Michelle Young's season of The Bachelorette will begin airing on Tuesday nights. Her season will follow the finale of Katie Thurston's Bachelorette season, as well as the return of Bachelor In Paradise. It will be the cap to a busy season of the show to make up for a coronavirus-influenced 2020.
The runner-up of Matt James' season, Michelle was an obvious choice to be a lead. Since she is a teacher, she couldn't film until the summer. She joined Katie on an After the Final Rose special to announce they would both debut as The Bachelorette on their own respective seasons. The show once tried to have two Bachelorettes with Kaitlyn Bristowe and Britt Nilsson, but that experiment didn't work out too well. The franchise has since course corrected, and in realizing that casting leads who are not only diverse and open to dating contestants of all backgrounds, it has taken a step forward.
ABC released its fall premiere schedule this week, revealing that the upcoming Bachelorette season will premiere on Tuesdays. This falls in line with when Clare Crawley/Tayshia Adams' season aired, since it was pushed to the fall due to COVID-19 delays. Dancing With the Stars will air during The Bachelorette's usual 8 p.m. EST time slot. It is unclear if the franchise will continue to push for a season of The Bachelorette or another spin-off to air in the future during the fall, but it's evident that Bachelor content shows no sign of slowing down.
Michelle was one of the outspoken voices during her season when the drama around Chris Harrison's leave of absence was taking place. Although Matt James broke ground as the first Black Bachelor, that season was integral in exposing flaws in the structure of the show that had gone unaddressed for a very long time. It put the franchise's immediate future in flux, with many fans questioning where the show was headed. It answered those questions by announcing Katie and Michelle would both star as leads, and that Kaitlyn and Tayshia would host.
The Bachelor franchise seems to have righted the ship after a tumultuous start to the year. Katie's season is off to a strong start, and Kaitlyn and Tayshia have starred in the hosting role. Although some chose to boycott the series following the forced departure of Chris, it's clear that no matter who hosts and no matter which day of the week the show is airing, fans will continue to tune in to watch.
Michelle Young's season of The Bachelorette premieres Oct. 19 at 8pm EST on ABC.