EXCLUSIVE: The Bachelor franchise will soon have new leadership.
Deadline understands that Claire Freeland and Bennett Graebner, who serve as showrunners and executive producers of the Warner Bros. TV-produced franchise, are leaving the franchise. We hear they are currently negotiating their exit with the studio.
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It comes a month after Deadline revealed allegations that the pair had run a “toxic” and “hostile” environment.
It’s been a tricky start to the year for the ABC universe; in early February, Deadline revealed that The Bachelorette would skip a cycle. That decision led to the departure of a number of crew, many who had worked on the shows for many years.
Following our report, co-executive producers Michael Margolis, who is Freeland’s husband, and Keely Booth resigned.
Freeland and Graebner are now joining them.
Bennett Graebner and Claire Freeland (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images)
The pair took over showrunning duties in 2023 following the departure of creator Mike Fleiss, who left after he faced an investigation over workplace misconduct allegations.
They were named showrunners alongside Jason Ehrlich, but he left last year after overseeing The Golden Bachelor.
Through their lawyer, the pair denied the allegations against them. “My clients are well-respected professionals with a long history in this business. They are frankly stunned and saddened by some of the things they are hearing now for the first time,” Michael Weinsten, counsel for Claire Freeland and Bennett Graebner, told Deadline last month.
The Bachelor and its spinoffs The Bachelorette, Bachelor in Paradise, which will be run by new showrunner Scott Teti, The Golden Bachelor and The Golden Bachelorette are produced by Warner Bros. Unscripted Television and Warner Horizon.
Warner Bros. TV declined to comment.
