Former ‘Bachelor’ Colton Underwood Filming His Own Netflix Reality Show After Coming Out
Colton Underwood, former star of “The Bachelor,” is getting his own reality show at Netflix, Variety has learned.
The project, which is currently in production, is an unscripted series with multiple episodes, numerous sources tell Variety, describing the project as focusing on Underwood living his life publicly as a gay man.
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Netflix declined to comment on the project.
News of Underwood’s Netflix deal comes after the television personality, author and former pro football player came out on national television, during a deeply personal interview that aired Wednesday morning on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
While the full scope of the series is under wraps, an insider tells Variety that Olympian Gus Kenworthy will appear in the series, acting as a guide, of sorts, for Underwood.
No word yet on when the series will launch, though a source close to production says Underwood is currently filming.
Earlier today, Underwood came out, telling Roberts on “Good Morning America,” “For me, I’ve ran from myself for a long time and I’ve hated myself for a long time, and I’m gay. I came to terms with that that earlier this year and have been processing it.”
“The next step in all of this was sort of letting people know,” Underwood said in the interview. “I’m still nervous, but it’s been a journey for sure.”
Underwood was first introduced to TV viewers in 2018, as a contestant on Becca Kufrin’s season of “The Bachelorette” on ABC. He then joined the cast of “Bachelor In Paradise” Season 5, before becoming “The Bachelor” in 2019 for its 23rd season.
During his season of the ABC dating show, Underwood was heavily marketed as “The Virgin Bachelor,” and his virginity was a major storyline — something he later said he believed was “overblown,” but not necessarily exploited.
Prior to reality TV fame, Underwood was a tight end at Illinois State. He was signed by the San Diego Chargers in 2014 as a free agent in 2014, and was on the practice squad of the Oakland Raiders and Philadelphia Eagles.
Prior to coming out during the Wednesday morning interview, Underwood had spoken about his struggle with his sexuality in the past, revealing that growing up, people thought he was gay since he was a virgin football player.
Underwood’s identity as an athlete and gay man is said to be a theme in the new Netflix show, according to a person familiar with the project, who did not reveal any more detailed information.
In an interview with Variety last year, Underwood spoke about his struggle with his sexuality growing up, explaining, “It was challenging for me to be standing up for my values and my beliefs, and looking back now, growing up in sort of a hyper-masculine culture as football or a conservative family…I always felt like I was on the defense. It was one of those things when you hear it so often and so much, you start believing it or you start questioning things. It really did affect me and it really was a weird time in my life, and I internalized a lot of it because I had nobody to talk to and nobody to vent to about it.”
A representative for Underwood declined to comment on the Netflix series, when contacted by Variety.
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