ABC has been making many questionable decisions regarding The Bachelor franchise, but the network has changed its mind about its latest blunder and has decided not to air two seasons of The Bachelor in 2022. New lead Clayton Echard will still be the Bachelor starting in January, but fans who were concerned about a deluge of stale content can feel relieved to know that next year’s slate of shows will return to the Bachelor-Bachelorette-Bachelor in Paradise schedule that viewers know and love.
After Clare Crawley’s season of The Bachelorette was put on hold due to the pandemic, the entire lineup of shows was thrown into chaos. Instead of airing in early summer, as usual, The Bachelorette season 16 premiered in the fall and led right into Matt James’ season of The Bachelor at the beginning of this year. When news hit that there would be two seasons of The Bachelor in 2022, many viewers felt overwhelmed. So far this year, there has been one season of The Bachelor, one season of Bachelor in Paradise, and two seasons of The Bachelorette, and fans are exhausted by the endless stream of content and lack of variety.
Thankfully for overwhelmed fans, entertainment blogger Reality Steve recently revealed that the network has nixed its plans for a second male-led season next year. The reality TV blogger included photos that prove ABC was actively casting that second season of The Bachelor and that it was intended to film at the end of February. But, fans furious about the second Bachelor season have hope because there was apparently conflicting news that men were being interviewed to join the next Bachelorette cast with a filming schedule starting in March, when the show is traditionally shot.
There’s been no reason given as to why the network would make such a big change and then switch back, but it could have to do with fans’ response to the leaked news. There has been growing frustration towards the franchise for years, and the news of a double-dose of male-led seasons felt like the breaking point for several viewers. It seemed to them like ABC either had no idea what fans wanted, or they knew and didn’t care, as evidenced by the outrage over Clayton being named the lead. The past two years have had a very funky Bachelor Nation schedule, but it was all due to the pandemic. Now that regular filming has resumed, fans just want to go back to normal.
Many fans of The Bachelor will rejoice to hear that ABC changed its mind about having a testosterone-fueled 2022, and are glad that they’ll be getting the same tried-and-true schedule. There are, of course, many other issues that viewers have with the franchise, but at least the show’s schedule is back on track.
Source: Reality Steve/Twitter