Fox News and Warner Bros. Trade Barbs Over Chris Harrison’s New Dating Show ‘The Vow’ (Exclusive)

There’s no love lost between Warner Bros. TV and Fox News Media.

The Hollywood Reporter has learned that WBTV fired off a cease and desist to Fox News Media and Lionsgate over promotions for the upcoming Fox Nation series The Vow, a dating show hosted and produced by Chris Harrison, the former host of the ABC dating series The Bachelor.

The legal letter, which was viewed by THR and is dated Sep. 18, includes examples of the allegedly infringing material, including falling rose petals, an image of a man in a tuxedo holding a rose, the words “the bachelor” appearing on screen, and the reveal of Harrison as the host.

“Taken together, the above represents a plain attempt to capitalize on and ‘ride on the coattails’ of WB’s instantly recognizable intellectual property and the Franchise’s goodwill in violation of, inter alia, state and federal trademark, copyright, and unfair competition laws,” the legal letter states. “Without having seen the Series itself, we cannot comment on it and reserve all rights in connection therewith. To be clear, though, we have no objection to Fox and Lionsgate releasing a dating show hosted by Chris Harrison in and of itself. But thus far, Fox and Lionsgate have promoted the Series entirely on the back of the Franchise, not on its own merits.”

Fox responded to the letter the following week by suggesting that the goal was to hurt The Vow, which marks Harrison’s return to the dating format since he left ABC’s The Bachelor in 2021. The Vow is currently slated to debut on Fox Nation next month.

“While FOX Nation respects the intellectual property rights of others, you wrongly assume that Warner Bros. holds any rights whatsoever in a falling roses motif or in the words ‘The Bachelor’ when used colloquially to describe a single man,” the response states. “Your letter also focuses myopically on certain stills from the trailer, while omitting that its clear purpose is to convey that The Vow ‘offers a different approach’ from other dating shows “by placing the focus on meaningful relationships, commitment and building a life together.’ Your letter appears designed not to vindicate legitimate copyright and trademark interests, but to restrict FOX Nation and Chris Harrison from promoting a competing dating show. It is unfortunate that Warner Bros. is targeting Mr. Harrison in this malicious and vindictive manner.”

“The Vow exhorts its participants and viewers to ‘Choose Love.’ We trust Warner Bros. will do the same and drop its pursuit of these meritless claims,” Fox’s letter concludes.

WBTV produces The Bachelor for ABC through its unscripted division, while Lionsgate is working with Harrison and Fox for The Vow. Fox Nation announced the new show last month, which is when the promotional material first hit the market.