ABC/Craig Sjodin
Could the “Bachelor” franchise be ready to close up shop in 2021? That’s what one member of Bachelor Nation believes.
Blake Hortsmann, who you know from Becca Kufrin’s season of “The Bachelorette,” but probably more from his time on “Bachelor in Paradise.” Blake made a name for himself on the beach in Mexico, becoming a bit of a playboy; he had hooked up with both Kristina Schulman and Caelynn Miller-Keyes at the 2019 Stagecoach Festival, which made for a bit of an awkward time for him in “Paradise.”
Blake currently has a podcast about “The Bachelor” and its spinoff shows. During a recent Instagram Q&A, he revealed his thoughts on the future of the franchise.
“Nothing lasts forever, but also … I think there won’t be another ‘Bachelor’ season. I think it’ll end after Michelle,” Blake said, referring to Michelle Young’s season of the show which is slated to air in the fall of 2021.
Here’s what you need to know:
Blake Thinks That the Chris Harrison Scandal Will Cause a Drop in Ratings
Blake’s bold statement about the future of the franchise was a self-admitted “hot take,” but he went on to explain his theory nevertheless.
“Whether you think it’s right, wrong, whatever your stance is on the [Chris Harrison scandal] — I think it drove away a lot of loyal fans and viewers. They’re really not going to watch the show. Ratings are going to plummet,” he said.
While it’s unclear whether or not Chris will return to host the show in the future, Blake seems to imply that the damage is already done. Thousands of fans have signed a petition to have Chris permanently removed from the franchise, but other petitions collectively have just as many signatures requesting the opposite.
Many fans have said that they will no longer watch the show because of what has transpired. Chris made the decision to take some time away from his hosting duties after many people were offended by the comments he made about race during an interview with Rachel Lindsay. Chris did not host the “After the Final Rose” special on ABC after Matt James’ season of “The Bachelor” wrapped. He also will not be hosting Katie Thurston’s season of “The Bachelorette.”
Fans Don’t Seem to Agree With Blake
ABCThe cast of season six of Bachelor in Paradise.
While many fans would agree that Chris’ future on the show will determine how ratings fare, most don’t agree that ABC will cancel the series. The main reason is because the show has figured out how to go through with production during a pandemic — and even brought two seasons of “The Bachelorette” back in the same year.
A Reddit thread dedicated to Blake’s recent Q&A was started and several Redditors have shared their opinions on the matter.
“It’s a money maker for ABC at a time when producing new scripted shows is very difficult with Covid. They had one well liked pandemic season with Tayshia and one poorly received one with Matt. I don’t see a cancellation happening anytime soon. If Covid bleeds into 2022, I could see them doing two ‘Bachelorettes’ and ‘Bachelors’ a year,” one Reddit user commented.
“Michelle’s season is effectively an ‘extra’ season and Blake thinks the show is getting canned? I just don’t see it at all. I think despite [its] issues ABC see it as an important part of their programming,” echoed another.
“Not to mention it’s significantly cheaper to make because they don’t have to incorporate the traveling aspect. They’re extremely profitable at the moment and don’t see them just… giving that up? For no reason?” a third pointed out.
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