Matt James was named the next Bachelor back in June after the Bachelor franchise was criticized for the lack of diversity, especially when it comes to picking their leads.
Matt had originally been named as a Bachelorette contestant, but since he was close friends with Tyler Cameron and Hannah Brown, the production team took a chance and named him the next Bachelor.
While COVID-19 has certainly delayed things in the production industry, The Bachelor is moving ahead with the new season just like The Bachelorette.
The upcoming season is set to premiere in January 2021, keeping the current schedule in place. And now, we know where the new season will film.
On Friday, Reality Steve revealed that the production team will go back to a location where the show has previously filmed.
Matt James’ season of The Bachelor will start filming soon
Matt’s season will be filmed at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Pennsylvania. The production will begin at the end of September.
If this sounds familiar, this was the place where JoJo Fletcher filmed for her season of The Bachelorette. It was here that Chad Johnson was eliminated from her season, where he returned to the house where the guys were staying after the elimination to scare them.
While the women have not been announced for Matt’s season just yet, fans have encouraged Hannah Brown to compete on Matt’s season. After they spent time together in quarantine, many fans believe they have a great connection.
But Matt may not entertain that option, as he’s best friends with Tyler Cameron, the man Hannah almost got engaged to.
Matt James is not a Bachelor without controversy
Even though Matt has been announced as the next Bachelor lead, he doesn’t come without controversy.
Shortly before ABC announced him as the next lead, Clare Crawley slammed him for using Cameo to promote his business and charity – and also using The Bachelorette franchise to get more attention. Fans were quick to defend him, saying that Clare had misunderstood.
In an interesting twist, Clare ended up picking Dale Moss, who also has a Cameo account.
Then, he made headlines for hosting a COVID-19 pool party this summer in the middle of quarantine. Fans were angry with him for being so irresponsible.
He hasn’t addressed this decision or the backlash he received.
The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons — Ever airs Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.