Huge layoffs at ABC after Bachelorette announced | TV Shows

Many crew members have been let go from the Bachelor franchise following ABC‘s pause of The Bachelorette.

It was revealed earlier this month that the Bachelor Nation spin-off would not air in its traditional summer slot, meaning it would be skipping a cycle, much to fans’ dismay.

However, the decision has inevitably had an even greater impact on the production crew working across the reality dating show franchise.

According to Deadline, the majority of the crew members were informed last week that they would no longer be employed on the franchise, which has now caused shockwaves among the hundreds of crew who work on the various shows.

It’s not clear how many people were impacted by the lay offs.

Staffers currently still working on The Bachelor, including on the specials that follow a season of the flagship show, will continue until their responsibilities end.

Meanwhile, Bachelor in Paradise, which will see Scott Teti serve as new showrunner, is next up in The Bachelor universe and will shoot in the summer.

Paradise, which usually films in Mexico, often has different crew members than the other shows, but there is some overlap.

Some staff might return to the franchise once it gets back up and running on the next season of The Bachelor, which would typically 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 Season 22 before it was paused.

A source has spoken up and shared details behind the hiatus of The Bachelorette.

According to an insider at The U.S. Sun, the network weighed in a “number of things” before making the final decision.

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They considered many factors like “competition from rival dating shows,” the “lack of overall interest in the recent casts” and “lower social media followers and interactions.”

They added: “There’s also been a string of failed engagements and at the end of the day, the show really does want to produce a love story.”

One of the most significant reasons pertained to the decrease in ratings.

“The truth is, the last season of The Bachelorette had a disappointing decline in ratings. It hit a low amongst the 18-49 demographic which is what everyone at the network focuses on most,” the source explained. “To not be as strong in that demo, the bread and butter of the franchise was a big, big blow.”

The insider admitted that was “the final straw for the suits to tell production to ‘take a step back, reassess and we’ll see what the future holds.’”

“It’s time to hit the reset button,” they said. This is the first time in 18 years The Bachelorette has taken a hiatus.

Fortunately for the Bachelor Nation, the insider revealed the show will “absolutely” come back in “some way shape or form.” It just “may look different than the past 20 years.”