The Bachelor on HBO Max: Your rewatch guide
Happy HBO Max day, rose lovers! While you could spend your time watching quality library content like The West Wing or all eight Harry Potter movies, you could also go down a deep, delicious Bachelor rabbit hole. The new streaming service features 21 different Bachelor series — including Ben Higgins' season of The Bachelor, JoJo Fletcher's season of The Bachelorette, and all three seasons of Bachelor Pad (may it rest in peace). You can also watch how the rose-fueled romance goes down in different countries, with HBO Max's selection of international versions of The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, and Bachelor in Paradise. (See the full list below.) While you're entitled to watch every single episode of every single season — no judgment here! — you could also read on for my guide to the key highlights from the U.S. seasons, along with links to EW's recaps. Let the "journey" begin again!
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The Bachelor season 20, Ben Higgins
Definitely start with the premiere, simply because it's good to meet all the ladies — including identical twins Haley and Emily, as well as our future Bachelorette, JoJo. Then skip ahead to episode 3, in which our Bachelor learns that two family friends just died in a plane crash — and season 20 villain Olivia Caridi responds by pulling Ben aside and crying about her cankles. Watch:
Then skip ahead to episode 6, which features a wonderfully awkward two-on-one date between Olivia and Emily — and an even more awkward beach breakup. You can fast-forward through most of the hometown dates in episode 8 — just watch all the drama with JoJo's ex and, of course, the moment her mom chugs wine straight from the bottle. Be sure not to miss episode 9, in which Ben makes his double declaration of love, which honestly might have been the most interesting thing he did as the Bachelor. You can skip the rest.
The Bachelor season 21, Nick Viall
Hmmm. Are we really rewatching this season, rose lovers? I guess if you're hard up for something to stream, start with the premiere, then move on to episode 5, when cheese-pasta-loving villain Corrine Olympios has a ridiculous two-on-one date with Taylor... in a swamp.
(This episode also features Nick's nice one-on-one with future Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay.) And finally, move on to episode 10, the Women Tell All; Corinne serves cheese pasta to the audience and defends her love of napping. (Relatable!) With that, you can say goodbye to Nick.
The Bachelor season 23, Colton Underwood
As always, start with the premiere — but only if you have a very high tolerance for virginity jokes, because many of the ladies have something to say to Colton about his v-card. And don't miss episode 2, featuring a strange (and enjoyable) guest appearance by Billy Eichner, who has a very interesting proposal for Colton.
ABC
Episode 7 has some excellent lady-on-lady crime between Tayshia, Cassie, and Caelynn, as well as the tearful limo exit that landed Hannah B. the Bachelorette gig. Finally, episode 9 has Colton's Fantasy Suite meltdown and the fence jump hyped round the world.
The Bachelorette season 11, Katilyn Bristowe
You'll definitely want to relive Kaitlyn's premiere, because for about an hour and a half she wasn't the only Bachelorette! (Remember Britt? Anyone?) The real drama starts going down in episode 5, when season Bachelorette reject Nick Viall showed up to woo Kaitlyn, who he dated briefly after her time on The Bachelor. The brewing showdown between Nick and Shawn Booth continues in episode 6, and really boils over in episode 7 (when Kaitlyn sleeps with Nick — gasp! — before the Fantasy Suites) and episode 9, when she finally tells Shawn what happened. You could skip ahead to the finale, but now that Kaitlyn and Shawn have broken up, is there really a point? (Don't answer that.)
The Bachelorette season 12, JoJo Fletcher
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I should have appreciated JoJo more when she was our Bachelorette. Her sense of humor is very evident in the premiere, in which one guy gets so drunk he crashes her interview with producers. Season 12 villain Chad Johnson starts causing trouble in episodes 3 and 4, and he goes semi-nuclear at the Men Tell All in episode 10. As for the finale... watch if you have nothing better to do, I guess?
The Bachelorette season 13, Becca Kufrin
In retrospect, there are a lot of creeps on Becca's season. Meet them all in the premiere, and then jump ahead to episode 3, where poor Becca finds out that one of her suitors, Colton, dated her friend Tia. Enjoy the splendor of Wayne Newton's estate (and Wills' amazing floral romper) in episode 5, and then watch Becca meltdown and send Jason home before his Fantasy Suite date in episode 9. Male model and human quote machine Jordan Kimball is in rare form at the Men Tell All in episode 10, and it's really worth revisiting the finale, primarily to see how much Blake sweats during his failed proposal. (Oh, and Garrett quasi-apologizes for his problematic Instagram likes, too.)
Bachelor In Paradise
Rose lovers, I'm going to be honest with you: None of these seasons are worth rewatching. Instead, do yourself a favor and travel back to a time before The Bachelor franchise had the money to send a bunch of horny castoffs to Mexico. A time when ABC graced us with a low-budget summer spin-off featuring paint-filled water balloons, pie-eating contests, and competitive games of Twister. Skip Paradise and head right to...
Bachelor Pad
Immerse yourself in this cheestacular extravaganza with the series premiere. Then move on to season 2, which puts former Bachelor Jake Pavelka back in the mansion with his ex, Vienna Girardi, for the first time since their infamous break-up interview. Even better, Vienna starts dating Kasey Kahl, a.k.a. the creepy "guard and protect your heart" tattoo guy from Ali's season of The Bachelorette. Watch all six episodes of season 2. It'll be worth it.
Season 3 is also a must, in part because it features the glorious Chris Bukowski, who went on to have a long, ignominious career as a Bachelor Nation reject. If you don't want to watch all eight episodes, be sure to check out the premiere, episode 5 (in which Bukowski makes a masterful move at voting time), and the season finale, which features one of the most captivatingly brutal blindsides in all of reality TV history.
All of HBO Max's Bachelor content:
The Bachelor
The Bachelor US: Season 20 (Ben Higgins), Season 21 (Nick Viall) and Season 23 (Colton Underwood)
The Bachelor Australia: Season 2 (Blake Garvey) and Season 5 (Matty Johnson)
The Bachelor UK: Season 1 (David Donald) and Season 2 (Jamie Williams)
The Bachelor New Zealand: Season 1 (Arthur "Art" Green)
The Bachelor Canada: Season 3 (Chris Leroux)
The Bachelorette
The Bachelorette US: Season 11 (Kaitlyn Bristowe), Season 12 (JoJo Fletcher) and Season 14 (Becca Kufrin)
The Bachelorette Canada: Season 1 (Jasmine Lorimer)
The Bachelorette Australia: Season 3 (Sophie Monk)
Bachelor Pad
Bachelor Pad US: Seasons 1-3
Bachelor in Paradise
Bachelor in Paradise US: Seasons 4-6
Bachelor in Paradise Australia: Season 1
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