The Bachelor Is Promising “The Most Unforgettable” Summer Ever. Chris Harrison Swears It’s True

“Mike Fleiss and I were talking every day like, Okay, what should we do? We were throwing out a ton of ideas and, at the same time, Bachelor Nation was clamoring for old seasons,” Bachelor Nation host Chris Harrison told Refinery29 over the phone. The ABC host was explaining how upcoming summer series The Bachelor: The Most Unforgettable - Ever!, premiering Monday, June 8, came to fill the current Bachelorette vacuum, which was caused by the coronavirus production shutdown. Harrison, who also executive produces his long list of Bachelor series, suggested such conversations were brewing all the way back in mid-March. 

 “So @Millsy11374 @fleissmeister and I want to know. If you could see prior seasons [of The Bachelor] what would you want to see?,” Harrison tweeted as it became clear regularly scheduled 2020 Bachelor Nation series would be postponed due to the coronavirus. The other two men Harrison tagged in the tweet were ABC exec Robert Mills and the aforementioned Mike Fleiss, creator of the Bachelor universe. If anyone had the power to decide what would be next for Bachelor Nation in the face of an unprecedented global emergency, it’s this trio. 

Last week, we finally learned what the group decided on: The Bachelor: The Most Unforgettable - Ever!, a retrospective of Bachelor umbrella programming. But, the new program is going to be way more than a basic clip show, Harrison promised. 

“We thought, How could we do this?,” Harrison explained of  Unforgettable’s backstory. “Not to just drop it [on viewers] and not do it the old fashioned way, where we make you go binge watch an entire season over 10 weeks.” 

The solution is Unforgettable, which will run “almost like a podcast,” Harrison said. Over each episode’s three-hour runtime, Harrison will recap and reshow the most important moments from a single season of The Bachelor or one of its spin-offs. To maintain the Bachelor aesthetic, Harrison will host the show from the famous Bachelor Mansion.

“You’re going to see it in a way that will break it down, almost in categories. You’re going to see the main characters, see the big villain, see the big moments,” Harrison said of the retrospective episodes, which will aim to give a full-picture perspective on a season rather than serve as a simple “linear” retelling. “Then you will also hear the editorial side from the people who were involved. It’s going to be a fascinating way to ingest these old seasons that made the franchise what it is.”  

Harrison hopes you’ll see some of your favorite Bachelor Nation alums in Unforgettable’s first season. “The hope is that we show Sean and Catherine’s season. And we’re going to Zoom in with Sean and Catherine and they’ll be there with their 14 kids and you’re going to say, ‘Wow, life has really changed,’” Harrison explained with a chuckle (the Lowes have two kids IRL). 

“Same thing with Trista and Ryan,” Harrison continued, name-checking the first Bachelorette star, Trista Sutter, and her winner, Ryan Sutter. “We'll check in with them in Colorado. They have teenagers now — that’s how long the show has been on. It’s going to be crazy to not only watch these old seasons, but then flash-forward to This is where we are now.” 

Harrison is particularly excited for viewers to return to Sutter’s season. “Trista’s season is near and dear to my heart. It was our first Bachelorette, it was a wild time in my life,” he admitted. “So I can’t wait to go back and see the fashion, see the makeup ... Unfortunately, you’re going to see my fashion from back then, too. So everyone be gentle. Remember, it was a long time ago.” 

Speaking of remaining gentle, Harrison recognized there may be a few “cringeworthy” season recaps on the horizon for Unforgettable. “You’re going to see Juan Pablo’s season,” Harrison said, wincing over the phone at the thought of Juan Pablo Galavis’ Bachelor run. “It was so pivotal as you look back — how many women were impactful in Paradise and Bachelor Pad. It had Andi Dorfman, one of our Bachelorettes, and now Clare Crawley, our next Bachelorette.”

But, it's not like J.P. is the only Bachelor star to make a misstep. “Jake Pavelka is another season that I think will be a little cringeworthy to go back and watch it,” Harrison said. “You’re going to have to watch Jason Mesnick. That to me, when people say what’s the most dramatic moment, well, it was Jason and Molly and Melissa. Going back and watching that is going to be wild.”