grew up. You're going to date yourself because you've been 0:17:24.480 --> 0:17:27.000 watching you said from the beginning. That's twenty one years, 0:17:27.240 --> 0:17:30.600 so you've been around as long as I have. Obviously, 0:17:30.960 --> 0:17:34.400 it's formulaic and things haven't changed that much in those 0:17:34.440 --> 0:17:38.479 two decades, and so the audience, you're not dumb. You 0:17:38.520 --> 0:17:41.080 know what's going on with reality TV, and so yeah, 0:17:41.119 --> 0:17:43.720 when you know what's coming next week and you've seen 0:17:43.760 --> 0:17:47.000 it and done it before, it's hard to watch over 0:17:47.040 --> 0:17:49.199 and over. Well, I think what you were alluding to, 0:17:49.320 --> 0:17:54.160 Babe by Julie, how are you? I think what maybe 0:17:54.200 --> 0:17:57.600 you were alluding to, though, is the idea, like you 0:17:57.680 --> 0:17:59.640 just mentioned, when you would go in and people would 0:17:59.760 --> 0:18:02.720 know what was coming. I do. It's interesting. A couple 0:18:02.720 --> 0:18:04.679 of years ago we started talking as I was covering 0:18:04.720 --> 0:18:07.040 the show about how you know, and I think everybody 0:18:07.080 --> 0:18:11.080 felt there's this problem with people wanting to come on 0:18:11.080 --> 0:18:13.120 the show just to be influencers, Like they know they're 0:18:13.119 --> 0:18:14.399 going to come on the show and they're going to 0:18:14.480 --> 0:18:16.480 get a certain following out of it, and so that 0:18:16.560 --> 0:18:20.000 takes away that genuine desire for love and makes it 0:18:20.040 --> 0:18:23.240 all seem fakeer and kind of gets them in their 0:18:23.240 --> 0:18:25.159 heads on the way they're being on the show. I 0:18:25.160 --> 0:18:27.439 think now what you have. An addition to that issue 0:18:27.560 --> 0:18:31.280 is that people auditioning for the show have grown up 0:18:31.320 --> 0:18:34.840 watching the show, so they know the formula inside and out. 0:18:34.920 --> 0:18:38.360 It's like when you you know, when you've like prepared 0:18:38.400 --> 0:18:41.640 and studied for a test, you know, they just know 0:18:41.760 --> 0:18:44.320 what's coming. They're like, oh, here's where hometowns are going 0:18:44.359 --> 0:18:46.200 to happen, or here's where the travel is going to 0:18:46.240 --> 0:18:50.399 get announced now, And I wonder if that's contributing to 0:18:50.560 --> 0:18:53.200 the boringness of it. But Julie, what do you think 0:18:53.240 --> 0:18:56.600 what's turning you off about it at this point? Well, okay, 0:18:56.640 --> 0:18:59.760 here's I mean, let's again dating myself, so twenty one years, 0:19:00.040 --> 0:19:03.159 I'm almost fifty four, so I mean I feel like 0:19:03.200 --> 0:19:05.800 an old lady. I'm watching girls that would be my 0:19:05.880 --> 0:19:09.040 daughter's age, So that could be part of it too, 0:19:09.080 --> 0:19:12.400 that it's just not interesting anymore at my age. That's 0:19:12.400 --> 0:19:15.600 a demographic change, right, Well, Julie, whatever. First of all, 0:19:15.640 --> 0:19:19.800 I think fifty four is you're a young as young 0:19:19.840 --> 0:19:22.400 spring chicken to me. But I mean because I'm look, 0:19:22.440 --> 0:19:24.679 I'm in the same boat as you, not from the 0:19:24.760 --> 0:19:27.920 aspect of watching somebody who's twenty five. But I from 0:19:28.000 --> 0:19:32.480 the very beginning of covering the show, I always struggled with, like, actually, 0:19:32.480 --> 0:19:34.960 if you go back, babe, the very first Bachelor was 0:19:35.040 --> 0:19:37.120 in his early thirties, right, he was like thirty one, 0:19:37.200 --> 0:19:39.120 thirty two. Yeah, I believe Alex was. Yeah, I think 0:19:39.119 --> 0:19:42.520 he was thirty thirty one. I think this bachelor's twenty six. Maybe. 0:19:42.760 --> 0:19:45.640 I've struggled for years with covering. I know it's not 0:19:45.680 --> 0:19:48.399 that many years of a difference, but there is something 0:19:48.560 --> 0:19:51.679 very different about where you're at and how ready you 0:19:51.760 --> 0:19:55.920 really are to get engaged at like twenty people. I'm 0:19:55.920 --> 0:19:58.440 not saying person a person, it could be different, but overall, 0:19:58.480 --> 0:20:01.760 I've struggled for years with twenty four, twenty five year 0:20:01.800 --> 0:20:04.159 olds versus thirty two thirty three year olds. I think 0:20:04.320 --> 0:20:06.520 are in a very different place, and I do think 0:20:06.560 --> 0:20:10.880 that genuineness has been missing from how young the contestants 0:20:10.880 --> 0:20:13.439 on the show have continued to get over the years. Julie, 0:20:13.440 --> 0:20:16.040 thank you so much for your call, and I'm sorry 0:20:16.080 --> 0:20:18.479 you lost one of the great loves of your life 0:20:18.640 --> 0:20:20.639 in this show. I'm glad we were there for you 0:20:20.720 --> 0:20:23.239 for so many years, but it is it's tough when 0:20:23.320 --> 0:20:25.840 you when you kind of wake up and realize this 0:20:25.880 --> 0:20:28.600 doesn't do it for me anymore, and then you got 0:20:28.600 --> 0:20:30.360 to go find that new thing. And so I hope 0:20:30.359 --> 0:20:34.240 you I hope you find the new loves. Thanks Julie. Elsie, 0:20:34.240 --> 0:20:35.560 you had a good point you brought up to me 0:20:35.600 --> 0:20:38.000 the other day because you mentioned something that just struck 0:20:38.000 --> 0:20:40.479 with me about the influencers and people that came on 0:20:40.520 --> 0:20:45.760 the show, and you noticed how that's changed dramatically as 0:20:45.800 --> 0:20:50.240 far as their impressions and their involvedment. Oh yeah, this 0:20:50.359 --> 0:20:53.400 was well, we were just talking about. I look, I'll 0:20:53.440 --> 0:20:55.520 be honest, I haven't watched the show since you left. 0:20:55.760 --> 0:20:58.560 I had not looked up anybody on social media from 0:20:58.560 --> 0:21:01.640