Will the real Nick Viall please stand up?
When ABC’s reality giant “The Bachelor” debuts its 21st season, the mystery is this: Can a jerky leopard change his spots?
Mr. Viall, 36, who failed to find love on three previous installments of the “Bachelor” franchise, talks about this a great deal in the season premiere (Monday, 8 p.m.) The 30 lithesome would-be fiancees discuss this. Longtime host Chris Harrison probably mentions it as well, but who can remember? The episode is a long night, fueled by anxiety, tears and booze.
Promos for the show refer to him as a “bad boy” and “the most controversial ‘Bachelor’ in history,” which might well be true. Nick seems to understand that embracing his softer side — and he can be genuinely funny — is a more winning image.
The lineup of wifey candidates is more diverse than ever, including Rachel Lindsay, 31, an African-American lawyer from Dallas, and Taylor Nolan, 23, a biracial mental health counselor from Seattle.
Of course, there are the usual villains-in-the-making. Corrine Olympios, 24, has some sort of online business and apparently “runs” her family’s “multimillion-dollar” business in Miami. Her early antics in the Bachelor mansion indicate that she’s a sneaky one.
On the bright side, Danielle Maltby, a neonatal nurse from Nashville (such alliteration!), comes off as soft-spoken and charming and has the good taste to wear a really nice red dress with nary a sparkle on it.
Another who makes a dignified first impression is Vanessa Grimaldi, 29, a special education teacher from Montreal.
Know what not to wear if you’re looking to win that First Impression rose? A shark costume. Alexis Waters of Secaucus, N.J., loves dolphins. Really, really loves dolphins. She tells Mr. Viall she will “dolphin-ately” talk to him later. Girl apparently could not find a dolphin costume, so there she is, dressed as a shark. Will she be able to “fin”ish the conversation?
According to the Hollywood Reporter, ABC is trying out another version of its Snapchat experiments with this season’s show. Each Tuesday morning, celebs, past candidates and comedians will be shown commenting on the previous night’s episode.
Ten Snap episodes will stream via the app’s Discovery platform.
Also on reality TV
• The monsters are back.
Syfy’s excellent “Face Off” presents an all-star season beginning Jan. 24, promising beautifully creepy special makeup effects in one of television’s best reality competition shows.
Five of the 16 artists have ties to the Pittsburgh area. Evan Hedges (Denver, season nine), Cig Neutron (New Castle, Ind., season seven), Ashley Keaghlan (Oxnard, Calif., season seven) and Tyler Green (Litchfield, Conn., season six) all attended Tom Savini’s Special Make-up Effects Program in Monesson.
George Troester (Buffalo, season seven) is a graduate of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.
• FYI, which brought you “Marriage at First Sight,” also wants to prove that love is blind.
“Kiss Bang Love,” which premieres Tuesday, is promoting itself as the “official NYE Kiss Sponsor.” It will a stage mini-version of the show’s premise, where people kiss, blindfolded, to see if there is a hormonal attraction.
One woman will kiss a number of single men on New Year’s Eve, and FYI will broadcast this, live, on screens in New York’s Times Square throughout the festivities.
Maria Sciullo: msciullo@ post-gazette.com or 412-263-1478 or on Twitter @MariaSciulloPG.
First Published: December 31, 2016, 5:00 a.m.
