In 2024, a single woman will still be looking for love on television. In order to bring a breath of fresh air into the dome format after ten seasons, RTL has come up with an innovation.
The last season of “The Bachelorette” ended in disappointment for RTL. The final, which was broadcast on television in August 2023, only reached 1.07 million viewers. The market shares remained below the station average for both the overall audience and the target group of 14 to 49 year olds.
Nevertheless, RTL is sticking to the dome show in 2024. In a press release, the Cologne broadcaster announced that they would be flirting in front of the cameras again in late summer – but differently than the audience was used to.
“It’s different to date a woman or a man”
With Stella Stegmann, for the first time in the German history of “The Bachelorette,” a bisexual woman is distributing the roses. In Thailand she meets 20 singles, the candidates are both male and female. The 26-year-old believes that dating both genders holds numerous surprises not only for the viewers, but also for herself: “It’s something different to date a woman or a man. I bond with women in a different way and wise. When I date men, I also like the masculine, but a woman can also be very feminine,” she explains.
Stella Stegmann isn’t worried about not feeling comfortable in front of the camera. The content creator regularly poses for her Instagram channel. Her social media community includes 332,000 followers, which the Munich resident wants to inspire with travel, fitness and humor, according to her profile description. Some Netflix users may also know the Frankfurt native: She took part in the German version of the flirt show “Too Hot to Handle” in 2023.
The innovation is causing divided opinions on Instagram. “We love,” “I think it’s great, because love is love, no matter what gender or origin” and “I’m excited about that, it’ll definitely be interesting,” some “Bachelorette” viewers praise the idea. “So I won’t watch the season,” “I imagine that would be unpleasant,” and “It’s the first time in the ‘Bachelorette’ era that I won’t tune in,” others are skeptical.
RTL was already working on the concept of “The Bachelor” a few months ago: in 2023, two single men were looking for a new partner for the first time. After a rather mixed season, the finale in mid-March achieved a solid market share of 11.1 percent with 0.58 million viewers in the younger target group and 9.5 percent in the overall audience.