unreal

B.J. Britt Is UnREAL’s First Black Suitor, Which Is Kind of Like He’s the First Black Bachelor, But, You Know, Not Real

Television Academy And SAG-AFTRA Host Cocktail Reception Celebrating Dynamic And Diverse Nominees For The 67th Emmy Awards
Confirmed: He can rock a pocket square. Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/2015 Getty Images

For whatever reason (nervous network execs, entrenched racism), ABC hasn’t yet had a black man on The Bachelor. But on next season on UnREAL,  the satire’s twisted reality dating show, Everlasting, will bring on its first black suitor: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Being Mary Jane’s B.J. Britt. Variety reports that Britt will play Darius Hill, a quarterback who’s on the show to rehab his image and inevitably get in Rachel and Quinn’s way. This might not be same as having a black bachelor on The Bachelor, but perhaps TV will lead the way for real life, like 24 did with a black president, only this time, the only politics we’re talking about are the politics of desire (also the politics of race, respectability, sexuality, intersectionality, TV production, and masculinity). It’s not a perfect analogy.

B.J. Britt Is UnREAL’s First Black Suitor