Chris Harrison's The Vow premieres its first two episodes today on Fox Nation, putting the former longtime host back into reality dating TV. Harrison says the split from The Bachelor was a blessing, and the new six-episode series gives him a clean reset after five long years later.
“It feels really a little cathartic,” Harrison said about his comeback vehicle. He also said, “I look back at it as a bit of a blessing.”
Chris Harrison and Lauren Zima
Lauren Zima and Harrison created The Vow together and executive produce it. They married in 2023, and the series comes from Lionsgate Alternative Television for Fox Nation, with The Vow curating the dates between its hero and prospects and setting up real-world compatibility challenges. For readers following the rollout, the trailer was previewed before the November 11 premiere in a separate promotional push about the show’s launch.
Harrison said, “It allowed me to step away,” and added, “The Bachelor wasn’t my baby.” He also said the break gave him room to pause his own life, watch his kids graduate high school, fall in love, and get married.
Rachael Kirkconnell and 2021
Harrison was fired from The Bachelor in 2021 after defending Rachael Kirkconnell for attending an antebellum-themed fraternity formal three years before she appeared on the ABC series. That history still hangs over this launch, because the new show is being sold as a fresh start rather than a return to the old machine.
When asked whether his contract situation played more of a role in his exit than was initially reported, Harrison answered, “Probably.” Fox Nation’s promotion of the series also ran through ABC stations in a separate campaign tied to the rollout, a reminder that the marketing around this comeback has been as careful as the reset itself.
Fox Nation's first two episodes
The first two episodes are out now, and the remaining four episodes will determine whether Harrison’s return can stand on the show’s own format instead of the controversy that sent him away. He is not trying to relitigate the old franchise so much as turn that exit into a new dating competition built around commitment, which is the sharper business move.
