The Bachelorette already took a break before Taylor Frankie Paul’s season was shelved three days before it was set to premiere on March 22.
ABC and producers Warner Bros. had high hopes for the 22nd season that was set to star the breakout reality star from sibling Hulu’s reality hit, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. The crossover casting was supposed to bring in a new audience following a ratings decline and the female-led cycle taking a season off in 2025 following Jenn Tran’s 21st season.
All of that changed, of course, when the network made the decision to scrap Paul’s already-filmed season entirely following the release of a damning video connected to her 2023 domestic violence arrest, and amid investigations into new claims of alleged domestic incidents involving Paul and her ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen. Later, in April, The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office decided not to file charges related to the new incidents.
Since The Bachelorette was pulled, viewers and critics alike wondered if the show would ever return amid the scandal (see The Hollywood Reporter‘s take: “It’s Time to End the ‘Bachelor’ Franchise”), and now that charges won’t be brought against Paul, questions about if ABC could revive the season are swirling again.
When speaking with THR about Hulu and ABC’s unscripted programming slate, Rob Mills, evp of unscripted & alternative entertainment at Walt Disney Television, answered those looming questions.
“The Bachelor franchise is not going anywhere,” he said, pointing out that season 30 of The Bachelor and the 11th season of Bachelor in Paradise are both returning. “The Bachelor is back midseason, Paradise will be next summer. So I don’t think we need to talk about something that is a year off,” he said. “Hopefully, next year’s Get Real [annual unscripted programming presentation] is where we’ll be talking more about it.”
Mills said they will lean into airing whatever series within the franchise makes sense at the time — which could mean more The Bachelor or Golden Bachelor seasons before another Bachelorette.
“Whatever the right stories are for us to tell, that’s what we’re going to tell,” he said. “I think when we have the right people to tell whatever iteration of The Bachelor franchise, we’re going to tell it. That also goes for the Golden Bachelor and whoever else’s story we can tell in this incredible format.”
And while Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is resuming production on its fifth season, after a monthlong production pause while investigating the claims surrounding co-star Paul, her participation in that season remains up in the air. THR reported that the door is open for her to return if and when she’s ready, and Mills didn’t totally rule out her Bachelorette season possibly being revived.
“I think everything really is a day at a time,” he said when asked if her season could ever see the light of day. “Everything concerning Taylor, first and foremost, is that we’re making sure anything she needs on a human level is taken care of, and then we can talk about anything from the show perspective.”
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