Chris Harrison Spills Why This Bachelorette Season Is A Horror Show

Clare Crawley's season of The Bachelorette might make more sense if it were a Halloween-Bachelor crossover, because it's been quite the suspenseful, send-goosebumps-down-your-spine type of season.

Season 15 of The Bachelorette was off to a scary start even before it aired. On the day Clare was scheduled to meet her suitors, production was halted due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Following that, there were casting switch-ups, uncertainty about whether or not the season would get the green light, and the announcement of the next Bachelor. In addition to the aforementioned chaos, it is rumored that Clare fell in love with contestant Dale Moss just two weeks into filming and quit the show. She was allegedly replaced by Bachelor Nation alum Tayshia Adams.

Even before viewers get to see that drama unfold, there were plenty of shocking moments in the early episodes of Clare's season. On the first night, Clare had to speak with two contestants who were already bickering over the classic "he's not here for the right reasons" issue. Fans have also seen the hairstylist stand up for herself when the men were not showing interest in getting to know her, and she asked several men to leave early before the weekly rose ceremony. 

Fans are used to Chris Harrison saying Clare's season is the "most dramatic season ever," but now, he is saying it's also a horrific one. Keep reading to find out why Chris Harrison says why this Bachelorette season is like a horror show.

Despite the emotional twists in Clare Crawley's Bachelorette season, Chris Harrison says the behind-the-scenes production has also helped to make this season like a scary movie.

"It's like a horror film, for a bad analogy," the longtime host told the New York Post. "You know he's around the corner somewhere, you don't know which door." In this case, the "he" is not the Boogeyman or Michael Myers hiding in a closet — it's the impending switch where Tayshia Adams replaces Clare this season.

Fans were anxiously awaiting Tayshia's entrance, which was not officially confirmed until she appeared in the teaser for the Nov. 3, 2020 episode. Harrison admitted that production did not want to reveal Tayshia's presence during the season right away, which made it stressful for the audience. "We're not pretending anymore, we're with you," he said, calling the switch "the elephant in the room."

While fans were positive that a switch was coming, Harrison initially did his best to shoot down the rumors that Tayshia becomes the season's leading lady. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Harrison asserted that Clare is the Bachelorette, but Tayshia is "not not the Bachelorette." He also said Tayshia would be a "great candidate."

Regardless of how hard Harrison tried to cover up the show's obvious tracks, fans were well aware of the alleged switch. So, why did The Bachelorette producers wait so long to reveal Tayshia? Harrison spilled the details.

Chris Harrison and the Bachelorette production team wanted Clare Crawley to have her moment, even if she decided to quit the show in an unprecedented move. "Clare needed to be allowed to drive the show and be in charge," Harrison told the New York Post.

Other rumors have swirled that the Bachelorette producers planted the idea to have Clare leave in the first place. Clare herself supported this theory by liking tweets about it, per Vulture. ABC executive Rob Mills admitted producers started making calls to potentially replace Clare after she gave herself a rose, as seen in her season's third episode. Harrison told the Post he was "intimately" involved in bringing Tayshia Adams onto the show.

Although Bachelor Nation fans think they have everything mapped out, Harrison continued to play into the "they don't know it all" narrative.  "It was fun for us and challenging to try to decide how and if and where we're going to lean into the rumors and lean into what happened," he explained to The Post. "Even if things get spoiled or you might know [what's going on], you don't really know."

While Harrison admitted Clare's move was "a dilemma," he says the point of the show is to fall in love, and in the end, that's what counts. "If we do that in 10 weeks? Great. If we do that in a year? Super. If we do that in 10 days? Wow, OK, that's a record," he said.