What Aired on ABC Instead of 'The Bachelorette's' Season 22 Premiere and Is It Permanent?
'The Bachelorette's' Sunday time slot featured a different series on premiere night.
Published March 23 2026, 12:22 p.m. ET
Once the dust settled and Bachelorette fans realized the show would definitely not return for Season 22 in 2026, the questions began about what to expect next. And, after the premiere date came and went, fans wanted to know what aired instead of The Bachelorette. ABC did not release plans to somehow film a new season of the show with a new lead following Taylor Frankie Paul's controversy.
Not only did fans want to know what aired in place of The Bachelorette, but they wanted to know what, if anything, would replace the reality show for its twenty-second season. It was set to premiere on Sunday, March 22, at 8 p.m. EST with future episodes in the same time slot. With that spot open, does ABC have another show in mind or not?
What aired instead of 'The Bachelorette' on ABC?
Some fans held out hope that ABC was bluffing about canceling Taylor's season of The Bachelorette. However, when the time rolled around on March 22, the network aired a rerun of American Idol in its place. It's not clear if that's the plan for the duration of what would have been an entire season of The Bachelorette, but network executives were likely left scrambling after the decision came to ax the season as a whole.
Days before The Bachelorette was set to premiere, TMZ released footage that Taylor's ex, Dakota Mortensen, took on his phone during a 2023 fight between the two of them. The altercation in the footage shows Taylor being physically violent with Dakota and features her child crying when a chair is thrown. Following the release of that video, ABC announced the cancellation of Taylor's season.
According to the live TV listings for ABC, on March 29, which would have been the date of Season 22, Episode 2, the network has a special 20/20 episode in its place. From 8 p.m. until 10 p.m., ABC will air Avatar: A New Era, which delves into the Avatar film franchise with director James Cameron. For now, it doesn't look like the network has plans to put something else into The Bachelorette's former time slot permanently.
The cancellation of 'The Bachelorette' could cost ABC millions.
The entire season of The Bachelorette was filmed before ABC pulled it before its premiere. That means the network paid for Taylor and more than two dozen men to film the show, travel, and go on dates for each packaged episode. According to The Hollywood Reporter, losing money from filming and from advertisers who would have paid for space during the airing of the show means at least $30 million in losses for the network.
'Bachelorette' fans think 'Love Overboard' could replace it.
The Gabby Windey-hosted reality dating competition show Love Overboard premiered a special preview on ABC following what should have been Taylor's Bachelorette premiere. According to Hulu, it will be released on Hulu in its entirety on March 26, 2026. But some fans think it could be the show to slide into the old Bachelorette time slot if Hulu and ABC decide to air it on television, too.
On a Reddit thread about The Bachelorette's cancellation and Love Overboard's premiere, some fans agreed that if they aired the new reality dating show, it would be better than nothing.
"I wasn't going to watch The Bachelorette, but I will definitely check this out!" One user commented.
Another added, "Somehow still infinitely better than what a [Taylor Frankie Paul] season of The Bachelorette would have been. "