Disney-owned ABC pulled The Bachelorette after a video surfaced of star Taylor Frankie Paul throwing a chair at her partner, Dakota Mortensen, during a violent confrontation on March 19. The incident, which occurred in front of her young daughter, led to the cancellation of her season just three days before its premiere, leaving a significant gap in ABC's Sunday night programming that the network is now scrambling to fill.
ABC Made the Call
As a result ABC pulled the show and made the following announcement stating “In light of the newly released video just surfaced today, we have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of The Bachelorette at this time, and our focus is on supporting the family,” and honestly “at this time” suggests the season may be aired eventually though there is an open police investigation involving Paul and Mortensen.
The Bachelorette Replacements Are Not Great
On Sunday, March 22, a two-hour repeat of American Idol took its place, and this past Sunday, watchers saw that ABC decided to fill the spot with old episodes of American Idol. This coming Sunday, repeats of America's Funniest Home Videos and The Greatest Average American will air from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Honestly, it appears ABC will choose replacements on a week-by-week basis, which is not exactly a sustainable solution.
Dancing with the Stars Could Save Them
ABC has reportedly been scrambling to figure out what will replace The Bachelorette on Sunday nights, and sources say “The execs at Disney, many of whom are newer in their roles and did not want to step into their new positions with this mess, are livid.” The network is “obsessively scrambling to find programming to fill in the Sunday night timeslots” with “dozens of crisis talks and last-minute meetings amongst different show crews.”
Here's where it gets interesting because “The DWTS crew has already offered to throw something together last minute so they're weighing those options now,” and honestly some fans hoped that Dancing with the Stars could come up with something to air on Sundays like an all-star season or an unedited type of season with the pros or holding a live stream of the tour some of the dancers are currently on.
Derek Hough, a judge on Dancing with the Stars, commented on speculation and hinted that something is in the works, though no official announcements have been made about which specific Dancing with the Stars content might air.
No New Bachelorette Season Coming
As for rumors that The Traitors star Maura Higgins could be tapped to film a live season of The Bachelorette, sources say “Finding another Bachelorette and filming a new season is not at all being considered right now” because “The amount of money it takes to put a whole season together is too high and it would take too long to scramble that together.”
The Bachelorette Cost Disney $50 Million
Industry analysts estimate the decision cost Disney upward of $50 million, which is absolutely wild, and this happened just days after Josh D'Amaro became Disney CEO, creating a situation where the new leadership had to make a brutal brand-protection decision immediately. The financial implications include production costs of $25 million to $30 million for the entire already-filmed season, marketing and ad spend of $10 million to $15 million, and lost ad revenue and “make-goods” of $20 million or more.
By sacrificing $50 million in a single afternoon, D'Amaro and Dana Walden sent a message that the brand is more valuable than the bottom line, and honestly, it was a brutal first move that shows they're willing to take massive financial hits to protect Disney's reputation.
As The Bachelorette was scrapped from TV, many fans speculated about what the replacement would be, with Dancing with the Stars potentially stepping in to save ABC's Sunday nights.
