The 16th season of The Bachelorette features Clare Crawley, a 39-year-old hairstylist from Sacramento, California. The season was originally set to premiere on May 18, 2020, but has been postponed to fall 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The season is also set to air on Tuesday nights instead of its regular Monday timeslot. Crawley was the runner-up on the 18th season of The Bachelor featuring Juan Pablo Galavis. She also made appearances on seasons 1 and 2 of Bachelor in Paradise, and on Bachelor Winter Games. Crawley is the oldest Bachelorette in the show's history, taking over from Rachel Lindsay who was 32 on her season.
Filming and development
Production
Clare Crawley was named as the Bachelorette on Good Morning America on March 2, 2020. Other women considered for the role included season 22's Tia Booth and Kendall Long, season 23'sTayshia Adams and Katie Morton, previous BacheloretteHannah Brown, and season 24'sKelsey Weier. For the first time since the second season of The Bachelorette, the dates and travel would take place entirely within the United States due to concerns over the coronavirus. Filming was due to begin on March 13, 2020, but with the aforementioned coronavirus growing rapidly, the season was forced to suspend production and filming was postponed to a later date. Additionally, the season was planned to be filmed partially in Italy, but this was pulled by the production crew due to a worsening outbreak there. On June 17, 2020, it was announced that the season is scheduled to premiere in fall 2020. The following day, it was announced that production is set to begin in July, becoming the first non-scripted American television program to begin production since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and for the first time since season eight, this season will not be filming at Bachelor mansion, but at an isolated resort.
Contestants
32 potential contestants were revealed on March 11, 2020. Host Chris Harrison later revealed that they would likely be recasting the season due to the filming delay. One of the intended 32 contestants, Matt James was instead recast as the lead for season 25 of The Bachelor – becoming the first African-American to lead The Bachelor and the second African-American lead of the Bachelor franchise following Rachel Lindsay of the 13th season of The Bachelorette. An updated cast listcontaining 42 potential contestants was released on July 15, 2020.
