Is The Bachelor canceled? Not now, and probably not ever, despite dumb rumors
In what is probably the truest sign to date that Labor Day Weekend is a very slow weekend for news, there are a number of different websites out there peddling some variation of the headline above — minus the second part of it answering the question. The show’s not getting canceled, and the only reason these questions are being asked are for two reasons.
1. People love taking advantage of readers for clicks. It’s a practice that’s been around forever, but in this modern era of hyper-competition it’s all the more rampant.
2. The Good Morning America hot mess from earlier this week, where the morning show tweeted out that they were going to reveal the identity of the next Bachelor … only for it not to happen and for the tweet to be deleted. This was certainly a bit of a bummer, and it’s also sent Bachelor Nation into a tailspin wondering when they are going to finally get a little bit more news.
Why do we think that the GMA tweet was pulled? Obviously, there wasn’t something in negotiations that was finalized enough for the show to go through with their predetermined plans. The new Bachelor reveal is still going to happen, but probably over the next week or so. ABC is on a timetable to get this news out there, mostly because the beginning of filming isn’t all that far into the future.
Another clear reason why the ‘Bachelor canceled’ rumors are silly
Just look at the ratings. This is one of ABC’s most-popular shows, and it’s not even close. This past season starring Nick Viall drew on average a 2.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic, which is better than any other regularly-scheduled show that they had on the air during the past year. It was better than Modern Family or Grey’s Anatomy, which each posted a 2.1. It may not be #1 in total viewers, but what network advertisers really care about more than anything are the demo viewers. The ratings, and they also retain themselves very well from one season to the next. If the show continues to keep people at this pace, Chris Harrison could be hosting this show for another couple of decades.
As we said, it’s all sensationalism. The “Bachelor canceled” stories are only probably apt for this weekend just because The Bachelor itself is almost all sensationalism. This is a show that hypes things up even when there isn’t anything to hype. They’ve been doing that with this Bachelor reveal for weeks.
For the record, Peter Kraus is still the undisputed favorite to get the role, even if a tweet from Mike Fleiss (show creator) last night gives us some pause — but, as we said, this show loves sensationalism. He could be trolling everyone. (Photo: ABC.)