Is season 10 of Bachelor in Paradise taking a cue from its original iteration, Bachelor Pad?
The Monday, July 7, premiere of the ABC spinoff introduced the idea of games at the new Paradise resort in Costa Rica.
“[There’s] a lot of compatibility testing and challenges, which is a lot of fun,” host Jesse Palmer told Us Weekly during an exclusive interview. “I got to wear a game show host hat from time to time, which was really cool and unique. It keeps our cast on their toes. They never know what’s around the corner.”
Jesse said that it “raises the stakes in a way that we’ve never seen” on BiP.
“And I think getting everybody in a group setting more often was really interesting. It helped people learn more about each other from a connection standpoint, and the group got to learn more about each other as well,” he said. “So there’s more twists and turns coming too.”
While the group does an activity about finding each other’s red flags in the premiere, the trailer teases some physical challenges that almost look like they could be played on Survivor or The Challenge.
“If you think you know how Paradise works, get ready, because everything is about to change,” Jesse says in the clip.
Another game appears to be inspired by a Love Island–type challenge, with cast members making out with people outside of their connection “to see if you have fireworks with someone else.” In the supertease, Kat Izzo describes the station as “Hunger Games: Paradise Edition.”
The season trailer ends with a bag of $500,000 of cash — and Jesse teasing, “Your fate is going to be determined tonight. You have to make your most important decision: half a million dollars, or is it love?” (He previously told the cast in the premiere that the show “hope[s] to offer our best and our strongest couples a life-changing opportunity.”)
When pressed for details during his chat with Us, Jesse played coy. “That was Wells’ bag of money — you never know who doesn’t take credit cards in Paradise,” he teased. “People are going to have to watch to find out. Wells has to be more careful keeping that money lying around.”
While some fans have considered Paradise (and all versions of The Bachelor) a competition show since its 2002 premiere, the franchise typically leans into the idea that contestants are simply looking for love. Bachelor Pad, which aired for three seasons from 2010 to 2012, was the only previous spinoff with a cash prize.
The format followed Bachelor and Bachelorette alums competing in both individual and coupled-up challenges for immunity, with the group voting to eliminate contestants each week. The final couple won $250,000, with season 3 star Nick Peterson being the only contestant to opt to “keep” the money instead of “share” with his partner, Rachel Truehart.
Bachelor in Paradise airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.
