So...What’s Going on With the Bachelor Franchise? We Finally Have a Premiere Date for ‘The Bachelor’ Season 30

Ever since ABC pulled the plug on Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of The Bachelorette just days before its premiere, fans have been wondering: What’s next for the Bachelor franchise? And after a month of rumors surrounding the fate of The Bachelor and its many spin-offs, fans finally have an actual update. According to Variety, The Bachelor season 30 is set to premiere on Sunday, March 21, 2027.It was first revealed earlier this year by Deadline that both The Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise would return for new seasons in 2027.“The Bachelor is almost a perfect format and it is really powerful,” Disney’s reality chief Rob Mills told the outlet at the time. “It’s over two decades old, and it’s seen really good days and really bad days. But it’s always had a lot of resilience, especially when the people making it really, really care about it, because that fan base also really cares about it. However The Bachelor comes back next year, it will be done with a lot of thoughtfulness and care. I do think better days are ahead for the franchise.”As a reminder, season 22 of The Bachelorette was scheduled to premiere on March 22 but was canceled amid reports that Taylor and her ex, Dakota Mortensen, were involved in a domestic dispute.A statement from a Disney Entertainment Television spokesperson was released on March 19, saying, “In light of the newly released video just surfaced today, we have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of The Bachelorette at this time, and our focus is on supporting the family.”Rumors about how the franchise would move forward (if at all) have been circulating ever since, as the decision to cancel Taylor’s season reportedly also impacted production on The Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise. TMZ previously reported that the network had planned to cast one of the finalists on Taylor’s season as the next Bachelor but “it was all predicated on that contender becoming famous” from Taylor’s season…which, of course, didn’t happen.Likewise, a separate source told TMZ that the season 22 contestants would possibly have another chance at love on the upcoming season of Bachelor in Paradise, though “it’s unclear how many might get that opportunity.”And according to yet another source for People, Warner Bros. reportedly held a meeting with Taylor’s men on the same day the show was canceled (save for her winner, Doug Mason) and told them their “contracts will be in place for a year.”As for Taylor’s unaired season of The Bachelorette? Rob told THR that he doesn’t know whether it will ever air on ABC or stream on Hulu and is taking everything “a day at a time”...but at this point, it feels safe to conclude that season 22 of The Bachelorette will be shelved indefinitely.