‘Bachelorette’ Format To Change Next Season Due to Criticism Over Kaitlyn Bristowe’s Season

Viewers of The Bachelorette made their voices loud and clear and they have been heard. On Monday, as the latest episode aired, the creator and executive producer of the franchise, Mike Fleiss, revealed that changes will be made to the next season due to the criticism that viewers have voiced over the current season, starring Kaitlyn Bristowe.

Mike tweeted that there will be fewer “to be continued” episodes next season.

We will have fewer "to be continued" episodes next season. We listen to #BachelorNation !!!

— Mike Fleiss (@fleissmeister) July 7, 2015

In previous seasons, the episodes usually ended with a rose ceremony, providing answers as to who will be seen on the next episode. On Kaitlyn’s season, most of the episodes have not ended with a rose ceremony but with a cliffhanger, making viewers wait until the next episode to find out who stays and who leaves. There have also been fewer rose ceremonies overall, due to Kaitlyn sending men home during the group and solo dates. While producers seem to have made the format change because they believed that it would build suspense and thus greater ratings, it has also annoyed the show’s loyal viewers.

Host Chris Harrison was well aware of viewers’ irritation at the new format. Prior to Monday night’s episode, Chris joked that the episode actually includes a rose ceremony.

During the rose ceremony, Kaitlyn tearfully sent Jared Haibo home. She also had a tense conversation with Shawn Booth, who questioned whether he wanted to stay after learning that she had sex with Nick Viall. Chris commented that was “one intense rose ceremony.”

In response to a viewer who asked to go back to the format of having rose ceremonies at the end of the episodes, Chris said it’s up to the creator and producer, Mike.

Chris celebrated Mike’s announcement that there will be more rose ceremonies at the end of the episodes next season.

Yet, it seems that the new format did garner higher ratings. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, the producer and creator revealed last week that Kaitlyn Bristowe’s season of The Bachelorette is up 19 percent from Andi Dorfman’s season. Perhaps the ratings have nothing to do with the cliffhangers but the increased drama due to Nick Viall’s return? Many viewers told the producer and creator that he has Nick to thank for the increased ratings.

The ratings for next week’s episode may go up even higher. At the end of Monday night’s episode, after Nick enjoyed an official overnight date with Kaitlyn, Shawn confronted him in his hotel room. Shawn told Nick, who returned to the show to pursue Kaitlyn after coming in second on Andi Dorfman’s season and revealing on the After the Final Rose special that they had sex together while filming the show, that he’s “cocky” and “arrogant.” Shawn accused Nick of trying to change his reputation from last season.

“I don’t understand your reasons for being here for Kaitlyn. I truly don’t think that’s the only reason why you’re here. And if [Kaitlyn] had seen the side of you that we’ve all see, you probably wouldn’t be here right now, and there’d be a better guy sitting in your chair right now.”

The episode ended, with a “To Be Continued” message, in the middle of Nick Viall and Shawn Booth’s verbal fight. Will the fight turn physical? The preview for next week’s The Bachelorette episode shows Nick asking Shawn, “Are you threatening me?” and Kaitlyn Bristowe proclaiming that she “feel[s] the hate between them.”

[Photo by Jason Merritt / Getty Images]