Sex sells — but sex scandals sell even better.
Sex sells — but sex scandals sell even better.
The opening of the fourth season of «Bachelor in Paradise» was one of the highest-rated episodes ever — thanks to weeks of promotion by ABC to tease viewers that they’d finally get the truth about what happened between two contestants who drunkenly hooked up.
The episode recorded a 1.5 rating among viewers in the key adult demographic — a best-ever for a «Bachelor in Paradise» season premiere. It also averaged 5 million viewers overall, making it the fourth-most watched telecast in the history of the series.
The high ratings come after those involved with the show, perhaps exploitatively, advertised that they’d address the scandal that led Warner Bros. to investigate whether DeMario Jackson hooked up with Corinne Olympios in the pool on set while she was too drunk to consent. (Jackson was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing) .
‘Bachelor in Paradise’ to air footage of Corinne and DeMario
«You’re going to see more than enough to show you what was happening that led up to the shutdown, within certain taste and values of what we can show on network TV, » host Chris Harrison told Entertainment Weekly in early August.
ABC also ran ads proclaiming that «summer was almost ruined» when production got shut down, but was ultimately saved when the show resumed following the investigation.
Clearly, people were interested and tuned in — but they didn’t get many answers.
Monday’s episode teased the scandal by showing footage of Jackson and Olympios canoodling in the pool — while she was fully clothed and drunk — as fellow cast members marveled.
‘Bachelor in Paradise’ teases drunken hookup
But the show ended with producers pulling Jackson and Olympios away, and telling the rest of the cast that production had been suspended.
It’s a cliffhanger that will probably bring viewers back.
