The Golden Bachelorseason 2’s lead, Mel Owens, is the second lead to be cast out of obscurity rather than pulled from theBachelorNation pool like the franchise is known to do, andwith this surprising decision, I think it’s clear that the show has been learning from its past mistakes. WhileThe Golden Bachelorseason 2won’t be airing until later in 2025, the season is already getting ready to film and making major announcements about what’s to come. Sharing that Mel, a former NFL player turned lawyer, will be the lead,The Golden Bacheloris making waves.
While Mel’s time on the show could be as disastrous as Gerry Turner’s turn onThe Golden Bachelorseason 1, the franchise is looking ahead to making some big changes to the show while maintaining one its fun quirks. ThroughoutBachelorhistory, casting has been the primary issue faced by the show’s production team. While the early days ofThe Bachelorfeatured men who were cast for the role, the show eventually moved to a model of picking from a contestant pool for its leads.Mel will be one of the few who’s been cast specifically for the leading role.
As the new lead of The Golden Bachelor, Mel’s definitely in the right position.
The Golden Bachelor Season 2 Cast Mel Owens As The Lead
He’s A Great Catch
Mel, a former NFL player who became a lawyer after his retirement, may not be as well-known as previousBachelors, but his announcement asThe Golden Bachelorseason 2’s leadwas massively exciting. Whilethere’s a lot to learn about Mel in the coming months, the fact that the series took a chance on him already speaks volumes about his character. Deciding to go the route of casting an eligible bachelor rather than using a contestant from the previous season ofThe Golden Bachelorettewasn’t exactly a surprise, but it also wasn’t the expected move fromThe Golden Bachelorteam.
The Bachelor Franchise Went Back To Its Roots Casting-Wise
Mel Was Cast For The Role
WhileI predicted that the nextGolden Bachelorleadwould be a franchise outsider and was hopeful I’d be right, I was also not interested in holding my breath for theBachelorfranchise. Over the years, things have changed consistently with the show in a way that I haven’t been happy with, especially when it comes to casting.The Bachelorand its various spin-offs have suffered from issues in castingwhere the team is openly choosing someone they feel will be a safe bet, but not understanding that those contestants aren’t going to pop as the leads on their shows.
WithThe Golden Bachelorhaving to cast traditionally rather than pulling from their pool of contestants when it came to Gerry,it gave the team a different way to look at what they wanted in a lead. While Gerry may not have been the best lead inBachelorhistory, throughout the run of the show it was clear that he was charming, charismatic, and wanted to find love.Gerry’s trajectory wasn’t entirely positive, but the effort behind finding him was a great one, and without the drama added on, he was a greatGolden Bachelorlead during the show’s duration.
Now, seeing that the show has chosen to castanother lead in the traditional sense with Mel, I’m happy to see that things are moving along in a similar way. Learning from their past mistakes but choosing to move forward in the way they see fit,I’m hopeful that Mel’s casting is a sign of things getting better within the franchise. Moving back to more traditional casting could be a way to help the franchise as a whole, not just theGoldenshows.
The Show Suffers When It’s Too Contrived
Although not much is known about Mel in terms of his past or his expectations asThe Golden Bachelorlead, it’s clear that he was a good choice for the show to make as the season’s filming gets underway.Mel may have had a somewhat public past, but he’s moved forward into a more private present. After playing in the NFL for Los Angeles Rams for nearly a decade (which will surely come into play for a fun date in LA during the show, right?),Mel retired at just 31 years oldand moved into a new professional space.
After working as a financial advisor for years, Mel decided to go to law school in the early 2000s and became a lawyer. Specializing in workers' compensation and sports law,Mel has worked some intense cases in the industry, including leading a seminal 2013 case involving brain injury against the National Hockey League. WhileMel has been very involved in his workthrough the years, he was married for 25 years to his ex-wife Fabiana Pimentel, and clearly hopes to get into another committed relationship. As the new lead ofThe Golden Bachelor, Mel’s definitely in the right position.
The Golden Bachelorseason 2 will premiere in the Fall of 2025.
