Where We Are in Reality TV's Life Cycle

It’s been a bad week for ‘The Bachelorette’ franchise. 

For the first time in the show’s history, ABC pulled the plug on its new season just days before it was set to air. The move came after a 2023 video surfaced of the show’s star — Taylor Frankie Paul of ‘Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ fame — physically assaulting her then boyfriend. 

Could this scandal mark the end of the already struggling franchise? And what does it say about the future of the reality genre? Sam talks it out with Vulture’s TV critic Kathryn VanArendonk.

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