The Bachelorette is back, and oh, how we’ve missed it. Thanks to successful seasons of The Golden Bachelor and The Bachelor (with Joey at the helm), the franchise has been on a roll as of late, and based on the first episode of The Bachelorette (made available early for press), we’re in for another must-watch season, this time with Jenn Tran as the lead.
“Jenn is someone who has talked about having never been in love before, and this is an incredible opportunity for her,” host Jesse Palmer tells Glamour. “Normally, with past leads, you know their story so much better, so it’s going to make it a lot more exciting in some aspects.”
Palmer is referring to the fact that the physician’s assistant student was eliminated right before hometown dates in week seven of The Bachelor. While Jenn definitely made it far, viewers didn’t get a chance to know her as well as typical leads. Of course, all that will change this Monday night.
It will soon become obvious why she was the perfect choice to lead the new season. Jenn thrives as the Bachelorette, and she’s a hell of a lot of fun to watch with these guys, who think they’re always one step ahead of her (they’re not). Palmer says there are several men you should keep an eye on this season, starting with Devin, who is one of the youngest guys, “which naturally, I think, creates questions amongst some of the other men. He’s very confident, extremely quick-witted, very intelligent, and a good-looking dude, but are there more sides to him? That’s a big question.”
Then there’s Sam M., who Palmer says “could be a force to reckon with in the house.” He’s not to be confused with Sam N., who Palmer says has never had a girlfriend before. “What will he be comfortable sharing with Jenn? How’s he going to be around the other guys? Is he a jealous guy? I don’t know, but I guess we’re going to find out.”
Another guy that Palmer says to look out for is Marcus, who “has an amazing personal story. He has lived 20 lives, and is someone who I hope is not going to be afraid to be vulnerable and share some of that with Jenn because he’s very unique.”
We’ll have plenty more intel and interviews during Jenn’s season, so bookmark this page for easy reference. (I was actually on set during Jenn’s journey, which took us to the gorgeous city of Auckland, New Zealand.)
Another show I highly recommend this week is the new three-part Hulu docuseries, Mastermind: To Think Like a Killer. It’s a fascinating look at the personal and professional life of Ann Burgess, DNSc, who is basically a real-life Olivia Benson. She’s responsible for changing the way serial killers and kidnappers are profiled, and most impressively, she did it at a time when women weren’t really in leadership positions at the FBI. Mastermind was not a documentary I anticipated being so enthralled with, but Dr. Burgess has a fascinating story, and at 87, she’s not slowing down.
