Applications open for UNC Student Television's newest show: The Bach at UNC

Turn off ABC and tune into UNC Student Television's “The Bach at UNC," campus' version of “The Bachelor," coming fall 2021. 

"The Bach at UNC" is taking applications for the first season of the show, where 10 to 20 contestants will compete for their chance at love. The show will be available to stream on the UNC STV YouTube page. UNC sophomores Nicole Moorefield and Matt Wood will produce the show, with Wood set to host. 

Ava Pukatch, a junior and UNC STV station manager, is looking forward to increasing the station’s scope to include reality television.

“We think this could be a really exciting addition to student television,” Pukatch said. “It will really just be something fun for the UNC community to either be watching or a part of.” 

Any UNC-Chapel Hill student who is currently single and will be 21 or older by July 2021 is eligible to apply or nominate someone else. The application includes a brief questionnaire about basic information and why the applicant would like to be on the show. 

Zoom interviews will be conducted before the final contestants are chosen, Wood said. Producers advise those interested to apply by the end of February 2021 for the best chance of being selected.

Moorefield and Wood are longtime fans of ABC's "The Bachelor." They want to give fellow "Bachelor" fans at UNC a more relatable version of the show, Wood said. 

“We really want to showcase UNC as a part of this experience,” Wood said. “We’re all trying to find love here in Chapel Hill. People watching the show will see a lot of Chapel Hill themed ideas.”

"The Bach at UNC" will bear resemblance to ABC’s version of the show, with a combination of group and one-on-one dates. Wood said the hope is to use local bars and restaurants, along with places on campus, as date venues. 

Wood said that twists on the classic show might include He’s Not Here blue cups rather than roses for the rose ceremonies, and meeting contestants' roommates rather than their families. 

The series will include six to eight episodes with a run time of about 30 minutes each, Wood said. There will be one bachelor and 10 to 20 contestants, depending on COVID-19 restrictions. 

“We are going to be as safe as possible,” Sacha Orcel, a sophomore and member of the show's team, said. “We are hopeful that, by late summer, things will be a lot better and that we can make this happen. We plan on making sure COVID protocols are taken seriously and followed.” 

UNC STV has the capacity for 10 to 12 shows per semester. Pukatch said any UNC undergraduate or graduate student is eligible to pitch a show. Each show has its own crew and producers, but has access to UNC STV filming and production equipment. 

Just like on ABC's program, contestants will be eliminated each episode, with a goal of one contestant remaining at the end to continue a relationship with the bachelor.

“We are looking forward to this being something that can start up next semester and give that sense of livelihood that we haven’t had in the past year,” Wood said. “We want to get people excited to meet new people in ways that we have been devout of for a while. I think it will be pretty awesome for UNC students to feel like we are closer to being back to normal.”

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