What is going on in Bachelor Nation?
The Bachelorette is not returning for Season 22 following Grant Ellis’ season of The Bachelor, which just began.
It’s not clear why this is happening, but Deadline reported that their sources have confirmed that The Bachelorette is taking a pause—the Bachelor spinoff is not canceled.
Perhaps it’s due to Jenn Tran’s ho-hum season that ended in heartbreak when Devin Strader turned out to be a total dud.
Or perhaps there just weren’t any worthy women in Grant’s season.
It’s still too early to determine who the standouts are in the current season of The Bachelor, but the news that there will be no Bachelorette this summer is disappointing.
The Bachelorette break follows a year without Bachelor in Paradise
Skipping a year of The Bachelorette is unfortunate, but it’s not a total shock after the last season.
After all, ABC opted to skip a season of Bachelor in Paradise after what was arguably their worst season when Season 9 was a massive disappointment in love connections and ratings.
That spinoff is slated to return in 2025, and with The Bachelorette shelved for the summer, perhaps we’ll roll right into Paradise and get that show this summer instead of in its very competitive fall time slot.
There are also The Golden Bachelor and The Golden Bachelorette spinoffs to consider, as both of those shows seem to be more popular with Bachelor Nation, and a strong lead in either of those could easily bring in more viewers than another mediocre season of The Bachelorette.
Both of the senior spinoffs are casting, so perhaps we can look forward to both shows in the near future—our fingers are crossed for that.
Is this Grant’s fault?
Grant Ellis’ season of The Bachelor just started, so it’s not clear yet if he is to blame for The Bachelorette’s pause.
But we do know that after two episodes, The Bachelor viewers are vocalizing how much they miss last year’s lead, Joey Graziadei, and they’re literally begging him to stop singing.
Joey was one of the most popular Bachelor star’s in years, and it showed in the ratings. So after a strong showing for Gerry Turner’s season of The Golden Bachelor and then just as strong of a showing for Joey, Grant has a lot of pressure to turn out a good season.
It’s no secret that The Bachelor ratings have been on the decline since Season 17, and the franchise is in desperate need of a revamp.
Many longtime viewers are tired of the same old storylines and played-out drama and have said as much when new seasons start to repeat the same pattern as those that came before.
Perhaps that’s what we’ll get when The Bachelorette returns.
The Bachelor airs on Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.