EXCLUSIVE: A large group of crew members have been let go from The Bachelor universe as a result of The Bachelorette’s recent postponement.
Deadline revealed earlier this month that The Bachelorette would not air in its traditional summer slot, essentially skipping a cycle.
This has inevitably had a major impact on the production crew working across these shows.
Deadline understands that the majority of the crew were informed last week that they would no longer be employed on the franchise. It’s a move that has caused shockwaves among the hundreds of crew that work on the various shows. It’s not clear how many people were officially impacted.
Staff that are currently still working on The Bachelor, including on the specials that follow a season of the flagship show, will continue until their responsibilities end.
Bachelor in Paradise, which will see Scott Teti serve as new showrunner, is next up for ABC in The Bachelor universe, and will shoot this summer. Paradise, which has generally filmed in Mexico, often has different crew members than the other shows but there is some overlap.
Some staff, of course, may return to the franchise once it gets back up and running on the next season of The Bachelor, which would likely start production later this year, or on new seasons of The Golden Bachelor or The Golden Bachelorette.
The Bachelorette was set to start filming shortly for its 22nd season before it was paused. Bachelor in Paradise, which has premiered its last two seasons at the end of September, is next on the docket and will likely start production over the summer.
All of this comes as Season 29 of The Bachelor, starring Grant Ellis, is currently airing on ABC.
The Bachelor universe is produced by Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Warner Horizon. Warner Bros. TV declined to comment.