Matt James is the first genuinely swoon-worthy Bachelor in years

The Daily Beast

While James being the first Black Bachelor was brought up, Monday's premiere was most notable in showing how sexually charged the women were for The Bachelor star -- unlike previous seasons, says Laura Bradley. "Ahead of this season, some Bachelor diehards wondered how Matt would perform, given that he, unlike most recent Bachelors, has never appeared on any of the franchise’s programs—or anywhere on television, for that matter," says Bradley. "(Matt’s friendship with Tyler Cameron, a fan-favorite contestant from Hannah Brown’s Bachelorette season, likely allowed him to skip participating in Clare Crawley’s season, as initially planned, straight to Bachelordom.) Some spectators understandably wondered why the show’s producers would overlook Mike Johnson, another beloved contestant from Hannah’s season who seemed like a more obvious choice to star as the franchise’s first Black Bachelor. And as with any less seasoned contestants, there’s a distinct possibility that Matt could be excessively swayed by the show’s producers. But so far, Matt has exhibited all the traits of a solid Bachelor: Unlike our last Bachelor, Peter Weber, who seemed compelled to create and exacerbate drama among his contestants, Matt seems to have a clearer idea of what he wants. (At least for now.) He seems serious about finding love, and concerned about finding a relationship that will actually last. At worst, Matt might be the kind of Bachelor whose season is relatively boring compared with villains like Juan Pablo Galavis, whose seasons are akin to slow-motion car crashes. But as the season preview reveals, there’s plenty of drama—and some new contestants—coming up ahead."

ALSO:

• Matt James says he's "speaking for me" in his groundbreaking role as the first Black Bachelor: "Being 'the first' at anything in life, there’s going to be an extra level of eyeballs and you setting the standard for what that looks like," he told The Hollywood Reporter Monday ahead of his debut. "I didn’t want to put unrealistic expectations on that experience for myself in terms of, 'Matt said this or does this in relationships, so all Black people think this.' I’m speaking for me and from how I was raised. And I hope that story resonates with people because it’s real and it’s authentic."
• James, the son of a Black father and white mother, says being biracial but identifying as Black helped him through his Bachelor journey: "It’s taught me to look for qualities instead of a physical experience," he tells Variety. "If people weren’t open to biracial relationships, I wouldn’t be here. So, my stance on that is different and my life experience is different because I’m the product of that, and I look at it differently than someone who’s never been in that type of relationship. I get it if someone is uncomfortable having that type of conversation, and I don’t hold it against them. I want to have it so that we can normalize that type of thing, and hopefully throughout this experience for me, it becomes something that people are more open to and it does normalize it."
• James explains why he started his Bachelor journey with a prayer
• How tall is James?: Viewers kept tweeting about the 6-foot-5 Bachelor star towering over everybody