The Bachelorette Returns to Make Another Love Connection (Hey, Quit Laughing!)

The first episode of The Bachelorette aired on January 8, 2003. That was less than a year after The Bachelor debuted on ABC in March of 2002. That season, Trista Rehn finished as the runner-up, and so ABC brought her back as the very first Bachelorette. Trista picked Ryan Sutter as her suitor, and they remain one of the only success stories in this franchise's long history. Now, fifteen seasons later, Hannah Brown steps into that particular glass slipper. 

There aren't too many reality shows that are still around from January of 2003. CBS's trinity of Survivor, Big Brother, and The Amazing Race are still alive and kicking. American Idol went away and has now come back. The Real World/Road Rules Challenge has morphed and evolved into some kind of transcontinental Mad Max adventure. Interestingly, one now-departed reality show that debuted a year to the day after The Bachelorette? The Apprentice.

This season's Bachelorette offers even more occasion to look back at the reality TV of the last 15+ years of reality TV, with upcoming guest appearances by the likes of Miss J. Alexander (America's Next Top Model) and drag queens Alyssa Edwards and Alaska (RuPaul's Drag Race).

SEASON PREMIERE: Former Miss Alabama Hannah Brown finished 7th on the 23rd season of The Bachelor, which apparently bought her enough sympathy points to grab the title of The Bachelorette. Tonight's premiere introduces the twist that Hannah's two best friends will be observing the interactions from a surveillance van nearby. So these guys better not try any funny stuff! 8:00 PM ET on ABC

SPECIAL PRESENTATION: Netflix has already done a pretty great job nailing down the teen demographic with shows like 13 Reasons Why. With Malibu Rescue, it's tweens who are in the streaming giant's sights. Per the official description of this original movie that stars two cast members from Nickelodeon's School of Rock, "A ragtag group of aspiring junior lifeguards from The Valley compete against the snobby local kids for bragging rights and the ultimate tower at Malibu beach." Tweens in a lifeguard battle in Malibu! It's like a reboot of the beach-club episodes of Saved by the Bell! Streaming on Netflix

SEASON FINALE: The second season finale of FOX's 9-1-1 (the first since moving over from FX), puts our first responders on the trail of a serial bomber. Now THAT is ending a season in proper dramatic fashion. Also the team responds to a call from a social-media influencer who is "buggin' out." They should also consider checking the area for this kid's time machine so they can get him back to either Do the Right Thing or the first season of The Real World, the last time the phrase "buggin' out" was heard. 8:00 PM ET on FOX

SERIES PREMIERE: The first original series to make its debut exclusively on Spectrum's new on-demand platform Spectrum Originals, L.A.'s Finest is a Bad Boys spinoff, centered on Gabrielle Union as LAPD detective Syd Burnett. She'll be joined by Jessica Alba as her cop partner. The first three (of 13) episodes will be exclusively available to Spectrum video subscribers today; going forward, new episodes will release every Monday until the finale. Streaming on Spectrum

ALSO TONIGHT

• Vice Presents: America on Drugs, Viceland's three-part series wraps up with an episode on synthetic marijuana. 10:00 PM ET on Viceland
• Buried in the Backyard kicks off its second season of murder, betrayal, and deceit. 9:00 PM ET on Oxygen
• Arrow ends its 7th season as Oliver (Stephen Amell) and Emiko (Sea Shimooka) face off. Expect some familiar faces to return. 9:00 PM ET on The CW
• Vanderpump Rules continues its most contentious reunion to date. How many more ways will James Kennedy find to mock Jax and Brittany's impending marriage? Will Tom Sandoval cry? Will Lala say something grandiose about herself. (Yes.) 9:00 PM ET on Bravo

Joe Reid is the senior writer at Primetimer and co-host of the This Had Oscar Buzz podcast. His work has appeared in Decider, NPR, HuffPost, The Atlantic, Slate, Polygon, Vanity Fair, Vulture, The A.V. Club and more.