The Bachelorette had to make pretty big behind-the-scenes changes in Season 16. Instead of jetting around the world for international and hometown dates, the cast and crew quarantined and filmed entirely at La Quinta Resort & Club near Palm Springs. While the series had its spring premiere slot delayed to the fall, Bachelor in Paradise wasn’t able to film at all for its next season because of health and flight restrictions. Recently, however, host Chris Harrison soothed fans by revealing when Bachelor in Paradise might return for its new season.
Bachelor in Paradise was in a tricky situation this year due to the pandemic, which prevented international travel over obvious health and safety concerns. The ABC series typically flies its cast and production team to Mexico to film the season, but that obviously couldn’t happen very easily in the summer of 2020. Is there any hope that viewers will finally get to watch a new season of Bachelor in Paradise next year? Here’s what Chris Harrison told Variety:
Like the rest of the world, we are waiting on these vaccines and waiting to see if it’s going to change the world in the ways we all hope. What we’re hearing from doctors and the CDC is that may happen by mid-spring, and that would be wonderful for us because we don’t shoot Paradise until summer, so that would give us time for the vaccine to really change things…. My hope is that we’re back on the beaches in Mexico making ridiculous decisions this summer.
His answer isn’t exactly a full-blown confirmation that Bachelor in Paradise will actually film a new season over the impending summer months, but that possibility is definitely much higher now that COVID-19 vaccines have begun rolling out across the U.S. That said, it remains to be seen how quickly the country and world can get back to normalcy even with the vaccine. According to the CDC, it will take weeks for the body to build immunity after getting the vaccine, and masks will likely still be required to some extent. I'm sure ABC execs will continue monitoring the situation while hoping that the situation becomes even more optimistic before filming would be set to start in the summer.
Bachelor in Paradise may not have had a 2020 season, but there was a surprising divorce that happened behind the scenes. Krystal Nielson and Chris Randone, who met during Season 5 of Bachelor in Paradise, got married in the summer of 2019. However, they separated in February and officially announced their divorce in August. Here’s hoping that when the series does return (whenever that might be), any and all new couples will be better matches.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for updates on Bachelor in Paradise’s return to ABC. You can watch The Bachelorette Season 16 finale when it airs on December 22 at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC. Meanwhile, Matt James will make his debut in a new season of The Bachelor when it begins airing in January. Be sure to check out our 2021 winter and spring TV premiere schedule for more viewing options.
