After months of uncertainty around Bachelor Nation, ABC has officially confirmed that “The Bachelor” will return in 2027 — and Disney executive Rob Mills says the franchise is being handled with extra care after a difficult stretch.
Speaking to Deadline, Mills addressed the recent challenges surrounding the franchise, including workplace toxicity allegations, the departure of two top showrunners, and the shelving of an entire season of “The Bachelorette” tied to controversy surrounding lead Taylor Frankie Paul of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.”
Despite the setbacks, Mills made it clear he still sees “The Bachelor” as one of ABC’s strongest unscripted formats.
“‘The Bachelor’ is almost a perfect format and it is really powerful,” he said. “It’s over two decades old, and it’s seen really good days and really bad days. But it’s always had a lot of resilience.”
He also pointed to the franchise’s loyal fan base as a major reason it has survived so many ups and downs.
ABC had already renewed “The Bachelor” for Season 30 in June 2025, with “Bachelor in Paradise” producer Scott Teti set as showrunner. The season is now officially expected to air in 2027.
Mills said the network wants to be intentional about how the show returns.
“However ‘The Bachelor’ comes back next year, it will be done with a lot of thoughtfulness and care,” he said. “I do think better days are ahead for the franchise.”
Taylor Frankie Paul’s ‘Bachelorette’ Season Still Has No Final Decision
While “The Bachelor” is moving forward, the future of Season 22 of “The Bachelorette” remains uncertain.
ABC pulled the season after domestic assault allegations involving Taylor Frankie Paul created major controversy. Although the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office later declined to file charges after reviewing evidence submitted by local police departments, Mills said there is still no final decision on whether the season will ever air on ABC or Hulu.
“The day all of that stuff happened, really our first sort of concern was really for Taylor and the family and everyone involved in that,” he told Deadline. “It was really more on a human level.”
He added that the network is still taking the situation “day by day,” but praised the actual season that was filmed.
“I think her season is a wonderful season, by Bachelor standards,” he said. “If it gets seen, I’m sure people will absolutely enjoy it.”
Mills also said there have been no conversations with Warner Bros. Television about licensing the season elsewhere.
For now, he hopes Bachelor Nation will eventually get to see it.
“It is a great season and I hope that, at some point, Bachelor Nation gets to see it,” he said.
‘Bachelor in Paradise’ and ‘Mormon Wives’ Are Also Moving Forward
HuluDuring Hulu’s Get Real House event, Mills also gave more insight into what’s next for both “Bachelor in Paradise” and “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.”
Per Variety, he confirmed that production on “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” is officially resuming after being paused amid domestic violence investigations involving Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen.
“There’s not much to say, other than we are clear to go back into production,” he said. “That does not mean we’re filming tomorrow.”
Mills said Taylor’s well-being remains the top priority, adding, “We’re really making sure that — as a human being, on a personal level — she’s being taken care of first and foremost.”
As for “Bachelor in Paradise,” he confirmed it will return next summer, but only after another full “Bachelor” cycle first.
“That will be back next summer,” he said. “We want to definitely take time and make sure that when that comes back, it’s really great.”
He also revealed that men from Taylor’s unaired “Bachelorette” season could still potentially appear on the next season of “Bachelor in Paradise.”
“We obviously have the guys from Taylor’s season that could be part of next season of ‘Paradise,’” he said.
For now, Mills says ABC is focused on rebuilding carefully and making sure the next chapter of Bachelor Nation lands the right way.
“We want to get it right,” he said.
