Former ‘Bachelor’ Host Chris Harrison Returns to TV Thanks to Dr. Phil

TELEVISION

By Michael Starr

Maybe Phil McGraw convinced him with a red rose.

Former “The Bachelor”/”The Bachelorette” host Chris Harrison, who left the ABC Warhorse franchise in 2021, returns to television with a new dating show and morning show on Dr. Phil’s new cable network in Dallas, Texas, according to “Entertainment Tonight.”

Harrison, 52, has teamed up with McGraw’s Merit Street Media network for his new deal, under which he will also contribute to McGraw’s new show, “Dr. Phil Prime Time.”

Harrison told “ET” that he thought “very carefully” about his new ventures.

“Call whether divine intervention, karma, kismet, whatever, the fact that Dr. Phil created this network in my own backyard here in Dallas, it means a lot to me, not only returning to television, but doing it here among the crowds of my hometown,” he explained.

Harrison said he began working with Merit Street Media first contributing to “Dr. Phil Primetime,” doing “some very penetrating legwork that has to do with some of these romance scams, these catfish-type things.”

McGraw, for his part, said Harrison is “so good on camera… When he first came out, the audience went crazy.”

McGraw, 73, told “ET” that Harrison’s new (unnamed) dating show “has dating elements, but this is very different and fresh.”

He added: “It’s flipping the script in a way that I think people will get addicted to it within a week. Is incredible.”

McGraw told Harrison in their first meeting on the new dating show to “think bigger and broader.”

He explained: “This is a blank slate.”

Harrison agreed with McGraw’s suggestion and said the new show will differ in variety and scope from “The Bachelor” franchise.

“People got to know and love me over two decades hosting ‘The Bachelor,’ so yes, we’re going to create a reality dating show,” he said. “For years and years I said, ‘This is the most dramatic show ever.’

“We want to create a show where those words really ring true, so this dating show will be the most dramatic ever, you can be sure of that.”

As for his new morning show, Harrison will team up with his wife, Former “ET” correspondent Lauren Zima.

“Not only can I come back to television, but I can do it with the woman I love,” he said.

Zima said their relationship “is a big part” of the show.

“The morning show we’re hosting will be a place to play games and have fun,” he told “ET.” “What matters most to both of us has always been our audience, so we want to be able to connect with them.

“What’s more relatable than talking about our relationship and what’s going on in our lives?

“I also think the morning show will be a place to be silly and play,” Zima added. “We want to give people a light, fun, entertaining time in their mornings at a time when a lot of what’s out there is tough.”

Harrison, who hosted “The Bachelor” for 19 years, left the ABC franchise under a veil of controversy in February 2021 after coming under fire for defending a previous contestant, Rachael Kirkconnell, who was accused of racism after appearing in photos attending to a pre-war event. Plantation-themed fraternity party in 2018.

ABC announced his permanent departure four months later, in June.

He later apologized.