Maybe you remember this: A couple of years ago, The Bachelor—ABC’s megahit reality show featuring (nonblack) men, with access to an inordinate number of roses, who were looking for love while the cameras rolled on—was accused of being racist. In 19 seasons of the show, there had never been a black bachelor. There was even a lawsuit in 2012 over it. Despite the outcry, ABC never stepped up to the plate.
But WeTV did. Enter Match Made in Heaven, a new reality show featuring Shawn Bullard, a 34-year-old, once-engaged but never-married real estate developer, who the network is billing as “America’s First Black Bachelor.” (Are we not counting Flavor Flav?) Bullard is looking for TV love from among 24 women of various hues. The show also features his mother, Maggie Bullard, who in a preview takes a not-so-subtle shot at ABC’s bachelor blackout by asking, “Why settle for a rose when you can have chocolate?” Shady.
