Unmistakably the most unhinged chapter of an already unhinged franchise, Bachelor in Paradise has it all: sun, sea, and dozens of extremely attractive people on the hunt for love and/or Instagram followers. Last year's Paradise was particularly out of control, thanks to the record number of contestants who showed up on the beach, many of whom were greeted by Lil Jon, Lance Bass, Titus Burgess, and David Spade (yes, really)—and spoilers for Bachelor in Paradise in 2022 suggest things get even more unhinged this year. How can ABC possibly outdo last year's season—which was light on viewership but heavy on drama—I hear you ask? (Perhaps I'm just hearing myself ask.)
Well. In spite of rumors in the spring that ABC could kill this chapter of the franchise, the network ultimately decided to renew Bachelor in Paradise for an eighth blockbuster season. (Phew.) This year's season is airing later than in past years, at the end of September, but there's no doubt about it: We're heasing back to Mexico, and everyone will get a second—or third, or fourth, or fifth—chance at said love and/or Instagram followers.
In spite of all of its unhinged-ness, Paradise is by far the most enjoyable edition of the franchise, mostly because most of the franchise's tenets—chastity until marriage or Fantasy Suites; strong religious undertones; the right reasons—are thrown out of the window. Basically, everyone just gets drunk on the beach.
'Bachelor in Paradise' Release Date
Bachelor in Paradise premiered on ABC at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, September 27. From there, it will air Mondays and Tuesday at 8 p.m. through October and into early November.
But this timing is unusual: Paradise typically airs in late summer. Most seasons of Paradise have run from mid-August through to mid-September, although the 2021 season ran all the way 'til October (like I said, a lot of contestants, a lot of drama). But the last season of The Bachelorette, featuring Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia, started in July, which was also unusual (most Bachelorette seasons start in May). Their Bachelorette season ran through September, taking Paradise's typical slot, which is why Paradise didn't start airing until the end of September.
Here's the first poster for Bachelor in Paradise 2022:
Trailer for 'Bachelor in Paradise'
On August 29, a month before the show's release date, ABC dropped the first trailer for the 2022 season of Paradise:
And...whew. We see Shanae Ankney and Jacob Rapini talking about having sex, Lace Morris feeling "so betrayed," several engagement rings, and host Jesse Palmer saying “so much happened that it’s easy to forget just how crazy it actually was."
In this season's most substantial trailer, released September 20, ABC revealed that Rachel Recchia will be appearing on this season of Paradise on the tail of her Bachelorette season.
"He's so great. He really is," Rachel is seen saying. "I'm, like, going to cry because I'm so happy."
ABC has also released some more tidbits and mini-trailers from the season:
Format
The 2022 season of Paradise will take a cue from Love Island and separate the contestants—all while bringing in new contestants—to ensure maximum drama. Palmer alludes to this in the trailer, saying, “A shocking twist divides the beach," and telling the women of the beach to pack immediately. (Per Reality Steve: "All the couples are separated with one gender going to another villa and meeting new singles...I think the women were the ones that moved to a new location in Mexico, and were introduced to five new men brought in. The guys stayed on the beach and were introduced to five new women brought in.")
Of the twist, Adams told Us Weekly: "From where I sat, I loved it. Now, the cast did not like it very much. You’ll see a lot of cast members be kind of angry at some of the things we throw at [them] this year."
Host of 'Bachelor in Paradise'
In May, the franchise formally named Jesse Palmer the host of the 2022 edition of Paradise—a move that suggests that Palmer will host all of the franchise's iterations going forward, permanently replacing Chris Harrison.
Speaking to Us Weekly's "Here For the Right Reasons" podcast, Palmer said of Paradise: "It’s insane down here. It’s absolutely crazy. There’s all these people. It is just so much chaos, so much drama and yes, never-before-seen things [are] taking place in Paradise. I’ve been watching this show for years, huge fan of it. And we’ve been switching things up. We’ve been changing things up. It’s hard to keep track of it all, to be honest."
