I'm disappointed but not surprised that The Bachelorette 2019's Peter Weber -- pilot Pete, pool table Pete, Pete of the windmill sex -- will be The Bachelor 2020. There were already whispers that Peter was going to be the next Bachelor, then spoiler guru Reality Steve just updated with the closest thing to confirmation before ABC announces it -- either on Bachelor in Paradise or maybe on Good Morning America. Something on ABC.
So, sorry Mike Johnson. Sorry, Derek Peth. Sorry, Tyler Cameron. Sorry, John Paul Jones and my dream of a season following JPJ's yas queen antics. Sorry to anyone who wanted something new and different.
Sorry not sorry but I'm not a Pete fan. It's OK, though, because I'm usually not a fan of who ABC picks as the lead. I wasn't thrilled at first about Hannah Brown being the Bachelorette, and I thought Colton Underwood was the most vanilla bland choice imaginable. (Colton did pick Pete to be the next Bachelor, although only to keep him away from Cassie...)
Anyway, here's Reality Steve's update:
When Bachelorette Hannah's season ended, Pete was one of the frontrunners to be the next Bachelor, but he didn't seem ahead of Mike Johnson, and no one was ahead of Tyler C. However, when Hannah asked Tyler C. out on a date, it looked like maybe he'd be out of the Bachelor running. Then Tyler C. started dating supermodel Gigi Hadid. Apparently that's still going well enough that we don't get Tyler C. as the Bachelor or on Dancing With the Stars with Hannah. (He really is the new Peter Kraus.)
With Tyler C. out of the running, it looked like it was down to Mike or Pete. I'm not big on Pete, but he does look like a classic ABC choice. Mike even called him the safe choice, and that's exactly right. He looks like a cross between a half dozen previous leads -- Nick Viall mixed with Andy Baldwin, maybe some earnest Colton thrown in, mixed with the previous Bachelor pilot, Jake Pavelka. That should've warned them against pilots for all time!
Before Reality Steve weighed in with his spoilers, E! just had a story saying Pete was the frontrunner to be named the next Bachelor:
Pete's been their pick since Hannah's season ended and Tyler started dating Gigi Hadid.
This source said Derek Peth was a "long shot," despite the recent surge for his Bachelor chances after Demi dumped him during Bachelor in Paradise.
The part that really bugged me was this source's patronizing take on Mike:
Pete was always the first pick but producers wanted to see how Paradise went with Mike. They love him but aren't sure if he is ready to carry a whole show.
Why not? What makes Pete more able to carry his own show? How is Peter more dynamic than Mike? Pete's pool table move was more sloppy than sexy. And we don't even know if those four times in the windmill were good for Hannah B. or just for him. (She did dump him RIGHT after that, after all.) Plus, there's the whole thing with his ex-girlfriend -- dumping and then ghosting her right before Christmas in suspicious timing that happened to match Bachelor producers following him on social media and casting him for the show. Peter just benefitted from not being as bad as Wrong Reasons Jed or Luke P.
I'll still watch The Bachelor 2020, since the show is mostly about the contestants anyway. There will be some crazy ladies for Pete to take to another windmill. Some of them will end up on Bachelor in Paradise 2020, I have no doubt.
For now, continue watching Bachelor in Paradise 2019 Mondays and Tuesdays, and mourn for the loss of a John Paul Jones (or Mike or Derek) Bachelor season.
