‘The Bachelor’: Matt James Leaves Instagram and Twitter to Start Filming the New Season
Fans are still waiting for Clare Crawley’s season of The Bachelorette to air on ABC, but The Bachelor Season 25 starring Matt James has already started filming. The 27-year-old recently bid farewell to his followers on social media. So here’s what James said on Instagram and Twitter.
Matt James is named the next bachelor for the 2021 season
In June 2020, ABC announced James as The Bachelor Season 25 lead. The ABC Food Tours co-founder was originally cast for Crawley’s season. But the franchise decided to introduce the newcomer as the next headliner after production was postponed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. James is also the first Black bachelor.
“It’s an honor,” James said on Good Morning America when he became the bachelor. “I’m just going to lean into myself and how my mom raised me. And hopefully, when people invite me into their homes on Monday night, they’re going to see that I’m not much different from them and they see that diverse love stories are beautiful.”
Matt James signs off Instagram and Twitter ahead of filming ‘The Bachelor’
On Aug. 31, spoiler king Reality Steve revealed the upcoming cycle will not take place at The Bachelor mansion. Like Crawley’s season, which was shot entirely in Palm Springs, James’ journey will be filmed in a new location. But this time, production will head to the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Farmington, Pennsylvania. The blogger also claimed the new season would begin filming at the end of September.
The following day, ABC Entertainment’s SVP of Alternative Programming, Rob Mills, confirmed production would start in late September, according to Deadline. Then on Sept. 22, James said goodbye to his Instagram and Twitter followers, indicating he was leaving for production.
“See y’all in 2 months,” James wrote on Twitter and his Instagram Story.
Meanwhile, the new bachelor gave a quick shoutout to The Bachelorette’s Hannah Brown and Tyler Cameron.
“@tylerjcameron3 what a crazy 6 months,” James wrote on his Instagram Story, per Us Weekly. “I love you brother, wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you an [sic] your mama.”
James also teased Bachelor Nation fans and noted he would “be back with a plus one.” Then in a separate post, James wished Brown a happy birthday.
When will ‘The Bachelor’ Season 25 start airing new episodes on ABC?
As of this write-up, The Bachelor Season 25 premiere date has yet to be announced by ABC. But it seems fans will have to wait a while before James’ love story unfolds onscreen. In the above interview with Deadline, Mills revealed James’ season is expected to be released in January 2021, which is on schedule for the franchise. New seasons of The Bachelor typically begin airing the first week of the year.
In the meantime, Bachelor Nation fans can look forward to Crawley’s season of The Bachelorette, which will make its debut on Tuesday, Oct. 13. And according to Mills, it was a “big deal” to have the show air this fall.
“We’d heard about other productions that had had outbreaks even in a bubble and had to shut down. So, for us, starting was not the victory, it was the finish,” Mills told Deadline. “The fact that it’s in the can and we have an entire season of The Bachelorette that will air is fantastic. It’s a big deal to have all of our signature shows on this fall.”
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