Should you’re a longtime Bachelor Nation viewer, you most likely observed one thing lacking from ABC’s lineup tonight.
Traditionally, the winter/spring season of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette virtually all the time premieres on the primary Monday of January. For years, that Monday-night launch has been as predictable as limo entrances and first-impression roses.
However right here we’re on Monday, Jan. 5, and there’s no Bachelor, no Bachelorette, and no opening-night shenanigans in sight.
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So what provides? The reply seems to be a mixture of sports activities scheduling and a serious programming shake-up at ABC.
School Soccer Is A part of the Delay
One key purpose is soccer.
ABC and ESPN maintain the published rights to the School Soccer Playoffs, together with the nationwide championship sport, which airs Monday, Jan. 19, on ESPN. That occasion will dominate Monday-night rankings, so relatively than burn off an early Bachelorette episode in opposition to must-watch soccer, the community seems to be clearing the runway till after the championship wraps.
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ABC Flipped Its Actuality-TV Schedule
The opposite massive issue is a schedule flip involving The Bachelorette, American Idol and The Voice.
Historically, the January premiere is a Bachelor season, not a Bachelorette season. This yr, nevertheless, ABC opted to launch season 22 of The Bachelorette within the spring, with Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Taylor Frankie Paul because the lead. Much more notably, ABC moved The Bachelorette to a brand new night time.
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As a substitute of airing Mondays, the present will now premiere on Sunday, March 22, 2026.
That transfer opens Monday nights for American Idol, which premieres Monday, Jan. 26, and can proceed airing Mondays all through the spring. The Voice, in the meantime, returns for its twenty ninth season on Monday, Feb. 23 on NBC.
In different phrases, ABC seems to be testing whether or not American Idol can go head-to-head with The Voice for Monday-night viewers—and it is launching American Idol a full month earlier than The Voice premieres to maybe give it a head begin in that rankings battle.
That leaves The Bachelorette season 22 to air on Sundays as an alternative, taking on American Idol’s former timeslot.
Paul is a departure for the collection, because the pattern for fairly numerous years is to solid a lead as a fan-favorite from a earlier season.
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Taylor’s Bachelorette bio reads, “After igniting ‘MomTok’ and going viral for pulling again the curtain on Salt Lake’s soft-swinging scene in Hulu’s Emmy Award-nominated collection The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, the 31-year-old Utah native is able to commerce headline-making heartbreak for hometown dates as she begins making her mark on Bachelor Nation.
“Paul is the breakout star of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, fascinating tens of millions together with her uncooked, unapologetic storytelling. Off-screen, she’s a TikTok powerhouse whose comedic, heartwarming and bitingly trustworthy content material has earned her an enormous following. As a single mom of three, Paul shares the highs and lows of her life with unfiltered candor. With humor, resilience and a fearless openness, she evokes others to embrace life’s chaos and personal their story.”
The brand new season of The Bachelorette is transferring to a brand new night time when it premieres its twenty second season on Sunday, March 22, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and streaming the subsequent day on Hulu.
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