ABC
The INSIDER Summary:
- ABC is cutting jobs and restructuring, the Wall Street Journal reported.
- Soon after, “The Bachelor” creator Mike Fleiss began cryptically tweeting.
- He says he has “shocking” news regarding “The Bachelor.”
- He could be hinting that “The Bachelor” or one of its spin-offs may be canceled.
“The Bachelor” — one of the biggest shows on TV — could soon be canceled.
On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that ABC was cutting as many as 300 jobs and aiming to restructure its Disney/ABC Television Group in an effort to cut costs for “the ABC broadcast, its television production studio, ABC News and local television stations.”
Then on Thursday, “The Bachelor” creator Mike Fleiss tweeted out cryptically and hypothetically about whether a “broadcast network [has] ever canceled its No. 1 show.” We first spotted the tweet on Decider.com.
He tweeted “Stand by for shocking news regarding #thebachelor” not long after.
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/903112400810893313
Tv trivia… Has a broadcast network ever canceled its No. 1 show???
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/902923634984886273
Stand by for shocking news regarding #thebachelor …
Some people immediately made the connection between the layoffs and the tweets, and began to speculate what it could all mean. Most thought it didn’t spell good news for “The Bachelor.”
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/903113147069767680
Please say these have no correlation…. pic.twitter.com/I29QaADDxx
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/903122829163597825
pic.twitter.com/RlmaO5kJCG
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/903419159849168902
If #thebachelor is cancelled, my night is officially ruined
This news comes on top of an earlier question about why “Good Morning America” didn’t announce the new star of “The Bachelor” after the show promised it would. Earlier, “Good Morning America” tweeted that it would be revealing the identity of the new “Bachelor” star on live TV on Friday, but it never happened. The original tweet was also mysteriously deleted, according to Accept This Rose.
Fleiss made it clear on Twitter that he wasn’t responsible for the “GMA” cancellation, and has spent most of the day wondering when he can reveal his “shocking news” about the ABC franchise.
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/903635102839668740
Wasn’t me… https://t.co/pzpGeBZgrH
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/903326494474117120
Ok, SIT by for truly shocking news regarding #TheBachelor…
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/903343314040004608
Hoping to make unbelievably shocking announcement today regarding #thebachelor. Waiting for final approval…
It’s unclear what this may mean, if anything, for “The Bachelor.” It’s widely been reported that Peter Kraus, the runner-up on season 13 of “The Bachelorette,” would become the new “Bachelor” star for season 22. If true, the season likely would have been a ratings win for ABC since Kraus was a fan-favorite.
It’s possible that Kraus decided not to be on “The Bachelor” — there was an entire storyline about how he was troubled by the short length of time contestants had to fall in love on “The Bachelorette.” Still, it’s leading some people to wonder if the lack of “GMA” announcement has to do with budgetary concerns at ABC.
Adding to this is the “Bachelor in Paradise” controversy that has swirled around “The Bachelor” shows an alleged incident during taping in early June. The incident supposedly involved Corinne Olympios, 25, and DeMario Jackson, 30, but after no misconduct was found, production on the ABC reality show resumed once again.
ABC
Since the controversy, both Olympios and Jackson have given interviews about the situation and the allegations have bombarded the news cycle. Not a great look for a family network.
Time will tell what Fleiss’ cryptic tweets mean and was “shocking” news there is for “The Bachelor” franchise. INSIDER has reached out to ABC, and had not heard back at the time of this post.
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