Jenn Tran exuded excitement and optimism after meeting a group of single men eager to marry her on the season premiere of ABC’s “The Bachelorette.” But storm clouds are already forming over her journey to find a husband.
Tran is the first Asian lead in the popular reality franchise, and her season has been positioned by “Bachelor” producers as a crucial demonstration that they are honoring their pledge to be more culturally inclusive, moving past the criticisms over racism and cultural insensitivity that have dogged the dating show since its 2002 debut.
Yet as Tran embarked on her romantic quest, one of the franchise’s most prominent people of color is MIA.
Jodi Baskerville became the franchise’s first Black executive producer in 2021 after the racism scandal that upended the season starring Matt James, the first Black Bachelor. Now, just three years later, she is absent from the closing credits of “The Bachelorette,” which premiered Monday.
Network ABC and production company Warner Bros., who announced Baskerville’s elevation with considerable fanfare, declined to comment on her exclusion from the episode‘s credits, raising questions about whether her role has changed and the franchise’s commitment to reform on matters of race.
This season of “The Bachelorette” has already faced criticism about the near-absence of Asian men in Tran’s dating pool.
In an interview with Glamour, Tran herself called the casting shortfall “unfortunate.” Acknowledging the lack of Asian representation this season and in the franchise overall, executive producer Bennett Graebner told the Times: “That’s on us. We didn’t do what we needed to do. Our hope is that they will see Jenn and realize this is a safe space. We’re not saying it will solve and fix everything. But it is a step.”
Questions about Baskerville’s role come four months after a disastrous panel discussion at the Television Critics Assn. winter press tour, in which executive producers from “The Bachelor” were asked about the franchise’s troubled racial history and its deep struggles with cast members of color, particularly Black leads.
Instead of answering the question, Graebner and fellow EPs Claire Freeland and Jason Ehrlich froze, prompting an awkward silence that lasted several seconds.
Baskerville’s promotion to the executive producer ranks followed the firestorm that erupted during James’ 2021 stint as “The Bachelor,” which led to longtime host Chris Harrison’s exit from the franchise. James remains the only Black male lead in the series’ history.
In a move seen as an attempt to repair the damage from James’ season, Baskerville, a veteran of the franchise, was named as an executive producer for the 18th season of “The Bachelorette.” That season was a milestone: for the first time, the series had a Black executive producer, a Black lead — Michelle Young — and a Black co-host — former Bachelorette Tayshia Adams.
“Having Jodi there, having another woman of color, if there’s anytime something was concerning or I just wanted to talk about something, she was right there to do that with me [and] make me feel heard, as well as to sit down and have conversations and bring everybody else into those conversations as well,” Young said in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter.
She added, “And so I felt like with that, the story is going to be told accurately, is going to be told in a way that all walks of life can understand, but is really going to showcase those diverse love stories.”