‘The Bachelor’ Host Chris Harrison Talks Upcoming Season, Teases Lead Possibilities [Spoilers]

There are still a few episodes left of Bachelor in Paradise Season 5, but filming starts soon on the 2019 season of The Bachelor and fans are anxious for spoilers. ABC will be revealing their official pick soon, but rumors are already swirling and now host Chris Harrison is sharing a few teasers of his own.

As the Inquisitr has shared, gossip king Reality Steve says that ABC has seemingly made their decision. He notes that it is entirely possible that a last-minute switch could happen, as that was done both of the last two Bachelor seasons. However, based on what he’s been hearing this week, he says that Colton Underwood seems to be the network’s choice.

Heading into this decision, Reality Steve’s spoilers had suggested that the lead contestant pool was probably pretty small for this next Bachelor season. Fans suggested former contestants like Joe Amabile, Wills Reid, and last year’s Bachelorette runner-up Peter Kraus, but the gossip king discounted each of those. He detailed that in all likelihood, the next lead would be one of Becca’s guys from the hometowns, or perhaps former Bachelor Ben Higgins.

Higgins himself recently said that he’d decided he wasn’t in a place to be the Bachelor again, and host Chris Harrison addressed this with ET Online. He said that Higgins was never actually offered the gig, although Chris left the door open for the possibility in the future.

“I will say for a fact that he was never offered to be the Bachelor… Maybe he took his name out of the running, but he definitely didn’t turn down being the Bachelor.”

Harrison said that they go into production in a matter of weeks, so the network’s official announcement will come soon. Reality Steve is guessing it’ll come via a Good Morning America announcement within the next week or so. When talking with ET Online, Chris was asked about the possibility of Colton doing it.

Of course, as far as Bachelor in Paradise viewers are concerned, Underwood isn’t actually available right now. After a fair amount of drama in the early shows, he’s dating Tia Booth in the episodes currently airing. However, spoilers suggest that this relationship ultimately will not be an obstacle.

Chris said that Colton would be “a very interesting Bachelor” if he’s single. He noted that when choosing a lead, they look for a good story and someone who will make good television, and he thinks that Underwood has “all that in spades.”

Of course, Colton would have to sort through whether he’s fully over Becca, as well as any lingering Tia issues. It sounds like Harrison thinks that watching Underwood acknowledge those potential roadblocks would be appealing to viewers.

If ABC does go with Colton, viewers can obviously expect to hear a lot about the fact that he’s still a virgin. Harrison said that he would find this aspect to be fascinating to address, especially in watching how the women handle it, and he thinks it could lend toward making for a good season.

The Bachelor host seemingly wasn’t asked about any other potential candidates, which could be somewhat telling. Vanity Fair points out that franchise fans aren’t all in agreement that choosing Colton is the direction to go, but it’s impossible to ever get all fans on the same page with these decisions. There may be some complaints if Underwood is announced as the next lead, but people will likely tune in to watch anyway.

Will ABC go with Colton Underwood as the lead, or will they turn everything upside down with a surprise pick at the last minute like they did the last two seasons? ABC’s The Bachelor 2019 season debuts in January, and no matter who is handing out roses, viewers will be anxious to check it out.