Entertainment

Paul Hebert/ABC

The Newest 'Bachelor' Needs To Be Announced Soon

by Anna Rose Iovine

It's the season finale of The Bachelorette, which means viewers are looking forward to finding out two things: who wins Rachel's heart, and who the next Bachelor will be. Historically, the announcement occurs during the After the Final Rose special, but ABC has deviated from the norm lately. For example, Rachel's announcement occurred before she was even cast off The Bachelor! This year, though, the producers are doing things a little differently. Unfortunately, the audience won't know who the next Bachelor is by night's end. When will the next Bachelor be announced? Bachelor Nation will have to wait longer than usual.

For longtime members of Bachelor Nation, they know Bachelor announcements can be surprising. Last year, for example, took everyone by surprise. Originally, Luke from JoJo's season was set to have the title — but last minute, Bachelor-franchise veteran Nick was chosen. It was apparently a last minute switch-up; so last minute, in fact, that Luke had his bags packed when he got the call that it was not him. The news came while Bachelor in Paradise was still airing — where Nick was a cast member. It was clear, then, that Nick's Paradise relationship wasn't going to work out.

In an interview with ET, Chris Harrison discussed the choice to pick Nick for Bachelor and what producers want for next season. "Nick [Viall] popped out of Paradise if you remember, we didn't see that coming," he said. "We weren't planning on it and then it happened. I think, lesson learned, we're going to wait and just watch it all play out." What does this mean for this season? Not only will ABC not tell viewers who the Bachelor is yet, but they don't know who it is at all.

"Dean, Peter, Brian, Eric. There's four great candidates right there," Harrison told ET. "They'd all be great Bachelors, they would. I can't poke a hole in any of them, but in all seriousness, we've not picked a Bachelor. So, I can tell you, no Bachelor is chosen." According to MovieFone, The Bachelor doesn't start shooting until around September, so it's coming soon, but not soon enough to have to be announced right away. Harrison assured fans that they'll know "as soon as he does," and that there won't be a "double Bachelor" situation like last year. Everyone in Bachelor Nation has their hopes up to whom the next Bachelor is — perhaps more so than who gets engaged to Rachel — so it'll be worth the wait.