‘The Bachelor’ spoilers: Ben Higgins named on ‘After Paradise,’ Nick Viall trolls America wonderfully

Those folks over at ABC sure are sly dogs, aren’t they? They waited for a long time to make the announcement of the next “Bachelor” during “After Paradise,” probably realizing at some point that this was the primary reason that many people were still watching. You have to find a way to keep us invested, right?

Here is the funny thing: Chris Harrison told us that we would be “surprised,” and for a minute there we actually thought that Nick Viall was going to be named the new lead! He showed up in the studio with Chris, and even gave a brief interview before proclaiming that it was actually Ben Higgins who would be the new leading man. We have to give some credit here to Nick for being willing to make fun of himself like this, and to appear to throw some people off.

Of course, Ben was the frontrunner from the start for the role, and there was never really any doubting that it was going to be him. He has the look, the fan following, and the show does like to pick a really likable lead and then surround them with drama. Also, a surprise phone call from Amy Schumer!

The new season of “The Bachelor” is going to be filming in the fall, and we hopefully are going to get some other news here and there about it before then. It will eventually premiere in January, and we have a feeling Ben is going to be in for one crazy ride. He’s one of the younger Bachelors the show has had, but he still acts very mature and seems emotionally ready.

If you want to read our review of tonight’s “After Paradise” episode, head over to the link here! Also, you can sign up now to get some other TV news on everything we cover via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: ABC.)