Chris Harrison Returning to TV with Dating Show, Morning Show with Wife Lauren Zima

One of those will see Harrison returning to something familiar to fans of his long tenure as host of ABC's reality dating show. The other will see him going toe-to-toe with ABC's Live with Kelly and Mark, sharing a similar format.

Alongside making appearances on Dr. Phil Primetime, Harrison will host a new reality dating series, and co-host a morning show with his wife, Lauren Zima.

"Call it divine intervention, karma, kismet, whatever it is, the fact that Dr. Phil created this network in my own backyard here in Dallas," Harrison told Entertainment Tonight, "it means the world to me to, not only be returning to television, but to be doing it here in a hometown crowd."

Dr. Phil's new venture is a partnership with Christian broadcasters Trinity Broadcasting, which owns 30 television stations and will help with distribution of Merit Street programming, per The Hollywood Reporter.

As for Harrison, Dr. Phil told ET, "He's so good on camera. When he walked out for the first time, the audience went insane." The former host tackled catfishing romance scams on Dr. Phil Primetime.

While Harrison didn't offer much about the format of his new dating show, Dr. Phil teased that it will be something different. "It has dating elements in it, but this is so different and so novel," he said. "It is flipping the script in a way that I think people are gonna become addicted to it in a week. It is unbelievable."

"For years and years I said, 'This is the most dramatic show ever,'" Harrison told the outlet. "We want to create a show where those words actually ring true, so this dating show will be the most dramatic ever -- that you can be sure of."

On their new morning show venture, former ET correspondent Zima promised their relationship will be a big part of it. "What matters the most to both of us has always been our audience, so we want to be able to connect with them," she said. "What's more relatable than talking about our relationship and what's going on in our own lives?"

Still newlyweds, Harrison and Zima wed on October 14, 2023 ... and again no November 4. The couple first met when she interviewed him in 2016 for ET. Zima had been assigned the Bachelor franchise and was fairly new to it. After several interviews, things started to connect more intimately.

Harrison's eventual exit from the Bachelor franchise came after he defended contestant Rachael Kirkconnell's photos at an antebellum plantation-themed fraternity party. The comments came during an interview with the franchise's first Black Bachelorette, Rachel Lindsay.

When Lindsay said the 2018 photos were "not a good look," Harrison shot back, "Well, Rachel, is it a good look in 2018? Or is it not a good look in 2021? Because there’s a big difference."

"It's not a good look ever," Lindsay countered. "If I went to that party, what would I represent at that party?"

Harrison acknowledged his responses were a mistake and expressed regret for them. He initially stepped away temporarily from the franchise, but in June 2021, it was announced that he was "stepping aside" permanently. Jesse Palmer eventually took the host position.