After a run that has seen at least one recapper call Clayton Echard the "worst Bachelor ever," his time on the ABC show is nearly over – but the franchise rolls on.
Just a few days after Clayton chooses between Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey (and Susie Evans again if the promos are to be believed), the new season of The Bachelorette is going to start filming. Rumors are already flying around about who the new Bachelorette will be – with a lot of those rumors saying the same person has signed up to romance 30 co-boyfriends for Season 19 of the show.
As for The Bachelor, plans seemed to have changed for when ABC will air Season 27, though rumors are starting to fly about who will follow on from Clayton.
When will the next season of The Bachelorette air?
Over the last nine months, we have had back-to-back seasons of The Bachelorette (with Katie Thurston), Bachelor in Paradise, The Bachelorette (again, with Michelle Young) and then Clayton's Bachelor season.
Luckily for Bachelor Nation, we are all now getting a breather, with the show going back to its original release schedule.
This means that filming will begin this March, with outlets reporting that shooting begins the weekend of March 19.
Based on previous gaps between when seasons are filmed and when they air, the earliest Season 19 will air is May 2022, though it could also air at the start of June like Katie's season did.
Who will be the next Bachelorette?
WARNING: The follow contains potential spoilers for the season finale of The Bachelor
As with previous seasons, the identity of the next Bachelorette is expected to be revealed towards the end of the "After the Final Rose" special of this season's Bachelor.
Most of the rumors about the casting have coalesced around two people: Gabby and Susie. ABC was said to have left this year's decision until fairly late so as to take fan reaction into account (possibly as damage control to the fairly negative reaction that Clayton has received.)
Multiple reality TV spoiler accounts have bet that Gabby is the new Bachelorette, and she is certainly the one who Bachelor Nation has had the best reaction to on social media. Plus, with the first part of the current Bachelor finale seeing Clayton getting ready to bring Susie back, she may not be single right now.
When will the next season of The Bachelor air?
It was originally reported that ABC was set to air back-to-back seasons of The Bachelor, similar to what they did with The Bachelorette in 2021. However, that would have meant filming would have to start in February on Season 27, which did not happen.
As such, it is not clear when another season of The Bachelor will air. If the release schedule is fully back to normal, however, filming will start in September before the season airs in January 2023.
With a new season of The Bachelor potentially many months away, we do not know who will be the next Bachelor. Among the names that have been touted are Greg Grippo (who reportedly turned down being The Bachelor before) and Andrew Spencer from Katie's season.
The Bachelor Season 26 finale airs Tuesday, March 15 at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT on ABC. Previous episodes are streaming now on Hulu.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
