Just a couple of weeks ago, the Miss America pageant announced that it would drop its swimsuit competition and pageant descriptor in order to focus on inner beauty and other such empowering buzzwords. That updated version will air on ABC in the fall. In the meantime, the network has swooped in with “The Proposal,” a bizarro world replacement, which makes its intentions clear when host Jesse Palmer spreads his arms wide and declares, “Let the soulmate pageant begin!” ABC’s “The Proposal” opens with the promise that “what you’re about to see has never been attempted on television,” but that’s not exactly true. The new reality show is basically just an accelerated version of “The Bachelor” by way of “The Dating Game,” hiding an eligible bachelor from the view of ten women contestants as he narrows them down in order to propose to one by the time the end credits roll. If “The Bachelorette” is supposed to be a champagne glass of romance, “The Proposal” is a “to hell with it” shot. While the man watches on from a shadowed “pod,” the women parade onstage as the crowd cheers. A perky announcer shares fun facts about them, ranging from “she loves the beach and hates parades” to “she learned to surf, even though she’s horrified by the ocean.” One is introduced as a lifelong baton twirler (“sometimes the batons are on fire!”) before it’s revealed that she’s also a neuropsychologist. Once they reach the second round, the women come back out in “beachwear,” because as Palmer puts it, “physical compatibility is a big part of falling in love.” Meanwhile, the suitor remains hidden from view until it’s down to the final three, give or take an introductory package in which he takes the form of an iridescent blob straight out of “Annihilation.” This round is especially jarring, because it’s the one in which the women are expected to get past the fun facts to bare their souls for their suitor, all the while wearing sassy bathing suits. “Dad, I’m sorry, but the first thing I want to do is be vulnerable,” one says, balancing a family scrapbook as she takes off her sarong to let her mystery man get a better look at her in a one-piece. (ABC’s website indicates that the show will also let women judge from the pod, at which point it will be fascinating to see what kind of “beachwear” her presumably male suitors might wear.) If this all sounds surreal, well, it is. In a time when even the Miss America pageant is trying to show that it understands the possible damage of judging women on their most superficial merits, “The Proposal” is doing exactly that while pretending it’s about true love. It’s also kind of incredible — and not in a good way — that ABC is airing a show about pushing engagements upon two relative strangers amidst serious questions about how it screens (or doesn’t screen) its “Bachelorette” contestants. Despite all of its attempts at both figurative and literal fireworks, “The Proposal” is also not painfully outdated, but also painfully boring. This reality show isn’t some magical solution to the nightmare that is dating. It’s a “get married quick” scheme — and we all know how that usually ends. TV Review: “The Proposal” Reality series; Mondays at 10 pm on ABC.<doc-sep>ABC won Monday night in the overnight ratings with the combination of “The Bachelorette” and the series premiere of “The Proposal.” “The Bachelorette” was steady with last week at 8 p.m., averaging a 1.4 rating in adults 18-49 and 5.7 million viewers. “The Proposal” followed at 10, opening to a 0.8 and 3.9 million viewers. “The Proposal” was ABC’s top summer debut in the time slot in three years, since the debut of “The Whispers.” On NBC, ‘Running Wild with Bear Grylls” (0.7, 3.2 million) was mostly steady. “American Ninja Warrior” (1.0, 4.2 million) was down from last week. CBS aired repeats except for “Elementary” (0.6, 4.6 million), which was even. On Fox, “So You Think You Can Dance” (0.8, 3.1 million) ticked up in the demo. On The CW, the season finale of “Supergirl” (0.5, 1.8 million) was up in the demo. “Whose Line Is It Anyway” (0.3, 0.96 million) was even. ABC was first for the night in both measures with a 1.2 and 5.1 million viewers. NBC was second in the demo with a 0.9 but third in viewers with 3.9 million. CBS and Fox tied for third in the demo with a 0.6 each. CBS was second in viewers with 4.3 million. Fox was fourth with 2.7 million. The CW averaged a 0.4 and 1.4 million viewers.<doc-sep>ABC premiered its long-awaited new dating show on Monday night after The Bachelorette, and it's . . . just . . . wow. The show in question is The Proposal, a spinoff of The Bachelor, which invites a group of scantily-clad women (and men, in future episodes) to compete for the affections of a mysterious suitor whom they can't see. Instead, the suitor is able to see them and ask tons of invasive questions about their families, hobbies, and sex lives — yes, really — before deciding if they want to propose or not. Propose marriage. As in forever. While some Bachelor Nation fans were sucked in by the show's absurd bios and the emotional reactions from contestants who had only known each other for an hour, others were far less charmed, to say the least. If you need a laugh (or just want to know you're not the only one getting Black Mirror vibes), take a look at the best tweets about The Proposal's premiere ahead.<doc-sep>
Believe It or Not, The Proposal's First Couple Is Still Engaged! A post shared by Monica Villalobos (@_mon_bon_) on Jun 19, 2018 at 1:02am PDT ABC's reality dating shows may not provide the most realistic dating expectations, but they do make for great television. The Bachelor franchise just launched its latest series, The Proposal, and we're already hooked. The show is hosted by Bachelor alum and former pro football player Jesse Palmer (best known to Bachelor fans for forgetting a woman's name during a rose ceremony), and he accurately describes the show as a "soulmate pageant." If you haven't watched the premiere yet, then you haven't yet met The Proposal's first match, Mike and Monica. The Proposal takes a bachelor or bachelorette and hides them from view while he or she is introduced to 10 contestants. The contestants (or potential "soulmates") attempt to woo the mystery chooser through a series of performances and Q&A segments, and contestants are eliminated each round until the final reveal. On the series premiere, we were introduced to bachelor Mike Rowe, a police officer from Bakersfield, CA. Mike finally narrowed down the contestants to Orange Country real estate agent Monica Villalobos, and — to our great delight — Mike decided to propose. Not your typical courtship, but did their connection last beyond the episode's filming? We're pleased to announce that yes, Mike and Monica are still happily engaged. The Proposal's official Twitter account confirmed their relationship soon after the episode aired. Congrats to Mike and Monica! And, for those wondering...they are still a couple! Excited for them to explore life after #TheProposal. pic.twitter.com/qog4gdXby3 — The Proposal (@TheProposalTV) June 19, 2018 ABC must have anticipated our skepticism, because they even had the couple record a confirmation video of their own for fans to watch. Mike and Monica even recorded a short video for us to let us know how they're doing! It may have been unconventional, but we hope #TheProposal was just the beginning of their love story. pic.twitter.com/XSRP8bvXsu — The Proposal (@TheProposalTV) June 19, 2018 The pair took to Access Hollywood to discuss their relationship, and if we weren't before, we can now confidently say that we are true believers in reality show love. We can only hope that The Proposal's next contestants have as much luck as Mike and Monica!