Chris Harrison, the Former Bachelor Bachelor host, told Entertainment Tonight on Oct. 26 that Warner Bros. TV's cease-and-desist letter over his new Fox Nation dating show, The Vow, sounds like jealousy, according to Us Weekly. The letter, dated Sept. 18, accuses the show's promos of trying to "ride on the coattails" of The Bachelor, citing rose imagery and a mansion that resembles the Bachelor Mansion, per The Hollywood Reporter.
"Sounds like somebody misses somebody really bad," Harrison, 55, said. "Jealousy's a tough thing. Green's not a great color on anybody, is it?"
Harrison also addressed critics who call The Vow a "knockoff" of the franchise he left. "They haven't seen it yet, and I would just urge people to watch and then judge, and judge for yourself on the quality and the authenticity and the intention of the show," he said.
The show, which Harrison hosts and created with his wife, Lauren Zima, follows 10 women competing for the heart of bachelor Jace Cates. The concept sounds familiar, but Harrison told ET that the series leans into faith and lasting connection. He said he and Zima noticed young people returning to church and seeking a foundation in their lives, which got them asking, "Can you find love in this modern world?"
There are also some pointed omissions. Harrison said the show has no "elimination ceremonies" and no "trinkets that are given out throughout." Instead, he said, "If and when you see a relationship is not heading in the right direction or not happening, then you break up and you do it face-to-face, like real people do and real people should."
The legal back-and-forth began after Fox Nation announced the show in September. Warner Bros. TV's letter dated Sept. 18, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter, says the promos show "a plain attempt to capitalize on and 'ride on the coattails' of WB's instantly recognizable intellectual property and the Franchise's goodwill." It cites the use of roses and a mansion that appears to resemble the famous Bachelor Mansion. The letter also says Warner Bros. TV has "no objection" to a dating show hosted by Harrison in and of itself.
Fox Nation denied copying The Bachelor. Its Sept. 24 response argued that Warner Bros. holds no rights in a falling roses motif or in the words "the bachelor" when used to describe a single man. Katherine Moran Meeks, Fox News Media's executive vice president and general counsel, wrote that the letter "focuses myopically on certain stills from the trailer."
"The lengths we went to cast this show, the people that are on it and what we're going for, I think will be very different, very telling when everybody sees it," Harrison said. "And I can't wait for everybody to see it."
The Vow premieres on Fox Nation on Nov. 11.