Bachelor in Paradise has landed a new premiere date.
ABC on Wednesday announced that the Bachelor spinoff will make its highly anticipated return with a two-night premiere on Aug. 14 and Aug. 15 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
“Over the course of six weeks, fan favorites from the Bachelor franchise get a second chance at love while living together in Mexico, in a secluded and dreamy paradise,” the network said in a release. “Viewers will watch as they fall in love or go through renewed heartbreak.”
The season will also feature the wedding of Bachelor in Paradise season-three couple Carly Waddell and Evan Bass. Bass, whose wedding to Waddell was filmed at the resort during the suspension, had written a column for THR asking ABC not to cancel the series while the Paradise season was in flux amid an internal investigation.
The fourth season was initially set to bow Aug. 8, but filming was temporarily suspended after a producer filed a misconduct allegation over a sexual encounter between two of the contestants, Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson. Both contestants had been drinking, and the ongoing probe raised questions about consent.
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Warner Bros. Television, the producers of the ABC franchise, concluded that no misconduct took place and resumed filming on the show. With the new filming schedule pushed to July 5, however, an Aug. 8 turnaround was difficult to meet. “Production on this season of Bachelor in Paradise will be resuming, and we plan to implement certain changes to the show’s policies and procedures to enhance and further ensure the safety and security of all participants,” WBTV said in a statement at the time.
Olympios pursued her own investigation but concluded it to her satisfaction shortly after, announcing that she declined an invitation to return to the season.
Earlier on Wednesday, however, Olympios confirmed that she will be attending the reunion special. The event, which has yet to be filmed, will reunite her with Jackson, who is also confirmed to attend. The special marks Olympios‘ first public interview addressing the events and fallout of June 4, when the alleged incident occurred. “I am very happy to be appearing on the Bachelor In Paradise special,” she announced.
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Jackson, who appeared on the current season of The Bachelorette, had said that if Olympios does attend the Paradise reunion, he has no plans to confront her. “That’s not who I am as a person. I’m not one of those petty people,” he said. “I’ll wait for her to [bring it up to me]. If she wants to come up to me, we can talk on camera. We can talk offline. Whether it’s [at the reunion show] or in the future, 10 years from now.”
The format of the special, likely to be hosted by Chris Harrison, will be up to the producers and ABC, but a source tells The Hollywood Reporter that Olympios is looking forward to sharing her side of what happened.
THR previously reported that the first task for producers when they returned to the show’s Sayulita, Mexico, set was to discuss how they planned to address the controversy when the series returned to air, with one possibility being an audience address from Harrison. Though the encounter between Olympios and Jackson occurred on June 4, production continued for a couple of days until the situation was officially brought to light. There was enough footage leading up to the shutdown for an episode, a source had said.
WBTV won’t be airing the tape of the actual incident.
The 16 original and returning castmembers for the fourth season are listed below, with additional names to be announced at a later date. After his July 17 elimination, ABC also confirmed that Bachelorette star Dean Unglert will be joining the rotating cast.
Bachelor in Paradise returns Aug. 14 and Aug. 15 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. The previously announced cast, who will all be a part of the season, according to ABC, includes Olympios and Jackson. The full list is below.
Raven Gates of The Bachelor season 21 (Nick)
Corinne Olympios of The Bachelor season 21 (Nick)
Amanda Stanton of The Bachelor season 20 (Ben) and Bachelor in Paradise season 3
Alexis Waters of The Bachelor season 21 (Nick)
Derek Peth of The Bachelorette season 12 (JoJo)
DeMario Jackson of The Bachelorette season 13 (Rachel)
Lacey Mark of The Bachelor season 21 (Nick)
Kristina Schulman of The Bachelor season 21 (Nick)
Nick “St. Nick” Benvenutti of The Bachelorette season 12 (JoJo)
Danielle Maltby of The Bachelor season 21 (Nick)
Taylor Nolan of The Bachelor season 21 (Nick)
Robby Hayes of The Bachelorette season 12 (JoJo)
Ben Zorn of The Bachelorette season 11 (Kaitlyn)
Jasmine Goode of The Bachelor season 21 (Nick)
Vinny Ventiera of The Bachelorette season 12 (JoJo) and Bachelor in Paradise season 3
Alex Woytkiw of The Bachelorette season 12 (JoJo)
