Producer Will Reid recalls working on ‘The Bachelor Canada After Show’
Being a producer on an acclaimed film or popular television series is a vast and complex role. It is incredibly versatile and requires an immense skillset, as Canada’s Will Reid understands well. As an industry leading producer in his home country, best known for his work on reality television and entertainment newscasts, he brings an idea to life, creating broadcast-level quality content on a daily basis. His craft consists of researching, writing, gathering visual elements, budgeting, scheduling, and so much more, all from his desk. In the field, it’s his job to not only ensure his team knows what needs to be captured, but to make sure they have captured it all at the end of the day, and in a way that will captivate an audience. It is an immense task, but one that is crucial to the entire production in order to tell a story factually and in an engaging way.
Throughout Reid’s esteemed career, he has worked on content that has been enjoyed by millions all around the world, including key contributions to Entertainment Tonight, Big Brother Canada, and more. As a fan of reality television since his childhood years, he is now living his dream.
“I’ve been watching reality TV for years, going back to the early days of Newlyweds and Fear Factor. I was also inspired watching The Hills After Show in my teens, where a panel humorously dissected the drama on The Hills through tongue-in-cheek commentary. When I started working at ET Canada, two of the first shows I covered week-to-week were The Bachelor and Big Brother Canada, so the reality genre was firmly established as one of my specialties,” he said.
One of Reid’s first forays into national success came back in 2017 when he began producing for The Bachelor Canada After Show, the Canadian spin-off to the global phenomenon that is The Bachelor franchise. Working on this weekly series, Reid was responsible for identifying the key story points in each episode of The Bachelor Canada, which the show’s on-air talent would dissect each week through discussions, games, and clip packages, similar to The Hills After Show he used to enjoy as a teen.
“What stood out to me about The Bachelor Canada After Show was that its very existence highlighted how much of a priority the series was to the network. The way I see it, the franchise was perceived to be so pivotal to the network’s lineup that it was worthy of its own companion series, so I was honored to be part of that,” he said.
Over the course of the season, Reid watched every episode of The Bachelor Canada to prepare for the after show, discovering talking points and identifying key moments in each episode, which required him to have an intuitive sense of what would resonate with the “Bachelor Nation” viewers. This was essential as each episode was filmed in front of a live studio audience, so reactions to the footage he selected were immediate and added to the drama of the episode. Because each episode was live-to-tape (recorded before a live audience and broadcast later the same day), Reid was also responsible for any last-minute edits before each episode was sent to the network for broadcast, requiring the ability to work efficiently under tight deadlines.
“The time I spent working on The Bachelor Canada After Show was one of the busiest periods of my life. Believe it or not, I actually worked on ET Canada and The Bachelor Canada After Show simultaneously, splitting my time between both productions. While it made for some very long days, it was so much fun getting to come up with clever segments that would appeal to Bachelor viewers, not to mention how cool it was to have two shows on air at the same time,” he recalled.
That hard work paid off for Reid, as The Bachelor Canada After Show aired weekly from October-December 2017 on W Network in Canada and was a huge hit. Since that initial season, the Canadian Bachelor franchise has evolved into Bachelor In Paradise Canada, which was recently renewed for a second season. The new iteration of the franchise also includes its own after show, continuing the legacy of The Bachelor Canada After Show that Reid helped to create.
“To this day, I’m so proud of the work we did during our season, so seeing the franchise continue to prosper in Canada is extremely validating. Not only that, but the Bachelor franchise exists in several other countries around the world including Australia, Greece, and Vietnam, so it’s incredible to be part of such an international staple,” he added.
Episodes of The Bachelor Canada After Show are still available to watch on YouTube Premium in case you missed it.
