Will Bachelor In Paradise 2020 be delayed due to COVID-19 spread?

Bachelor In Paradise is one of the hottest television shows of the summer — and for good reason. The small screen series brings together Bachelor and Bachelorette rejects and puts them on a beach in Mexico in hopes of hookups, drama, lying, and everlasting love.

Unfortunately, the hit show, a staple in the Bachelor franchise for years, could change course this summer. With the growing concerns over coronavirus and people getting sick with COVID-19, many other productions have shut down to prevent the spread of the virus.

But what about Bachelor In Paradise?

Bachelor In Paradise has not been postponed yet

ABC has not yet issued a statement about Bachelor In Paradise. The show usually films in early summer, which means we are still two or three months away from the start of production.

The current pandemic crisis could be somewhat settled at that point, and production could possibly continue without the paralyzing fear of spreading the virus.

ABC announced having postponed several shows that were in production, including Clare Crawley’s season of The Bachelorette. Even though the guys had already arrived in California and were scheduled to start filming this past Friday, production was halted at the last minute.

The network hasn’t revealed when filming will once again commence, but The Bachelorette could be shut down for two or three weeks. Depending on how the situation unfolds, more downtime may be added to that estimate.

How a possible delay could affect Bachelor In Paradise

If Bachelor In Paradise does get delayed, we may expect a later premiere date. It’s uncertain how much time editors need to put an episode together, so it’s unknown if post-production means editing an episode and releasing that episode within a matter of days or weeks instead of within months of being shot.

Most likely, ABC will not entertain the idea of a cancellation. Viewers would probably rather see Bachelor In Paradise in, say, October or November, than not at all.

A slight premiere date change probably won’t influence ABC’s line-up for the rest of the year, as Bachelor content is currently set to end around September. A senior’s version of the show had been slated to air later this year, but that new entry could also be pushed a bit due to this virus, causing schedulers to conduct a major overhaul.

Last year, the premiere date for Bachelor In Paradise had been shuffled. Since the NBA finals ended up landing on a Monday,  The Bachelorette was pushed back a week, in turn, influencing the premiere date for Bachelor In Paradise.

In other words, moving start and end dates is something ABC can handle. That said, only time will tell whether or not Bachelor In Paradise will go ahead as planned or else the show will experience a slight delay.

Bachelor In Paradise is scheduled to return this summer.