Ratings: Did ‘Bachelor in Paradise,’ ‘After Paradise’ fall after Ben Higgins’ ‘Bachelor’ reveal?

Last week, we imagined in our head some ABC executive doing dance moves in an office over the ratings of “Bachelor in Paradise” and “After Paradise,” which both hit their highest numbers ever. We also speculated that in part, one of the biggest reasons why was anticipation to watch to see Ben Higgins officially revealed as the new star of “The Bachelor.”

Interestingly, the ratings are in for this week, and “After Paradise” managed to score the same 1.0 rating that it did for its Ben reveal last week! So much for that idea; maybe people are just starting to get aboard the aftershow? The flagship show did sage slightly to a 1.5 rating, but that’s still a pretty good number and we feel like it’s a near-guarantee that the show is going to be back on the air for a third season next summer.

We really should point out here that if “After Paradise” was a scripted drama, the ratings probably would not be anywhere near as good as we consider them in context. This is just an extension of a franchise, and one that has to be extremely affordable to make since you just need a studio audience, Chris Harrison, Jenny Mollen, and then the guests. That’s why it is also likely to return as long as the parties involved want to keep doing it.

With many shows falling hard in the ratings, this really has not been a great summer for network TV. Therefore, we imagine that ABC for the time being has to be pretty dark pleased with what they have going on with these shows.

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