The new lead guy has been chosen for the next season of The Bachelor , and the selection was certainly not who everyone was expecting. Nick Viall was announced as “the guy,” and he got the spot over fan-favorite Luke Pell while Robby Hayes and Chase McNary never seemed to get serious consideration. Well, even with the official announcement having been made, even host Chris Harrison thinks that there could be a big change coming.
Spoiler alert: Please let it be known that there are possible spoilers ahead for the new and upcoming season of The Bachelor . If you don’t want to know them, stop reading now.
#TheBachelor feels like a better title than runner-up. Congratulations @viallnicholas28 ! pic.twitter.com/cj43cHujXw
— Bachelor in Paradise (@BachParadise) August 31, 2016
The selection of Nick Viall kind of shocked a lot of people as they figured that Luke Pell was the guy who had a lock on the spot for The Bachelor . As Pell told Us Weekly , he even had his bags packed and was ready to go, but there was a last-minute change and he was told to stay home.
Fans started petitions to get Luke in as the next lead. Other petitions were started to get Luke and Nick to star as double leads on The Bachelor in 2017. The #LukeForBachelor hashtag went viral across multiple forms of social media, but was all their effort for naught?
Maybe not.
Chris Harrison Says We Could Still See Luke Pell As The Next ‘Bachelor’ https://t.co/KDGjxMfAaY pic.twitter.com/RCQi33ZLab
— Elite Daily (@EliteDaily) September 9, 2016
Yes, host Chris Harrison says that there is still very much a chance that Luke Pell could end up searching for love, but when? Well, it certainly now seems as if Viall is set in stone as the next guy who will make his way through a group of women in hopes of finding love.
Harrison told E! News that Luke may not be done with finding love on national television, but where will he show up next?
“Luke would be a great Bachelor. You never know who could come back. He’s a great guy – a super nice guy. We may see him next summer in Paradise [or] we may see him as the next Bachelor. Who knows?”
While he’s certainly not going to give anything away, Harrison does leave the door open for the unexpected to take place. It’s not like Pell had done anything wrong to lose the gig for The Bachelor , but Viall simply makes more sense, according to Harrison.
“Nick has just become that perennial, second place guy who wants to find love and is as sincere, if not more sincere, than anybody about finding it. It’s about giving him his chance to find love. Who deserves it more than him?”
Having a double lead is not something that is entirely uncommon for these hit shows as the last one was back in 2015 for The Bachelorette . Kaitlyn Bristowe ended up being the eventual lead, but the season started out with her and Britt Nilsson competing for the affection of the guys.
The Morning Ledger still thinks that the petitioning of the fans could get ABC thinking about things before filming officially starts for The Bachelor . There is still a little bit of time until filming officially begins, and it wouldn’t be totally out of the question for Luke Pell to get his name back into the mix.
We have the almost #Bachelor in studio tomorrow! Hit like if you are still angry @Luke__Pell was snubbed! pic.twitter.com/DwceaSD4VY
— AmericasMorningShow (@AmericasMorning) September 6, 2016
Could there actually be a recall on Nick Viall with Luke Pell being put in his place as the next lead on The Bachelor ? That may seem unlikely, but it certainly isn’t out of the question. The words of Chris Harrison certainly go a long way in the world of reality television, and him speaking out may cause some wheels to start turning. Perhaps there may not be a change, but there very well could be a double lead when next season begins.
[Image via ABC Television Network]