The mess that was Matt James's Bachelor season has finally come to an end, which means it's time to usher in a new Bachelorette era. There are still many unknowns about what Katie's Bachelorette season will have in store: What will it be like without Chris Harrison there? How many times will the vibrator be brought up? (Actually, the answer to the latter question is approximately 1,232 times.) But thanks to the established schedule of the franchise, I can take at least take a guess at when Katie's season of The Bachelorette will premiere.
Update: On April 7, ABC announced that Katie's season of The Bachelorette will air on June 7.
Earlier: While Clare Crawley's season (which turned into Tayshia Adams's season) was delayed until October due to COVID-19, seasons of The Bachelorette traditionally premiere in May. It's been that way since DeAnna Pappas in Season 4. Plus, on the After the Final Rose, host Emmanuel Acho said that Katie's season would be premiering "this summer."
Typically, filming begins shortly after the Bachelorette lead announcement occurs (which often happens on the After the Final Rose special). Hannah Brown was announced on March 12; franchise creator Mike Fleiss tweeted that it was "limo time" just four days later on March 16. Becca Kufrin was announced on March 6; Fleiss shared a behind-the-scenes photo of her first night on March 15. Clare was announced as the next Bachelorette on March 2 and, as Vulture reported, the season was supposed to begin filming on March 13 with a May 18 premiere date before production was postponed.
The timing may seem quick, but the Bachelor Powers That Be can make their lead choice months in advance of the public learning the decision. And since Reality Steve reported that Matt's ATFR filmed on March 5, Katie will have already been quarantining long enough for her season to start filming this week, according to the blogger.
When it comes to how long filming takes, it takes about two months, as Peter Weber shared on Instagram. But COVID-19 has forced production to make some adjustments. For Clare's season, ABC executive Robert Mills told Ryan Seacrest that it would only take about a month to film since everyone was in one location with no travel. For Matt's season, Variety reported that he filmed the limo entrances in September but that production didn't begin in earnest until mid-October due to quarantine protocols. Matt tweeted he was home in November, and thus, finished filming.
While The Bachelor usually wraps in fall and waits until the new year to premiere, The Bachelorette doesn't have that same two-month delay. So even with host shake-ups and a global pandemic, a middle-to-late May 2021 premiere date seems promising. So Bachelor Nation could be watching Katie greet her contestants as they try to live up to her epic limo entrance as soon as Monday, May 17, 24, or 31. And by then, Matt's season may be a distant memory. Fingers crossed.
Read more...
Did Katie Deny The Big Bachelorette Rumor?
Tayshia Adams & Kaitlyn Bristowe Will Host The Bachelorette In Place Of Chris Harrison
Maybe Don't Cross Katie On The Bachelor?
Images: ABC