Fox Nation has a reality dating show, and you might as well call it "The Bachelor: Trad Wife Edition." Just don't violate any copyrights.
You probably didn't expect anything different from "The Vow" (streaming Wednesdays), the new dating show from the streaming service with the same corporate parent as Fox News. Helmed by Chris Harrison − the one-time host of ABC's reality dating behemoth "The Bachelor" who was fired under controversy − "Vow" is everything the package promises: It's a version of the reality format with a emphasis on "traditional marriage," Christianity and a mostly white cast. Plus, there are constant references to an all-powerful and knowing entity: Harrison.
Yes, technically dubbed "Chris Harrison's The Vow," the show is one
giant celebration of the man, who was forced out of "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" after 19 years.
Harrison was fired after an interview in which he defended "Bachelor" contestant Rachael Kirkconnell, who attended a 2018 sorority party themed after the "Old South" and slave plantations. Kirkconnell eventually won that season, the first to be helmed by a Black lead, Matt James, but they announced their split four years later in January 2025.
To complicate matters further, Harrison made his comments about Kirkconnell's actions during an interview on "Extra" with Rachel Lindsay, who in 2017 was the franchise's first Black Bachelorette. Although Harrison apologized, he was removed from "Bachelor" nation following the incident, with a reportedly large financial payout.
Ever the enemy of so-called "cancel culture," Fox Nation has given Harrison the reigns, both as host and executive producer, of his own very similar dating show. He is using it both as a chance to tweak the format and to stick it to his former employers.
Yes, the promo for the new series in which Harrison stomped on a rose − a marketing bit that caused ABC to send a cease-and-desist letter− was not the end of what seems like a pointed revenge arch on behalf of the embittered host.
The season premiere of "Vow" introduces us to a single man, Oregon mortgage loan officer Jace Cates, and the 10 women vying for his heart. All contestants are openly Christian (denominations are not mentioned), openly looking for marriage and children in some amorphous "traditional" sense, and are all judgmental, whether implicitly or explicitly, of the loose-morals of the "Bachelor" shows.
From further derisive "rose" references ("Bachelor" has its lead gift contestants roses in elaborate elimination ceremonies at the end of each episodes, signifying they are moving on in the competition), to the ostracizing of an actual former "Bachelor" contestant (Kylee Russell, who also appeared on "Bachelor in Paradise"), to Harrison scoffing at the format of his former TV home, there is a pointed campaign in "The Vow" to show that it is the best dating show around, and particularly better than one of the longest-running and most successful reality TV franchises of all time.
Is it better than "Bachelor"? It depends heavily on how much Christian faith matters to you, personally. Format-wise, "Vow" is almost exactly the same, except instead of the rose ceremonies, Jace simply breaks up with any woman he's not feeling at any point in the show.
Harrison also pointedly makes the cast participate in activities that fulfill the "traditional values" aesthetic, from having the women prepare food and help Jace build a fire (all in formal gowns) to praying at frequent intervals. Confessionals often take place in front of crosses. One contestant says she is "on fire for Jesus." Most of the women express a desire for an "alpha male," a "provider" and to stay home after they have children.
It's a lot to take in if religion is not a part of your life (or you're of a different faith, or if you are not as intensely Christian) and may truly only appeal to people who share this same worldview. Fox Nation is likely banking on the popularity of "tradwife" content on social media, plus their built-in conservative audience. But it's hard to reconcile this bikini-clad dating drama next to the other shows on the streamer, including Martin Scorsese's documentary series about Catholic saints, true crime, political talk and documentaries about national parks.
To give "The Vow" its due, there is actually some real potential in the idea that Jace can eliminate a contestant at any moment, giving the show some bigger stakes and making it feel more aggressively dramatic, in line with recent buzzy dating shows like "Love Is Blind" (Netflix) and "Love Island" (Peacock).
And while you'd think the Christian values of "The Vow" would make it far sexually tamer than those infamously lascivious shows, a preview of the upcoming season shows a surprising bit of suggestive content to come.
But it's hard not to think of the series as something entirely contrived out of a petty dispute, rather than its own fully formed idea. Clap backs aren't complete stories. And it's impossible to figure out what story "The Vow" is really trying to tell.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Does Chris Harrison get his 'Bachelor' revenge on 'The Vow'?
