ABC has renewed The Bachelor for a 27th season, as it remains one of their top shows. Even while streaming on Hulu next day, The Bachelor season 26 consistently ranked no. 1 in its time slot for adults age 18-49. The Bachelor recently hit its 20-year anniversary, premiering March 25, 2002, and it is still going strong into its 27th season.

Last season was a reset for the series, which had been historically hosted by Chris Harrison. After defending controversial contestant Rachel Kirkconnell from Matt James' season, Harrison stepped aside from the series before being replaced by past Bachelor lead Jesse Palmer. Palmer hosted Season 26, which starred Clayton Echard.

In the explosive finale of season 26, Echard dumped his top two contestants, Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey, at the same time after he realized he had fallen in love with the eliminated Susie Evans. Evans came back, but rejected his proposal on air, leaving Echard alone. In one final twist, Echard and Evans revealed during the post-finale reunion, After the Final Rose, that they were together. The reunion had 4.73 million people tune in, and the season delivered a 2.35 rating for adults 18-49.

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The Bachelor's spin-off, The Bachelorette, is currently in production for its 19th season. After being dumped at the same time, Recchia and Windey will serve as co-Bachelorettes for the new season, also hosted by Palmer. Unlike the previous attempt to have two Bachelorettes, where a single Bachelorette was selected after the premiere episode, the two women will do the entire season together.

There is currently no word on who the next Bachelor will be. At this point in the series, the Bachelor is traditionally a contestant from The Bachelorette who failed to win the Bachelorette's heart, but captured the audience's. This was why audiences were so puzzled with Echard's selection from Michelle Young's season. There were multiple contestants that captured a special place in audience's hearts, such as Brandon Jones, Rodney Matthew, and Olumide "Olu" Onajide. It is also notable that Echard was chosen as Bachelor before Young's season of The Bachelorette had aired, meaning producers may have assumed audiences would respond better to Echard on the season.

Jones, Matthew, and Onajide are all solid choices for the next Bachelor. Other possible contenders are Greg Grippo, Michael Allio, and Andrew Spencer, all from Katie Thurston's season just before Young's. Fans will probably always hope that favorite Tyler Cameron will agree to be the Bachelor after he stole hearts on season 15 of The Bachelorette, but it seems unlikely.

The Bachelor is a production of Next Entertainment and Warner Bros, with unscripted television in association with Warner Horizon. Mike Fleiss is the creator behind The Bachelor, as well as The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise. Season 19 of The Bachelorette will premiere on July 11, 2022.