Bachelor in Paradise is filling up its beach huts.
ABC has released the starting cast for its summer spinoff in The Bachelor franchise.
Listed in reverse chronological order by the most recent seasons, the cast is as follows: Aaron Clancy, Connor Brennan, Tre Cooper, James Bonsall and Karl Smith from Katie Thurston’s season of The Bachelorette; Abigail Heringer, Serena Pitt, Mari Pepin-Solis, Jessenia Cruz, Serena Chew and Victoria Larson from Matt James’ season of The Bachelor; Brendan Morais, Ivan Hall, Kenny Braasch and Noah Erb from Clare Crawley and Tayshia Adams’ season of The Bachelorette; Natasha Parker, Deandra Kanu, Kelsey Weir, Maurissa Gunn, Tammy Ly and Victoria Paul from Peter Weber’s season of The Bachelor; Joe Amabile from Becca Kufrin’s season of The Bachelorette; and Tahzjuan Hawkins from Colton Underwood’s season of The Bachelor.
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Season seven of Bachelor in Paradise, which premieres Aug. 16, returns after a two-year, pandemic-impacted hiatus and without its longtime host Chris Harrison, who exited the franchise last month.
To welcome the contestants — which includes singles from the three most recent cycles of The Bachelor and the currently airing Bachelorette, as well as familiar faces from past seasons — will instead be a rotating roster of guest hosts that includes David Spade, Lance Bass, Lil Jon, Tituss Burgess and franchise alum Wells Adams, the latter who will take on an expanded role at the beach.
The reality dating series, which films at a resort in Sayulita, Mexico, has wrapped production. Each guest host is believed to have filmed for one week. An episode count has yet to be announced.
The logline from ABC — noting the return after a “hiatus from the oasis” — reads: “With the beach officially open, it’s time for a new group of former bachelors and bachelorettes to take another shot at love while living together in a romantic resort in Mexico.”
ABC released the above names (first, 19 in total, and then an additional four of Thurston’s contestants after their eliminations) for season seven with the caveat that, like every season, more contestants will be announced at a later date. Bachelor in Paradise has a revolving-door cast element, as more alum are brought into the show after rose ceremony eliminations (and will be announced after their eliminations on Thurston’s Bachelorette). Typically, the dating show flip flops each week with the women and men holding the rose-giving power.
The announcement of Paradise‘s 2021 return after sitting out the 2020 season due to the pandemic came at a rocky time for the ABC franchise, as Harrison’s future with the shows that he had hosted for 19 years was then up in the air. The veteran host took a hiatus in February after excusing racist behavior from Rachael Kirkconnell, who was a contestant on the then-airing season of The Bachelor with James. Months later, and shortly after the guest hosts for Paradise were announced, Harrison made his exit official after a confidential settlement and sizable payout, as The Hollywood Reporter reported. His exit came one day after the premiere of Thurston’s Bachelorette season, which is being co-hosted by former Bachelorette stars Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe.
Bachelor in Paradise is a production of Next Entertainment and Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Warner Horizon. Mike Fleiss, Martin Hilton, Nicole Woods, Tim Warner, Peter Geist and Louis Caric are executive producers.
July 13: Updated to include additional cast after their eliminations from Thurston’s season.
