Now that Katie Thurston’s season of The Bachelorette has come to a close, fans can expect the following eight months to be chock-full of programming dedicated to what Bachelor Nation loves most, sun, fun, love, and romance.
Beginning Monday, August 16, Bachelor in Paradise will make its debut.
This will be followed by the start of Michelle Young’s season of The Bachelorette which will air starting Tuesday, October 19, at 8/7c.
Michelle’s season will run through to the beginning of the holiday season, with its conclusion coming in late Fall. Former Bachelorettes Kaitlyn Bristowe and Tayshia Adams will reprise their roles as co-hosts.
After a short hiatus, The Bachelor will return for the first time since Matt James’ blockbuster season which brought not only important conversations about race to the table but also, the end of Chris Harrison’s tenure as host of the franchise, a job he held for almost 20 years.
What can fans expect from Season 26 of the original ABC reality dating series? Here’s what we know so far.
The Bachelor will likely choose from the previous two seasons of Bachelorette competitors
Typically, the pool of Bachelor contenders consists of previous competitors from prior seasons of The Bachelorette.
Matt James was announced as the lead before filming began on Clare Crawley’s season of The Bachelorette. This means that fans could look forward to an announcement in the fall of a man that was featured on either Clare, Tayshia Adams, Katie Thurston, or Michelle Young’s seasons being named the Bachelor.
In June, Reality Steve tweeted his predictions for how the block of Bachelor Nation programming would roll out.
If he is correct, the next season of “The Bachelor” will premiere on January 3, 2022.
It has also not been revealed if Tayshia and Kaitlyn will host The Bachelor after helming both Katie and Michelle’s seasons of The Bachelorette. They did not host Bachelor in Paradise. Those duties were performed by David Spade, Lance Bass, Tituss Burgess, Lil Jon, and Wells Adams.
Has casting begun?
The show has placed an ad on its official Instagram casting page where it specified the types of contestants they are looking for to fill the roles of contestants on The Bachelor.
“Do you fit the bill? Apply to be on the next season of The Bachelor now,” a caption to the post below read.
It said the show was looking for candidates that were 21 years of age or older and bachelorettes, divorcees, or single mothers.
The Bachelor is currently on hiatus.