After Arie Luyendyk Jr. – The Bachelor drama, can’t the show cast a fresh face?

Earlier this week, it was officially announced that Arie Luyendyk Jr. would be the new Bachelor … and many people are not pleased. While we don’t want to say that the reaction to the news is universally negative, there are a good many questions regarding why ABC came up with this decision as well as why they’ve decided to bring him on board now, so many years after his season with Emily Maynard aired. There are people upset that it’s not Peter Kraus, and then there are some people who have only recently started to watch the show and have no clue who he is.

Is it a bad thing to have zero knowledge of The Bachelor before a season? We don’t necessarily think so, and that brings us back to another question: Why doesn’t ABC consider going back to the way the show used to be, where every season starred a fresh face who was notable in some way? This is the premise that initially made the show a hit, and spawned so many other seasons. You had very successful leads, and there were promises of this great life that came with the winner.

Well, this is where things start to fall apart. One of the reasons why the network seemed to eventually drift from this concept was because by and large, this format failed to really produce all that much in terms of serious relationships after the fact. The show feels as though it’s less of a risk to have people brought on board with more of a familiarity about the “process” and what it entails — they want people to propose in the end! If they are not getting that, then there’s no huge romantic moment to discuss at the end of the season. They also do want more people to stay together, and the relationship track record is slightly better with franchise faces than it was with people who they’d specifically cast for the role with no prior experience in the franchise.

In the end, The Bachelor may be about following your heart, but production likes to be able to assert some element of control as to how that happens. They don’t want to take many risks, and with Arie, they don’t feel like they’ve made a huge swing. Even if he’s not the most popular Bachelor in history, his season will likely end in a way that is similar to many others.

Do you think that The Bachelor should go back to casting fresh faces in the wake of the Arie Luyendyk Jr. casting? Share now in the comments below!

Meanwhile, you can head over here to get some CarterMatt news regarding some of what Peter had to say about Arie getting the gig. (Photo: ABC.)