Production on the new season of The Bachelorette could be moving, says host Chris Harrison. The Bachelorette was slated to start filming back on March 13th, but then ABC executives announced that production on the show was coming to a screeching halt thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. That has led many fans to wonder if the show is going to continue on – after all, there’s a pretty large cast and crew to keep on hold.
Well, according to Chris Harrison, the show will go on, and ABC is even considering moving the show’s filming to another state due to the COVID-19 lockdown in California. Chris recently told Entertainment Tonight that things are still up in the air with respect to when the show will start formal production.
“The state of California just took a big step back,” Chris told Entertainment Tonight. “Who know what is going on, so maybe we leave. Maybe we have to go to another state that has their stuff together and we can shoot.”
Chris continued: “Maybe we are doing this in Texas – I don’t know – but right now we are just waiting and seeing where we can do this safely until we can do it the right way.” And speaking of the “right way,” Chris also stated that he didn’t want to do a quarantine/COVID-19 version of the show – he wants to wait to do things traditionally, just as fans expect the show to proceed.
Chris told Entertainment Tonight: “I don’t want to make this a quarantine version and I don’t want it to look weird. I am seeing lots of stuff on TV that I am not loving. This is an escape. People want to get away, and I want to do it right.”
Chris also noted that the season would go forward with Clare Crawley as the bachelorette, and that the show was still recasting – presumably he’s referring to recasting the male suitors for Clare.
Chris also revealed to Entertainment Tonight that the show could adjust a bit in terms of locking down in one location or limiting the travel that Claire and her suitors do. “We have talked about maybe going to one location and lock it down or maybe we can only travel a little bit,” Chris said. “We are just throwing out ideas, nothing is definitive.”
But Chris is adamant that he doesn’t want The Bachelorette to lose its flavor or its characteristic look. “I want it to look like The Bachelorette, so people realize this is my show. Ok, I can escape, I could fall into this.”
We’ll see what happens with The Bachelorette, but it looks like viewers will just have to be patient and wait for the COVID-19 situation to wind down a bit before The Bachelorette starts filming again, maybe even in Texas. And it should be worth the wait! Stick with CDL for all of your reality TV news and spoilers – we’re here with all your exciting reality TV updates!
