What Grant's Casting Tells Us About The Bachelor’s Future

Jenn Tran’s Bachelorette season isn’t over just yet, but you won’t have to wait for the finale to find out who’s been tapped to lead The Bachelor. That’s because Grant Ellis, the next leading man, was eliminated in Week 6 — and the franchise announced him early so that fans might have a better window to apply for his season. (Yes, there’s still time!)

If you’re into Bachelor Nation statistics, you might be surprised by Grant’s announcement. As @bachelordata on Instagram has pointed out, Bachelor/ette leads typically come from the final four contestants of the preceding season. While there have certainly been exceptions, it’s generally safe to predict that your next Bachelor or Bachelorette will have made it to Hometowns, Fantasy Suites, or the final rose ceremony.

But this year’s leads defy that pattern — and the franchise may be better for it.

Grant, Jenn, & Joan Have Something In Common

Like Grant, Jenn was eliminated the week before Hometowns. She leaned into that parallel during the Aug. 12 Bachelorette episode. “At that time, I know all the feelings that I had,” she said. “And I can only imagine where these guys are at now.”

Joan Vassos, who will debut as the first-ever Golden Bachelorette lead this September, exited Gerry Turner’s Golden Bachelor season just three weeks in due to a family emergency back at home.

If you’ve tried to predict this year’s leads, you might have been surprised at how your best guesses went out the window. And that’s a good thing!

No reality show wants to be called boring. But recently, that criticism has been leveled against The Bachelor quite a lot. Whether or not you agree, it’s clear that reinvention is important for a franchise that’s been on for more than two decades. One way to embrace change is to cast season leads from throughout the season, and not just the last three or four finalists.

Expect The Unexpected

It seems like every season of The Bachelor and its spin-offs are teased as the most dramatic/shocking/unprecedented season ever. That’s a notoriously difficult claim to live up to, especially when the lead is someone you’re already familiar with — to the point that you know their family, what makes them tick, and how they’re likely to respond to the highs and lows of their season.

That isn’t to say that runner-ups are always a bad choice (Joey Graziadei’s season was a swoon-worthy ratings hit), but casting from further back broadens the storytelling opportunities.

Like, how did Grant transition from professional basketball to day trading? What’s his biggest insecurity when it comes to love? And also... what makes Joan tick? How does she envision blending families with a potential partner, given how involved she is as a mother and grandmother?

With some leads, you know every quirk and conflict before they even hand out their first rose. But with those who exit the show a little earlier, their character will be revealed week by week — making for a more compelling viewing experience.

Unburdened by expectations or baggage from an 11th-hour breakup, these dark-horse leads can help infuse a sense of novelty into the long-running franchise. As Joan’s Golden Bachelorette promo puts it, these journeys are very much “unwritten.” How fun is that?