Former Bachelor star Colton Underwood is returning to reality television, this time for Netflix.
Underwood, who came out as gay in a Wednesday interview with ABC’s Good Morning America, is in production on a reality series that will focus on Underwood living his life publicly as a gay man, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
The project is weeks into filming, according to a source, and will feature multiple episodes. Olympian Gus Kenworthy will also appear in the show.
Netflix declined to comment.
News of the project comes on the heels of Underwood coming out during a sit-down with Robin Roberts for ABC, the longtime home to the Bachelor franchise where Underwood got his TV start.
During the emotional GMA interview, Underwood, a former NFL athlete who grew up in the Catholic faith, said, “I’ve known that I’ve been different since the age of 6, and I couldn’t process it and I couldn’t put my finger on what it was until my freshman year of high school when I knew I was gay.” But it wasn’t until this year that, he said, “I’ve ran from myself for a long time; I’ve hated myself for a long time. And, I’m gay. I came to terms with that earlier this year and have been processing it. And the next step in all of this was sort of letting people know.”
During their conversation, Underwood said he had yet to explore an emotional connection with a man: “I’ve never allowed myself to, and it’s never been, sort of, in my cards to let myself get there. And, I want to more than anything. I’m looking for someone who can push me and challenge me in all the great ways.”
Underwood is a memorable three-time star on the Bachelor franchise. He was 26 when he led the 23rd season of the ABC reality dating franchise and was marketed as the “virgin Bachelor.” He had first appeared on the franchise during the 2018 cycle of The Bachelorette, where he revealed that he was a virgin before his elimination. He later appeared on summer spinoff series Bachelor in Paradise before going on to lead his own cycle in 2019, where he would divulge slightly more about how his past relationships impacted the personal choice.
When speaking about his label as the first virgin star of the franchise on Wednesday, Underwood acknowledged, “I could never give anybody a good enough answer about why I was a virgin. The truth is I was ‘the virgin Bachelor’ because I was gay, and I didn’t know how to handle that.”
Underwood left his season in a relationship with his winner Cassie Randolph; the pair acrimoniously split in 2020.
“We are so inspired by Colton Underwood’s courage to embrace and pursue his authentic self. As firm believers in the power of love, we celebrate Colton’s journey in the LGBTQIA+ community every step of the way,” said the executive producers of the Bachelor in a statement on Wednesday.
News of the Netflix series was first reported by Variety.
