The Bachelor franchise has been though some changes in the past year. The typical release schedule was interrupted by, well, 2020 reasons, which led to The Bachelorette being delayed by several months and airing last fall instead of in the spring / early summer. This, as every member of Bachelor Nation will know, caused popular late summer mainstay Bachelor in Paradise to be completely off of the air last year. Now, BIP bartender and former Bachelorette contestant, Wells Adams, has talked about his hope that the "dumpster fire" can return to ABC later this year.
While Wells Adams first came into the public eye as a suitor for JoJo Fletcher on Season 12 of The Bachelorette, many fans now solely associate him with the franchise for his three seasons as the bartender on the beach-set Bachelor in Paradise. A lot of the sexy singles who head to the show after being rejected by the lead of either The Bachelor or The Bachelorette spend at least some of their time commiserating with Wells about their new romances. He spoke to E! about the summer series recently, and had this to say about the possibility of a new season coming this year:
I hope to God it happens because it is the most fun show to do. And I have the best seat in the house because I just get to watch the dumpster fire burn in front of me. But I think the plan is that they're going to do it this year.
Sure, everyone who shows up for Bachelor in Paradise is very pretty to look at, but the behavior of those vying for love on the series almost always manages to venture into true "dumpster fire" territory, just like Wells said in his interview. Of course, one of the reasons that fans enjoy the show is because of the free-for-all, anything-really-can-happen nature of the reality dating program, which is way stronger than what we'd get on even a wacky season of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette.
Aside from the setting, the main thing that sets BIP apart from the other franchise entries is that cast members are constantly being introduced as some are sent packing. The goal of The Bachelorette and The Bachelor is to see if one lead can find love among dozens of suitors, while BIP is focused on several men and women constantly having to chose whom they want to pursue romances with as brand new hotties come on the scene. And, as you might imagine, this causes a lot of delicious drama.
All of the romantic intrigue has led to some major shenanigans. Remember when Jordan Kimball and Christian Estrada were forced to leave the beach after getting into an actual fist fight over a piñata? Yeah, you guys, that's the kinda stuff that goes down on Bachelor in Paradise, and after what will be almost two years of quarantine by the time August rolls around, a lot of us are going to really welcome that sort of distraction.
It's lucky for us, then, that the franchise seems to have really gotten the hang of filming under our current national conditions, because, as Wells mentioned, ABC executive Rob Mills has confirmed that everyone behind BIP is working hard to make sure they can figure out the best way to get the show into production and on the air this year. On top of that, it sounds like we might be treated to an even bigger cast than ever, so there are sure to be plenty of dumpster fires to put out.
The Bachelorette is currently slated to begin quarantining folks for its season in a few weeks, so it might be a while yet until we hear about concrete plans for Bachelor in Paradise Season 7. Until then, you can keep up with The Bachelor, which airs Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC, and let us know your feelings about BIP in the poll below!
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