A Mystery 'Bachelor' Is About To Start His ~Journey~ & Fans Are Desperate For Deets

With Bachelor in Paradise winding down, the time for rabid speculation over who the next Bachelor will be is here, so those of you on the hunt for clues may be wondering when The Bachelor 2020 starts filming. For the past ten years, the show has premiered the first week of January and aired its finale in early March. But it typically starts filming the autumn before, usually in the in the month of September, which means fans should be getting their new Bachelor announcement any day now.

In 2013, Leslie Hughes, from Sean Lowe's season, revealed to The Daily Beast that filming for her season took place from September to November, and the show seems to have stuck to that schedule in the years since. Chris Harrison appeared to confirm this in an August 2018 Entertainment Tonight interview, saying the show was about to go into production for what turned out to be Colton Underwood's season in "a few weeks." Colton was announced as the Bachelor on Sept. 4.

After The Bachelor airs its finale in March, The Bachelorette immediately begins filming while ABC airs a season of Dancing With the Stars in The Bachelor's timeslot. The Bachelorette usually premieres in late May and runs till late July, followed immediately by Bachelor in Paradise. Then there's another break in the fall (typically replaced with another season of DWTS) while The Bachelor films, and in January, the franchise cycle repeats.

The Bachelorette typically films for a shorter period of time than The Bachelor, which has raised questions in the past of whether the women who participate in the show are getting the short end of the stick in the search for love by being forced to rush their seasons, while the Bachelors get a bit more time to deliberate and get to know their contestants. There have certainly been issues during the past few seasons of The Bachelorette which Bachelors simply haven't had to face, from Hannah's final pick having a secret girlfriend back home to Becca's final pick having a shady history with transphobic and other hateful memes.

As for who the next Bachelor will be, there are a few frontrunners on whom experts seem to agree. Peter Weber, the pilot whose sexual prowess (and parents) became famous on Hannah's season of The Bachelorette is Reality Steve's pick, although Mike Johnson definitely got the future Bachelor edit on Hannah's "Men Tell All" special.

In recent years, the show has also demonstrated a willingness to shake things up with Bachelors who didn't come from the previous season of The Bachelorette. Arie Luyendyk, Jr. was picked from a few seasons prior and Nick Viall was named the Bachelor after a BiP redemption tour. In light of that precedent, Bachelor fans think two-time BiP alum Derek Peth might have a distant shot at the gig after his brilliant handling of Demi, his Paradise girlfriend, coming out to him mid-season. There are a bunch of ways this could play out, so fans will just have to keep an ear to the ground to find out who takes the title.

Bachelor in Paradise airs Monday and Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.