The Bachelor franchise is never off the air for too long, thanks to the switches between The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, and Bachelor in Paradise. Paradise is always a wild ride due to the fact that the dating pool is entirely comprised of alums of The Bachelor and Bachelorette, but Season 6 has progressed without some big news being dropped. Namely, the identity of the next Bachelor leading man.
By this point in the year, Bachelor franchise fans would have expected to find out who would be officially distributing roses when the show returns for its next season. Sure, there are spoilers floating around, but there's nothing like confirmation straight from the mouth of the new Bachelor or Chris Harrison to get fans excited about what romances are in store.
New Bachelorette leading ladies are generally expected to be announced during the After the Final Rose special at the end of each season of The Bachelor, and Colton Underwood was announced as the next Bachelor before his stint on Bachelor in Paradise Season 5 was over (and the drama between him and Tia was still underway on screen). While we still don't know the name of the next Bachelor through official channels, we do know when the announcement is coming: next week!
The promo for the Season 6 finale of Bachelor in Paradise revealed that Chris Harrison will unveil the next Bachelor before the final credits roll, and the editing of the trailer (which may not be trustworthy, of course) suggests that Hannah Godwin will be shocked by the choice. The news of when the announcement is coming was confirmed via the Bachelor in Paradise Twitter account:
So, who will be the next leading man of the Bachelor franchise? Well, if you haven't been hunting for spoilers, then there are plenty of names in the mix.
Tyler Cameron, a.k.a. the runner-up of Hannah Brown's season of The Bachelorette who pretty much everybody can probably agree should have won her heart, would be popular with viewers. Hannah herself would even support him as Bachelor, despite the fact that she asked him out on live TV after she dumped Jed. That said, a different relationship could take him out of the running. Maybe Tyler is done with reality TV dating! I think we can rule out Jed.
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Then again, maybe we should look beyond Hannah's pool of suitors for the next Bachelor. Back before The Bachelorette even ended, Chris Harrison revealed that it "would be premature to make the call" before Bachelor in Paradise, suggesting that one of the guys in Paradise who came from a different season could look for love as lead of The Bachelor next. Alternately, it could have been that one of the guys who didn't get terribly far with Hannah would show off more of their dreamy sides on Paradise.
Derek Peth seemed like he was being set up as the perfect man to star in The Bachelor, as he was never anything less than a good guy when having his heart broken first by Demi Burnett and then by Tayshia Adams. Mike got cut from Paradise way too early in my opinion, and I would happily watch him give love another shot on The Bachelor. Hannah's Pilot Peter Weber is a solid candidate as well. We can probably rule out John Paul Jones, and not just because he kinda sorta ruined a wedding on Bachelor in Paradise.
Find out when the Season 6 finale of Bachelor in Paradise kicks off on Tuesday, September 17 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
