When will Ben Higgins be officially introduced as the next Bachelor and what is the season 20 premiere date? After weeks of waiting to see who ABC’s leading man is going to be, host Chris Harrison will make the official announcement live on After Paradise, right after another dramatic episode of Bachelor in Paradise on Monday night.
According to Reality Steve , Ben will make his first appearance as the Bachelor on the August 24 episode of After Paradise at 9 p.m. ET . Not only will it be a big night for the 26-year-old Colorado software salesman, but one of his former Bachelorette co-stars as well. Joe “Gimme Dat Rose” Bailey is scheduled to be a guest on the live show and will answer questions about the Juelia Kinney drama and his relationship with Samantha Steffen .
Several weeks ago, E! Online confirmed through their sources that Ben would be named the 20th Bachelor , something Reality Steve has been saying for more than a month. Although ABC has yet to officially confirm that Ben Higgins is their pick — not Ben Zorn or Nick Viall — Steve is confident that there won’t be any surprises on Monday night’s live introduction.
However, Steve tweeted that fans can expect to be misled in the days prior to the Ben’s introduction on After Paradise . Expect the show’s creator Mike Fleiss, host Chris Harrison, and even producer Elan Gale to try to send out tweets that will trick fans into thinking Ben will not be handing out roses in January.
Last season, ABC sent out tweets hinting that Arie Lyundyk, Jr. was a top contender along with Chris Soules for the season 19 Bachelor . However, days before Chris was introduced on Good Morning America , Arie broke the news on Twitter that he didn’t get the gig.
Be prepared for a possible misdirection this wknd in regards to the “Bachelor.” However, nothing’s changed. (1/2)
— RealitySteve (@RealitySteve) August 21, 2015
As I reported over a month ago, Ben H will be named the “Bachelor” on Monday night. (2/2)
— RealitySteve (@RealitySteve) August 21, 2015
Will Ben Higgins be a good fit as the Bachelor 2016? He was clearly a fan favorite this season, but some fans have been tweeting that he may be a boring pick, and Nick Viall would have been a more interesting choice.
Rumor is Ben H. will be the next #bachelor . He’ll be so boring! I’m talking Chris Soles type boredom @juliacunningham @EWlive
— Lacretia (@svahrt) July 21, 2015
And as cute as Ben H. is… I just feel like he’d be the most boring bachelor ever haha #TheBachelorette
— Adrianna (@adri__) July 28, 2015
Although Nick certainly knows how to start controversy, perhaps producers were looking for a lead that didn’t come with a bag full of drama — the 25 girls picked for his season will be the ones to make the upcoming season dramatic even if Ben is a complete bore.
Ben Higgins’ season of the Bachelor will premiere January 4, 2016. Are you excited to see Ben’s season or were you hoping to see someone else as the franchise’s 20th Bachelor ?
[Image: ABC Television Network/Craig Sjodin]