True-crime series Bad Romance premieres Monday following The Bachelor

Key art for Bad Romance
(Image credit: ABC)

A gritty new true-crime series is coming to ABC on Monday nights at 10 pm ET/PT starting Monday, January 22, Bad Romance. The series chronicles some of the most shocking and scandalous love stories gone wrong and is set to immediately follow The Bachelor season 28 on ABC.

Here's the official synopsis of Bad Romance

"Hosted by ABC News contributor Ryan Smith, Bad Romance reports on 20/20 stories ripped from the headlines, leading viewers through some of the most shocking and surprising romance stories of the last decade — stories that began with romance and ended in crime. Every Monday night for eight weeks following The Bachelor, Bad Romance features true-crime stories, including the twisted love triangle between a husband, wife and lover; the murder of an NFL star's pregnant girlfriend; and the case of a man found guilty of murdering his wife by two separate juries. Throughout the series, 20/20 visits crime scenes and interviews the individuals at the center of some of the most twisted and obsessive love stories, just weeks before Valentine's Day."

Each of the eight stories is shocking in its own right, with Smith presenting key evidence, interviews and trips to the crime scenes to determine what went wrong in these love affairs turned bad. 

Bad Romance episode 1, airing January 22, is titled "Dangerous Game." Here's the episode description: 

"Kicking off the primetime event is 'Dangerous Game,' featuring Quincy, Illinois, couple Tim and Becky Bliefnick. Tim and Becky are busy. They both work, and Becky is also in nursing school, all while raising two young children with one on the way. Tim wins the chance to go on a gameshow with his mom, dad and brothers, but Becky is too busy to join. Tim jokes on national television that he regrets his marriage, and a couple of months later, one of the Bliefnicks is dead. This case drew national attention and evidence included authorities discovering a grainy surveillance video of a ghostly figure on a bike. Could that phantom be the killer? ABC News contributor Ryan Smith breaks down the details in 'Dangerous Game.'"

Bad Romance airs Mondays at 10 pm ET/PT on ABC, with episodes streaming the following day on Hulu

Sarabeth Pollock
Editorial Content Producer

 

Sarabeth joined the What to Watch team in May 2022. An avid TV and movie fan, her perennial favorites are The Walking Dead, American Horror Story, true crime documentaries on Netflix and anything from Passionflix. You’ve Got Mail, Ocean's Eleven and Signs are movies that she can watch all day long. She's also a huge baseball fan, and hockey is a new favorite.  

When she's not working, Sarabeth hosts the My Nights Are Booked Podcast and a blog dedicated to books and interviews with authors and actors. She also published her first novel, Once Upon an Interview, in 2022.