On The Bachelor season 26, Jesse Palmer doesn't seem to be resonating with fans following his first night as the new host. The former Bachelor was announced as the new franchise host in September 2021, just three months after Chris Harrison announced his departure. Jesse said in his statement that he was excited to take on the new role. He also shared that he was looking forward to helping Clayton Echard find the love of his life on the series.
At first, viewers were thrilled to hear that Jesse would be stepping into Chris's shoes. Jesse has hosted a number of different shows in the past, such as the now-defunct ABC series, The Proposal, and Food Network's Holiday Baking Championship. He was the host of DailyMailTV from 2017 to 2020. He seemed like the perfect guy for the job, so why aren't fans vibing with Jesse as The Bachelor's new host?
Before Jesse was confirmed as the new host, rumors about several other possible hosts were circulating online. One of the possibilities was Emmanuel Acho, who hosted Matt James' After the Final Rose episode. Many viewers thought that the former linebacker would have been the perfect fit, as the published author hosts his own YouTube show and is a person of color. The Bachelor franchise has lacked diversity for years, and bringing in Emmanuel would have opened up the show to an audience who might have never tuned in before. Other than Emmanuel, viewers thought that Wells Adams would have been another great choice. Wells, who wanted to be The Bachelor host, has been the bartender on Bachelor in Paradise since season 4, and even acted as host on a few episodes during the lastest season.
Fans were disappointed when Wells and Emmanuel were both overlooked by producers. So far, viewers are finding Jesse a bit boring, and most of them believe that he isn't offering the audience what they had hoped for. If Emmanuel was hired for the position, he would have been able to offer Clayton some inspiring pieces of advice that could have helped him in his The Bachelor journey. If Wells had the job, he would have brought some personality to the show. He is known for cracking jokes and being the funny one, so he would have been a nice change of pace for The Bachelor franchise. It seems like the producers want to stick to what they know, and what has generated steady ratings for the past 20 years.
Even though Jesse isn't resonating with viewers right now, there is hope that fans of the show will warm up to him later in the season. For the past few years, casting for the franchise has been very hit or miss. At the moment, it seems like Jesse isn't hitting the target.
The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m EST on ABC.