Clare Crawley Will Get Her Chance As ‘The Bachelorette’ To Find Love, ‘We’ll Be Nimble,’ Pledges ABC Executive

The next season of The Bachelorette is supposed to be filming right now, with Clare Crawley handing out roses and looking for love. Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus pandemic shutdowns, filming has not even started yet. There continue to be a lot of unknowns about how this will play out, but ABC executive Rob Mills has shared the latest details on how they’re thinking these days and what they’re hoping to do with this.

Mills recently noted in an interview that those behind the show were talking about their options every day. He explained that they were watching the COVID-19 developments closely, with the goal of starting to film with Clare as soon as it seemed feasible.

On Monday, Deadline shared some additional updates from Mills. He said that the network remains determined that they will find a way to create a season of The Bachelorette with Clare headlining it. He said that internally, they’ve been throwing around a title of Bachelor in Quarantine, considering ways that they can take the typical structure of the show and evolve with it.

“If we need to shoot a cycle that reflects these times, that’s what we’re going to look at doing,” the ABC executive detailed.

Despite the complications ABC is facing with filming schedules amid the coronavirus epidemic, Mills made it clear that they are still focused on making this happen for Clare.

“She’s always been resilient. We’re going to do her a season and it’s going to be fantastic. If she finds a person, then this all means it was all meant to be. We’ll be nimble,” he explained.

It does sound as if production is trying to think outside the box to come up with ways that they could still put this content together while keeping everybody safe and healthy. Even if they do The Bachelorette with Clare and film it all in one location, as has been speculated, there are challenges to navigate.

As host Chris Harrison has noted, it’s much more than one lead and a slate of contestants. There are dozens and dozens of crew members involved, all working with one another in close proximity, which is a concerning setup in these days of coronavirus worries.

While Clare’s season of The Bachelorette won’t be filmed and ready to go by its original May premiere date, it seems that fans will have to hang tight and wait for firm updates. At least knowing that the production team is committed to finding a way to do her season despite the coronavirus challenges is a step in the right direction for viewers eager for a new season.