‘Bachelor in Paradise’ Renewed for Season 10! Show Returning Despite Cancellation Rumors
Paradise has been found!
The ABC reality show Bachelor in Paradise, which many had assumed would be canceled after poor storylines and flagging ratings last season, has been renewed for season 10, the network announced Wednesday at the Television Critics Association summer press tour.
The new season will air in 2025 on ABC and stream next day on Hulu.
The surprise announcement came after months of speculation that the troubled long-running Bachelor beach spinoff would be a goner.
Related: Which Bachelor Nation Couples Are Still Together?
Things didn’t look good when Bachelor bigwigs made no mention of the show at their TCA press conference this January.
But now, the show is back on track!
Still, with BIP not coming back until next year, would it get a big revamp, even including older Golden Bachelor and Bachelorette stars on the sand?
Read on to find out more!
What is Bachelor in Paradise?
The reality show began airing with Season 1 on August 14, 2014 on ABC as a spinoff of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. It features oodles of scantily-clad castoff contestants from previous seasons of those shows who live in villas together on a Mexican beach and search for love again.
Related: What We Know About 'The Golden Bachelorette’ Spinoff
Where is Bachelor in Paradise filmed?
The Bachelor in Paradise cast members cavort in Mexico at the Playa Escondida Resort location. They head down to the resort’s beach every day to look for relationships.
Who hosts Bachelor in Paradise?
Chris Harrison hosted the show until Season 7, when he left the entire franchise under a cloud of controversy. Jesse Palmer took over as host of Season 8 to present.
Disney
Who is the other permanent BIP star (bartender)?
Former Bachelorette contestant Wells Adams has served as the resort bartender since BIP’s 4th season, replacing Jorge Moreno. He also was the interim co-host on the 7th season of the show following Harrison’s departure in June 2021.
Disney
Why was Bachelor in Paradise under fire?
Fans were disappointed by last fall’s Season 9, when the cast members and storylines didn’t spark interest.
Viewers felt pretty redhead Sam Jeffries talking about how she got constipated on the beach and was unable to poo was too silly.
Also, there was an ongoing “truth box” segment with Adams and the beachgoers that just didn’t gel.
One Reddit user wrote that BIP 9 was the worst ever: “I cannot even handle the disappointment that I feel from this season. There is not a single couple on the beach that I feel I can root for! I’m genuinely confused by who’s with who & why… every good couple has crumbled and I am so disappointed at how this season has been edited…& showed too many clips of people we don’t care about or dots that never got connected. It has been a joke and a big waste of time. Two thumbs down for me!”
What was other feedback like?
Many felt BIP suffered last season by airing after the classier The Golden Bachelor starring Gerry Turner.
Franchise spoiler expert Reality Steve summed things up by posting on X about Paradise episode 2, “Convos about smells of cinnamon, wedding cakes, and memories. In less than 30 min, BIP starts and we’ll be talking about toe sucking, poop babies, and the Boom Boom Room.”
And maybe Season 9 of Paradise lacked enough star power? Although popular former Bachelorette Rachel Recchia and suitor Brayden Bowers showed up on the beach, other contestants, such as Sam and Olivia Lewis got major TV time but weren’t as well known.
Disney
What happened with the Paradise ratings?
According to Decider, viewers have been abandoning the show for years. Season 7 episodes averaged 2.975 to 3.286 million viewers, while Season 8 episodes averaged around 2.265 to 2.375 million viewers. In 2023, airing after The Golden Bachelor, the first three episodes of Paradise Season 9 only garnered between 2.080 and 1.895 million viewers, not including streaming viewership.
Which star weighed in on the BIP controversy?
Rachel Recchia said last year as fans dissed the show, “I am so confused with all this hate I’m seeing online about Paradise.”
Defending the show, Recchia added, “Every year Paradise is so silly, it’s so fun, it’s goofy, it’s the point of it. It’s very lighthearted. It’s not like the traditional seriousness we see on Bachelorette and Bachelor and that’s why people love Paradise. And I’m seeing so much hate for it, that it’s like — going from Golden Bachelor to Paradise — yes, I get it. It’s very wholesome, we love Golden Bachelor. It’s incredible. But it’s a completely different show. It’s always been the same exact show. It’s hilarious. It’s lighthearted. I don’t know, maybe I’m biased.”
Could BIP include Golden stars next year?
Yes! Gerry Turner’s Golden Bachelor revitalized the franchise as a big hit, and he had plenty of eliminated ladies who could appear in Paradise, including flamboyant Susan Noles, mouthy Kathy Swarts, runner-up Leslie Fhima, and third place finisher Faith Martin.
Also, there will soon be older men available as Joan Vassos is starring on the first The Golden Bachelorette, premiering Sept. 18 on ABC.
ABC
What would senior stars on the sand look like?
Bartender Adams speculated to Parade in a 1:1 interview last year about Paradise getting older.
He riffed on a mythical Golden Bachelor in Paradise at the time, but his ideas could apply to a show featuring both younger and older stars.
“We need to be having one-on-one dates at a shuffle board court,” Wells joked. “We’d have two-on-ones or group dates at the bingo. The bingo [winner] gets more time with whoever is hosting the date.”
Adams, who is married to actress Sarah Hyland, opined, “I think there needs to be some sort of paddle board tournament that has a lot of weight or stakes to it. I need to be there of course making drinks. There needs to be a regular bar but I also need to have Mylanta and Tums just in case for the cast. And I feel very strongly about this—every romantic dinner needs to start with the sun still up, be an early bird special at 4:30 in the afternoon.”
Adams said about his drink mix for an aged BIP, “I like to think that the seniors are a little bit more sophisticated so I think I’d be making a lot more martinis, maybe some old-fashioneds, some Manhattans. Maybe some scotch neat (straight up). I can see that being a drink I’d make a lot and probably a lot of coffee [to keep the seniors] up for the rose ceremony.”
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