The Vietnam adaptation of American reality TV show The Bachelor will premiere this month.
Back in March this year, it was announced that Vietnam would be getting its own installment of the dating show The Bachelor soon. Usually, such an announcement is nothing new: local audiences currently enjoy many Vietnam versions of foreign shows — from global phenomena like The Voice, MasterChef and Dancing with the Stars to more obscure programs like Spain’s Your Face Sounds Familiar (Guong Mat Than Quen).
News of The Bachelor Vietnam was met with polarizing responses. Some members of the potential audience were eager to enjoy the unique brand of reality TV drama that the dating show brings, while others expressed skepticism toward the decision to localize The Bachelor.
Saigon-based Jean-Marc Nguyen (Quoc Trung) is Vietnam's first The Bachelor. Photos via Facebook page Anh Chàng Độc Thân - The Bachelor Vietnam.
The original version of The Bachelor is known for many things, but subtlety is not one of them. A guilty pleasure watched by many, it’s famous for alcohol-addled fondling, gratuitous skin reveals, rambunctious cat fights and the line “I think he might be the one,” spoken with impassioned solemnity. All of the above are the strengths that make it great television but are also the reason why local netizens question its compatibility with Vietnam.
Like its predecessor, The Bachelor Vietnam revolves around a well-heeled, chiseled bachelor's quest for love and the twenty-odd female suitors vying for his attention. In this case, it’s 33-year-old Quoc Trung, a Viet Kieu from France who’s the Chief Operation Officer of a Saigon-based company, and 24 women of Vietnamese descent. Over the course of the series, the cast will engage in one-on-one dates, group dates and other activities across the country.
The 24 female contestants will live together for a month in this mansion. Photo via Zing.
Trung’s identity was kept a secret right until the press conference and trailer launch for the show on August 6. Before the event, the production team spent some 30 days shooting in various locations in Vietnam: (as spotted in the trailer) Hoi An’s candle-lit riverside patios and Ba Na Hills’ now-infamous Golden Bridge, among others.
During the press event, Trung admitted that, at times, his limited Vietnamese prevented him from fully conveying his thoughts and feelings to the ladies. “Before participating in this dating show, I never thought that I would find love. I didn’t expect to find a suitable girl after 30 days,” Trung shared, reports Zing.
Knowing full well all the reservations some viewers had regarding the US version’s risqué nature and misogynistic tones, the producers assured that they took special care during the filming and editing processes to modify the show’s standard recipe to fit Vietnam. According to the production team, the show will not portray any scene with drunken tirades, fights between female contestants or heated skin-on-skin action.
The show's official banner.
It remains to be seen if these adjustments will hold for the entirety of the run, but judging by The Bachelor Vietnam’s trailer, the focus seems to fall mainly on the female contestants and their experience rather than drama, be it manufactured of organic. Little is known about Trung from the footage apart from the fact that he’s mastered the “contemplative gaze at sea” pose, a uniquely The Bachelor feature.
According to the show’s Facebook page, the series will be screened on HTV7, in addition to ZingTV, iflix and YouTube. The first episode will premiere next Tuesday, August 14 at 8:30pm. In the meantime, have a look at The Bachelor Vietnam’s official trailer below:
[Video via Facebook page Anh Chang Doc Than - The Bachelor Vietnam]