Meanwhile, likable former contestant Wells Adams is serving once again as bartender, a demotion from his "master of ceremonies" role last year. (Adams' wife-to-be, Modern Family's Sarah Hyland, was recently named host of Love Island USA, so they've got the beach dating market covered.) "It's good. It's sexy. I'll say this: it's very sexy," Adams told People. "This season was different than years past," he added, noting, "And it's funny, we do a lot of really funny things this year."
Helping out Palmer and Adams in Mexico will be Ashley Iaconetti and Jared Haibon, who both appeared on Bachelor in Paradise and, later, got married and had a baby. The couple "are also set to appear later in the season" in some capacity, per ABC.
Cast of 'Bachelor in Paradise'
Remember when Palmer said that "all these people" were on the beach? Yeah, well, it's because we've gotten another record-breaking number of contestants on the beach: 44, per Reality Steve. "We're gonna have more people than we've ever had coming down the beach, which means there’s gonna be a whole lot more drama," Adams noted to ET.
In Reality Steve's words: "With 44 different people showing up at some point this season, and 20 hrs of programming this month, get prepared for episodes and episodes full of drama."
Here's who ABC has confirmed will appear on the beach:
- Romeo Alexander
- Michael Allio
- Shanae Ankney
- Jill Chin
- Brittany Galvin
- Justin Glaze
- Hunter Haag
- Sierra Jackson
- Brandon Jones
- Hailey Malles
- Kira Mengistu
- Lace Morris
- Logan Palmer
- Genevieve Parisi
- Jacob Rapini
- Rachel Recchia
- Serene Russell
- Andrew Spencer
- Teddi Wright
- Casey Woods
That isn't the full cast list, of course—as we all know with Paradise, surprise contestants are constantly coming and going. Here's who Reality Steve and other spoiler accounts are betting will join the above contestants in Mexico:
- Aaron Clancy
- James Bonsall
- Sarah Hamrick
- Tyler Norris
- Alex Bordyukov
- Rick Leach
- Mara Agreat
- Ency Abedin
- Lyndsey Windham
- Rick Leach
- Olu Onajide
- Victoria Fuller
- Cassidy Timbrooks
- Kate Gallivan
- Sarah Hamrick
- Kate Gallivan
- Eliza Isichei
- Jessenia Cruz
- Joey and Justin Young
- Eliza Isichei
- Jessenia Cruz
- Andrew Smith
- Tyler Norris
- Johnny DePhillipo
- Rodney Matthews
- Hayden Markowitz
And ABC has released a few photos of the initial group of castmates on the beach:
Other members of Bachelor Nation weren't so sure about showing up. Ben Smith, from Tayshia's season, wrote "Nah, girl" on Instagram when asked if he'd be joining the cast. And Demi Burnett said, “I cannot go on Bachelor in Paradise again" when asked, adding, “Also, I’m way out of their league.”
Meanwhile, former Bachelor Peter Weber almost agreed to Paradise, per E! News. “I always kept looking at [Paradise] as, like, the one venue I hadn't, like, really checked off yet or tried. I thought maybe [I could] give it one more try,” he said. “But [ABC and I] ended up not being able to agree on anything and get out there. I feel everything happens for a reason, so it’s all good.”
Spoilers for 'Bachelor in Paradise'
Per Reality Steve, the "villain" of the season may be Kate Gallivan, who you'll remember from Clayton's season. "Kate is possibly next villain, as she seems to be causing quite the ruckus down there," RS noted. "I don’t think her edit is gonna be great and she’s rubbing some of the contestants the wrong way from everything I’m hearing.”
We also know who left the beach engaged, according to Reality Steve:
- Johnny DePhillipo and Victoria Fuller
- Brandon Jones and Serene Russell
Two more couples left together, but didn't get engaged. They are:
- Michael Allio and Danielle Maltby
- Tyler Norris and Brittany Galvin
And two more couples were together, but ended up splitting up before leaving Mexico:
- Aaron Clancy and Genevieve Parisi
- Logan Palmer and Kate Gallivan
"There are other things I’ve heard post-filming that I’m still trying to confirm, but those are the 6 “main” couples at the end," Reality Steve wrote.
'Bachelor in Paradise' Finale
According to Reality Steve, the last episode of this season of Bachelor in Paradise will air on November 1, 2022.