A new season of The Bachelor will begin on Monday (8 ET, ABC), and leading man Peter Weber will meet a total of 30 women hoping to win his heart in the premiere episode. Peter, a commercial pilot, appeared on Hannah Brown’s season of The Bachelorette last year and finished in third place.
It remains to be seen if Peter’s season will be as dysfunctional as Hannah B.’s or as devastating as Arie’s, but FTW’s Bachelor experts Nick Schwartz, Marissa Kasner and Greg Presto are ready for the drama. Here are eight things we hope to see during Peter’s journey to love.
1. An A-List celebrity cameo
Because Peter’s a huge Seahawks fan (he showed up on the Seahawks’ official Twitter account in December) I’m hopeful it’s Russell Wilson and Ciara on a group date… throwing or dance contest, either will do. But what I want most on this date is for Peter to be more into Russell than his lady suitors.
If we can’t have The Wilsons, I’ll take more Fred Willard. – Marissa Kasner
2. Cheesy pilot-themed graphics and songs
The last time the Bachelor was a pilot, Jake Pavelka’s entire season was themed “On the Wings of Love.” As he whittled the women down and went on three different helicopter dates, a cover of the 1982 Jeffrey Osborne song would swell and take over. The season’s tagline was “Wanted: Co-Pilot for Life”!
I’m hoping for Bachelor in Paradise-level fun to be had with Peter’s pilothood. All transitions between scenes should use clouds to cross-dissolve to the rose ceremony. Sky-writing to ask if women will accept his rose. And another theme to hammer it all home: “Wind Beneath My Wings,” “Fly Me to the Moon,” or something newer, like, I don’t know, “Like a G6.” – Greg Presto
3. A revelation that one of the contestants already has a partner at home
Preferably not the woman that Peter offers his Final Rose to, but nothing stokes up Bachelor Twitter quite like a bombshell report that one of the contestants already has someone at home and they’re only going on the show to increase their Instagram following or further their dog jingle careers. – Nick Schwartz
4. A contestant crying because she hasn’t gotten to fly with Peter yet
To go with all the airplane-themed graphics and music, I’m expecting plenty of flying dates—at least one per episode. It’s a given that one of these dates will be with a woman who is afraid of heights, like Britt’s hot air balloon ride in Chris Soules’ season, or Tayshia’s bungee jumping expedition with Colton Underwood. But what could be fun: Someone crying that they don’t get to fly.
There’s always a contestant who thinks they should have more one-on-one time that they’re getting—to be made to feel special, to “ask the tough questions,” and really “get to know” the person they’ve been dating for 2 weeks. With Peter’s piloting, I’m hoping for a contestant who feels that, because she hasn’t flown with him yet, she hasn’t really gotten to know “his world.” Then: Crying. – Greg Presto
5. Windmills… in moderation
I’m super hopeful the flight/aviation [and windmill, for that matter] jokes subside after week one or two. We were fortunate enough that “Roll Tide” did not carry through the entire Hannah season; please, dear producers, pay us the same respect. – Marissa Kasner
6. Zero surprise concerts with no-name country artists
If you’ve watched a few seasons of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, you know exactly what I’m talking about. The show tends to recycle certain date activities (it’s an absolute lock that we’ll see some bungee jumping in Peter’s season), but the surprise concert has always struck me as too over-the-top, even for this series. Without fail, a date will end with The Bachelor or Bachelorette leading their date into an auditorium where there just happens to be a crowd of cheering people and some artist you’ve never heard playing on stage. If we’re going to keep doing this, let’s spend some money, ABC. Give me Taylor Swift or something. – Nick Schwartz
7. Shop talk with the flight attendant contestants
I know the show has to be edited to be all about “finding love,” but I always want the conversations contestants have with the Bachelor or Bachelorette to be more interesting. There’s a Harlem Globetrotter in your cast, and you’re not just asking him 100 questions about dunking? There’s a DJ, and you’re not talking about music? A dental hygienist, and you don’t ask what “occlusal” means?
Peter’s cast of Bachelorettes doesn’t have any other pilots, but there are three flight attendants. Let’s hear them geek out! Another contestant—a marketing consultant, let’s say—comes to try to “steal him away,” but Peter brushes her off because he’s enthralled with one of the attendants’ tales of an emergency landing (“we were landing heavy”) in Stockholm, or a passenger who had to be literally dragged down the aisle because they weren’t upgraded to Economy Plus. We can get to whether people are “here for the right reasons” later. I want to hear some shop talk. – Greg Presto
8. A less chaotic ending
Finally, I’d like a less dramatic season ending. Yes, I said less dramatic. Arie’s After The Final Rose was great TV, but so, so sad; people had a hard time being excited about Becca & Garrett (I wish them well); Colton cheated us the Neil Lane appearance + engagement; Hannah and Jed were over before they started – again, great TV, but devastating! Give us a happily ever after, Peter! But also don’t make it obvious who you’re going to pick. Ok? Thanks. – Marissa Kasner
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