The Bachelor host Chris Harrison is returning to work this week. He’ll be filming the next season of The Bachelorette with Clare Crawley after spending a few weeks in quarantine and undergoing COVID-19 testing.
The Bachelorette is one of the first shows to resume production in California, as it is able to do so under rigorous testing and quarantine.
But there is one other show that fans were excited about before the nationwide shutdown and that’s The Bachelor senior edition.
Of course, putting seniors together to find love during a coronavirus pandemic may not be the smartest thing. But the idea hasn’t been tabled as of now. In fact, it’s just on hold.
As it turns out, finding love for seniors is in the plans and could still happen this year, pending the outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Bachelor’s senior spin-off will still happen after COVID-19 outbreaks
Rob Mills, ABC’s top unscripted executive, says that the network is still moving ahead with The Bachelor seniors’ edition because they’ve received heartwarming messages from seniors who are interested in joining the show.
Plus, it adds a new element to the show and draws in a new audience. As for the current audience, they are more than excited to see this new version.
“Some of the casting interviews we got, they were just so touching,” Rob told Variety.
“It’s such a different way of doing The Bachelor because these people are just at a totally different place in their lives. There is an interesting thing about people who have hit the other end of the spectrum, who’ve lived their lives, they’ve raised their kids, some have been widowed or divorced and maybe some have never been in love. We thought that would be an interesting dynamic through the Bachelor prism.”
As it turns out, this new spin-off won’t be that much different than the original Bachelor franchise. While exotic dates with naked bungee jumping or clay baths may not be elective dates, it sounds like it will be much of the same in terms of the show’s format.
“It’s everything you love about The Bachelor, but everybody loves senior citizens because they have different love stories to talk about,” Mills says. “It was really fascinating, so I have no doubt it will happen someday.”
As of right now, the idea isn’t going ahead simply because of COVID-19. Given the age groups for the hardest-hit citizens, it would be irresponsible to film such a show.
The news of The Bachelor Senior’s spin-off show was first introduced in late February 2020, about a month prior to the COVID-19 shutdown. It was announced at the same time as The Bachelor Summer Games, a spin-off show like Bachelor Winter Games, where former and international contestants compete in various games for the chance of finding love.
It was created as a nod to the Olympics. But everything has been postponed thanks to COVID-19. It’s uncertain whether Bachelor Summer Games will give it a go next summer.
The Bachelor and The Bachelorette remain a top priority, including Bachelor In Paradise
With The Bachelor senior edition and Bachelor Summer Games on hold, producers are going full steam ahead with The Bachelorette, which is set to start filming in La Quinta in a few weeks. The contestants have arrived and they have gone into quarantine upon testing negative.
Back in April, Chris Harrison revealed that The Bachelorette was always their main priority. He pointed out that Clare would be getting her shot at love. Now, The Bachelor with Matt James is also a priority.
“The most important thing is getting Bachelorette done and Bachelor done,” Mills explains.
As for Bachelor In Paradise, it seems that COVID-19 is standing in the way. While producers definitely want to bring it back, going to Mexico to film right now is simply not an option. As Mills points out, maybe next year.
“God willing, we return to some sort of normalcy in the world; we will obviously want to get back to Bachelor in Paradise because that will have been off for a year, but then I think we will absolutely want to get back to this,” he explains. “We absolutely want to get it done, but we want to do it right, do it safely and not at the expense of the other Bachelor cycles. So, it’s on hold, but I have to say, we had never seen a response like we’d seen here.”
It sounds like fans can only get excited about a senior’s version of The Bachelor.
The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons — Ever airs Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.