This year, Channel 10 has decided to give us not one, but three Bachelors. However, when it comes to The Bachelorette, they’ve decided to axe it altogether. The dating reality series has been put on pause for 2022 by the network, as reported by TV Tonight.
Paramount ANZ Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer, Beverley McGarvey, confirmed the news, saying the female-led version of the franchise will not return this year.
“We probably won’t have an iteration of Bachelorette that is on air this year,” she said.
“But actually we haven’t always had an iteration of Bachelorette on air every year. If you think way back to the beginning, we had two or three years that we didn’t, and then we introduced Bachelorette.”
However, the cancellation of the show isn’t permanent, with McGarvey saying: “I think given the environment that we’re in, the audience is telling us they want to see some of those legacy formats move forward a bit, which we really want to do with that show, because we really respect the brand and the audience loves it. So I think a little bit of scarcity this year, is probably going to help us move forward.”
Last year, The Bachelorette was fronted by Brooke Blurton, an Indigenous and bisexual woman. The network was praised at the time for putting a queer woman of colour at the helm, but sadly, the season was rated poorly.
Despite the show being on the roster at Channel 10’s Upfronts last year, executives have decided to replace it with The Real Love Boat instead.
We still have The Bachelors to look forward to, which will air shortly after MasterChef Australia: Fans & Favourites concludes.
