End of the road for Bachelor franchise: Finale dubbed ‘worst show ever’ by viewers as rumors swirl that show will be scrapped for good after disastrous ratings

When a bachelor hands out his last rose and no one is looking, has that ever happened?

Channel 10 has been rumored to be forced to scrap the Bachelor franchise for good after Sunday night’s finale dropped to record lows.

The finale of the dating show with Jed McIntosh, Felix Von Hofe and Thomas Malucell aired in five major cities to just 358,000 viewers, making it the lowest finale ever in bachelorette party history.

The result is no less than 38.6% lower than the last Bachelor final, which was broadcast in 2021.

It marks the end of a devastating television season for the ailing show, which averaged just 291,000 subs per episode.

The series began on January 9 with its lowest ever start, with just 309,000 Tube viewers.

The finale of the dating show with Jed McIntosh, Felix Von Hofe and Thomas Malucell aired in five major cities to just 358,000 viewers, making it the lowest ever finale in bachelor party history. (Pictured: Bachelor franchise host Osher Gunsberg)

It was 18,000 below ratings-starved show The Project, which aired immediately before.

While the matchmaking show had nearly a million Tube viewers per episode in its 2018 peak, episodes this season have regularly dipped below 300,000.

Meanwhile, critics have called for The Bachelors to be scrapped after Sunday’s finale, with many producers favoring drama over true love stories.

Meanwhile, critics have called for The Bachelors to be scrapped after Sunday’s finale, with many producers favoring drama over true love stories.

Time to close up shop after this season. Needless to say the obvious, but it was a total flop,” one lamented, while another agreed, “I’ve always loved this franchise, but this season was so bad. It’s time to retire it to the archives.”

Another added: “It’s been a terrible season. It was more about drama and less about love.”

Still, Channel 10 bosses announced on Saturday that they were happy with the show’s performance based on its streaming numbers, TV Tonight reported.

Meanwhile, critics have called for The Bachelors to be scrapped after Sunday’s finale, with many producers favoring drama over true love stories.

Senior vice president Daniel Monaghan told the publication: “What’s really encouraging for us is our biggest 10Play launch yet.

“Since its launch, The Bachelor has been the number one commercial course on BVOD with a growing number of 100 million viewer minutes.

“The Bachelors has proven its worth on every platform, dominating younger demos on air, growing 55% in 7-day catch-up audiences, being the most-watched BVOD ad and stealing social media conversations.”

Still, Channel 10 bosses announced on Saturday that they were happy with the show’s performance based on its streaming numbers, TV Tonight reported. (On the photo: The Bachelor candidates)

Monaghan went on to say that the network is pleased with the development of the show and is engaging with younger online audiences.

However, The Bachelors showed twice as many episodes a week this summer, leading to speculation that Channel 10 was trying to rush through the season to focus on other shows.

The primetime show once drew around a million viewers a night as NRL’s “Honey Badger” Nick Cummins attracted 940,000 fans in the capitals alone.

Senior vice president Daniel Monaghan told the publication: “What’s really encouraging for us is our biggest ever 10Play launch

But the franchise and Ten have declined rapidly since then.

Last year’s premiere was called a disaster when it drew just 482,000 Tube viewers.

Now the latest figure of 309,000 may be definitive, as it fell even further on the second night to just 273,000.

The prime-time show once drew around a million viewers a night when NRL’s ‘Honey Badger’ Nick Cummins (pictured) drew 940,000 fans in the capitals alone, but the franchise and Ten have declined rapidly since then