Following dismal ratings in 2021, Network 10 has officially confirmed that we won’t be seeing any leading ladies looking for love on The Bachelorette this year.
Despite the introduction of not one but THREE men for the forthcoming season of The Bachelor, it looks like we’ll have to wait for the Bachelorette series to make a return to the small screen.
The move was confirmed by Paramount ANZ Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer, Beverley McGarvey, who told TV Tonight, “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.”
She added that the show’s absence in 2022 didn’t mean it was axed altogether, 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.”
While the network previously confirmed that the series would return this year, they later announced that The Real Love Boat would take its place in the schedule.
The move comes amid last season’s less-than-stellar ratings, despite it featuring the franchise’s first-ever Indigenous and bisexual lead, Brooke Blurton.
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Blurton was the first bisexual lead on any international version of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. She gave contestant Darvid Garayeli, her final rose, but the relationship only lasted a few months outside of the mansion before the couple decided to split.
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