Bachelor in Paradise: Will there be a new season this year?

Will there be a new season of Bachelor in Paradise this year?

Bachelor in Paradise is usually the franchise’s summer series which typically airs after The Bachelorette. However, this year, things may not go as planned. The coronavirus pandemic has led to most television and film studios to halt their respective productions. Amongst them is Clare Crawley’s season of The Bachelorette which has been indefinitely postponed.

And with that on hold, Bachelor Nation is starting to wonder if we will actually get a season of Bachelor in Paradise this year. There is no official confirmation regarding the plan for The Bachelorette nor Bachelor in Paradise as this is a very fluid situation, however, Bachelor Nation guru Reality Steve gave his two cents on it all.

"Nothing has been said by the network officially, but we’ve all seen and read the news about what’s going on (with the coronavirus). I don’t see how Clare’s filming isn’t delayed AT LEAST 2 months. So, you can throw that May 18th premiere date out the window because I don’t think it’ll even START filming by May 18, so certainly it can’t premiere by then."

Again, nothing is official, but Reality Steve does have a point. With filming delayed with no definite production start date, there’s no telling when Crawley’s season will get filmed. And I agree that there it seems unlikely to premiere by the original May 18th premiere date.

So, assuming this delay is how things play out, Bachelor in Paradise would likely not be a consideration until the end of the summer. Given that its the franchise’s summer show, I’m not sure it even makes sense to do it at that point. Plus, The Bachelor and The Bachelorette are probably their number one priority over any of the spinoffs.

It just seems like it’d be very difficult to fit Bachelor in Paradise into the schedule and have it make sense. Again, this is all contingent on how things play out over the next few weeks/months. But, I’d agree that it seems like the network may opt to forego a new season this year altogether.

Executive producer Robert Mills spoke on The Bachelor Party podcast about the delays in production, and their daily discussions on what to do moving forward. At this point in time, The Bachelorette has delayed production for two weeks. Of course, this can change.

"Do we swap out Paradise for Bachelorette? Or does The Bachelorette start up again first? We are going to be as nimble as possible and try to keep the train on the track as best as possible."

For those of you worried about whether or not The Bachelorette will happen with Clare Crawley, I think we can assume that it’s still going to happen–at least based on what Mills said.

"I think that when we do this season, it’s going to be awesome. I think she’s going to get the best break. Something is going to happen that makes this all for a reason. Look, maybe somebody is going to apply that we couldn’t have had on in time. Maybe that ends up being her person."

I appreciate Mills’ optimism here. It doesn’t seem like Crawley is going to get the boot as the next leading lady, but her contestants could change. And who knows, maybe one of the new contestants could be the one for her and the one she ends up with! Thanks, Mills for giving us some optimism in these difficult times!

If I was going to guess whether or not Bachelor in Paradise was going to happen, I’m going to lean towards it seems more and more unlikely. But again, it’s hard to really say anything at this point, so we will have to keep our eyes and ears open to the updates as they come!

Do you think there will be a new season of Bachelor in Paradise this year? Share your thoughts below! 

For more information about COVID-19, visit the CDC’s website or the website for your state’s Department of Health.