Bachelor In Paradise Season 7 Release Date, Cast, And Spoilers Explained

If you're like us, you live for the "Bachelor" franchise. In an ABC calendar year there's one season of "The Bachelor", which follows a man as he looks for love among dozens of TV-ready women, and one season of "The Bachelorette," which typically features a bachelor reject on a romantic redemption tour. The man and woman selected to play the Bachelor and the Bachelorette are often fan favorites from the show's previous season.

With a cast of over 20 men and women, and episodes running well over an hour, though, there are a lot of fan favorites to choose from. The problem is there is just one Bachelor and one Bachelorette. The solution? ABC created the "Bachelor in Paradise" — a less serious edition to the family in which the previous seasons' rejects compete for love. The men and women are both allowed to give each other roses and hopefully, at the end of the run, a few of them walk away as part of a happy couple. Really though, we're here for the drama, and "Paradise" brings plenty of it.

But this year is going to look a little different. Chris Harrison, the long-time face of the show, retired (or was quietly asked to leave) after 20 seasons, and two bachelorettes were selected from Matt James' season instead of just one. Now it's time for "Paradise," which has us wondering if the new season will be as different as the seasons of its sister show. Here's what we know.

As we mentioned above, the upcoming seasons of "The Bachelorette" will be a bit different from their predecessors. At the end of Matt James' season instead of selecting just one heart-broken woman to carry the torch as the next Bachelorette, producers chose two: Katie Thurston and Michelle Young. As a result, the two leading ladies will each receive their own season (they aren't co-starring), which will air within the same calendar year.

To break up some of the monotony of double "Bachelorette" seasons, "Bachelor in Paradise" will air in between the respective seasons. Katie's season is currently airing and will wrap by the end of the summer, meaning that "Paradise" will drop near the end of the summer — August 16, to be exact, per Marie Claire.

We know, we know; for drama starved "Paradise" fans that seems like a long way, but it sure sounds like it'll be worth the wait. Rumor has it, ABC has lined up a killer cast for the new season.

It's been a full two years since we've been blessed with a new bunch of "Paradise" contestants (thanks so much, Covid), so there's been some question about which former stars will be pulled for the 2021 season of "Paradise".

To put that in perspective, four full seasons of "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" have aired in the interim. With double the seasons to pull from, "Paradise" could be anyone's game. In July, ABC announced the first 20 contestants that will appear on the upcoming season, with the promise of dozens more to come. Among the more exciting confirmed contestants are Ivan Hall (a fan favorite from Taisha's season), Karl Smith, Serena Chew, Kelsey Weir, and Serena Pitt, per Marie Claire.

So far so good, but what about all our other favorites? Who might join the cast at a later date? We've got a few guesses. Rumor has it Demi Brunette, Kitt Keenan, and Connor Brennan might join. Most notably, there's been some talk that Becca Kufrin might join the "Paradise" cast. Becca would make reality TV history as the first Bachelorette to appear on Paradise. If the rumors are true, ABC has the perfect line up for a drama-filled season of "Paradise." Below, we break down what we know about potential spoilers in the new season.

If you don't like spoilers, stop reading now. If you love a good spoiler, we've got you covered.

The question on every good Bachelor Nation fan's mind is, "who gets together in the end?" So far, we've got it on good authority that Brendan Morais and Pieper James get together for a bit, but leave the island as single as they started. Abigail Heringer and Noah Erb are also reportedly a thing, which will make Bachelor Nation fans happy as many were pulling for Abigail to land the coved Bachelorette title after Matt James' season. Sadly, Noah and Abby don't last long. Apparently, he dumps her for reasons unknown, resulting in their loveless departure from paradise.

All in all, it's shaping up to be one hell of a season. So, who's left standing? According to Reality Steve, Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt, Kenny Braasch and Mari Pepin, Riley Christian and Maurissa Gunn. A good portion of the drama is rumored to come from the conflict between Demi Burnett and Mari, who get into a bit of a love triangle over Kenny, who ultimately chooses Mari. Tough break, Demi.