Bachelor Fans: Here’s the Inside Scoop with Chris Harrison #TheBachelorWinterGames

Calling all Bachelor Fans! Whether you watch the Bachelor, The Bachelorette, or both, this interview with Chris Harrison is for you!

While in LA for the Black Panther premiere, we got to spend some time over at ABC Studios. During that time, we were able to see the first episode of The Bachelor Winter Games, a new spinoff airing Tuesday night and again on Thursday on ABC. We then got to sit down with Host, Chris Harrison himself, to get the inside scoop. Check it out below.

How the Bachelor Winter Games Came to be

Chris shared that with the Winter Games, there was no real concept.  There was no idea.  After 16 years with The Bachelor and Bachelorette, it was fun to completely come up with a brand new show. They decided to make it a Global Celebration of Love.

He explained that they had figure out what that meant. They realized that The Bachelor is a hit here in the US, but it’s also one of the biggest franchises in TV history. I didn’t realize until he shared that it’s huge around the world: from Japan, China, Finland, Sweden, from Russia, the UK, and Australia and New Zealand and Canada.

They wanted to create a “pseudo Olympic Village” where they would get the biggest Stars from around the world to join the biggest Stars from their show.

The plan was to bring them together, let them live in one house, and let the mayhem ensue.  To make it more interesting, they thought it would be great to put them on skis as most of them have never skied before.

Photo credit: ABC Studios

The Bachelor vs. The Bachelor Winter Games: Which does Chris Prefer?

Given that he’s been the host for so long, I really wanted to know if the show felt the same or if it was different. So I put him on the spot a bit with this question.

He admitted that The Bachelor Winter Games may be some of his favorite television ever produced. “It’s that good”, he said.

While the show will be up against the winter Olympics, he admitted he’s not even sure if anyone will watch. The show will only run for two weeks.  But it was a lot of fun to produce.

“The Bachelor and Bachelorette will always be my babies.  It’s changed my life on many levels so that’ll always be my favorite. But this was really fun and I haven’t had this much fun in a long time.”

Can we ever expect to see Chris Harrison as The Bachelor?

“I’m so bad at it at my normal private life, I can’t imagine putting that on television.  It seems like a horrible idea.

 In all seriousness, obviously people ask that a lot.  I believe in the show and I believe in love and I had a wonderful marriage for many years. I have two great kids and I have this finite amount of time with them before they’re off to college. I produced this show for so long to be all of a sudden a contestant on it.”

He went on to share that it would be weird because he would constantly be in production/host mode instead of being The Bachelor. He would be worried about lighting and if they’re getting good content. LOL

On the need to “be still” and not step in

Our human instinct is to step in to fix things that are emotional or awkward and speak.  It’s hard. I think one of my gifts as a host that I’ve learned over the years, and one of the hardest things I do is to not speak or jump in.

It’s especially hard on television because everyone has this need to fill dead space. It can be awkward but sometimes, it’s really needed. The toughest things for me is to witness those horribly awkward situations, or somebody’s really breaking down and not try to fix it.

Chris Harrison Photo credit: Natasha C. Nicholes / HousefulOfNicholes.com

On making lifelong friends with contestants of Bachelor and Bachelorette

A lot of them are my friends. Tristan and Ryan are dear friends of mine, and Andrew Firestone is one of my closest friends.  Bob Ginny, and even now Ben Higgins and I talk all the time, Kate and Jo Jo.

I’ve had 16 years of these people that have come into my life and that I’ve taken care of.  I’ve married some of them and watched them have babies and created these families with them and on the off-camera. We’ve had deaths and divorces and love affairs and marriages.  We’ve kind of done it all and that’s not even the television show.  It’s pretty special. I have some really good friends because of this show.

Chris dishes on playing “matchmaker”

He shared with us that while he’s played Matchmaker before, he’s never thought to pair people from one season to another. But he didn’t have to because they do that on their own.

Apparently, there is a Bachelor Nation community and they cross pollinate a lot.  Because they started planning and going on trips on their own, that is where The Bachelor in Paradise came from. “We thought it was fantastic!”

What games can we expect to see in The Bachelor Winter Games?

Chris shared that they did some downhill skiing.

“You’ll see one of the contestants was in a bush, the other one was in the netting.  Our people were all over the place. I give them credit because some of them were learning to ski for the first time. Then we threw them down a mountain and said ski through this gauge as fast as you can.  We did speed skating, and then couples ice dancing.  It was fun, really cool.”

Hannah Storm will be Co-Hosting with Chris Harrison during the event. He shared with us how much a fan he was of her, and that she is truly a legend in sportscasting. Turns out, she’s a member of Bachelor Nation and a huge fan of our show.

Chris’ final thoughts: “We love what we do and hopefully, that comes across when I talk.  I’m passionate about it and unfortunately, I’m the face and the voice of this show. But there’s hundreds if not thousands of people behind me that I love and adore and they are my family.  And so it’s not lost on us what we do, and have been doing for 16 years. Even after 16 years, it’s nerve racking but we love it so thank you for what you guys do and I appreciate the time.”

Sneak peek of the first rose ceremony

There you have it! Winter Tears Are Coming. Are you ready to Fall in love with The Bachelor Winter Games?

Loved meeting and chatting with Chris, such a cool guy! I just wish someone told me to take off my Bluetooth -_- LOL
Photo credit: Natasha C. Nicholes / HousefulOfNicholes.com

Watch the premiere this Tuesday, Feb 13th at 8|7c on and Thursday, Feb 15th 8|7c on ABC! Be sure to follow along using #TheBachelorWinterGames and on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

 

You Might Also Like

No Comments

Leave a Reply