Channel 10 announces The Bachelorette 2022 has been axed following last year’s dismal ratings

Following last year’s subpar ratings, Channel 10 has announced The Bachelorette has been cancelled for 2022.

Beverley McGarvey, the Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer of Paramount Australia, revealed on Wednesday that its seven-season run has come to an end for the time being.

“But actually we haven’t always had an iteration of Bachelorette on air every year. If you think way back to the beginning, we had two or three years that we didn’t, and then we introduced Bachelorette,” she told TV Tonight.

The network had previously confirmed The Bachelorette would be returning for 2022 but later announced it would launch a brand new dating show, named The Real Love Boat, which is expected to take its place in the schedule.

However, executives have not ruled out picking up The Bachelorette in the future.

“I think given the environment that we’re in, the audience is telling us they want to see some of those legacy formats move forward a bit, which we really want to do with that show, because we really respect the brand and the audience loves it,” she said.

“So I think a little bit of scarcity this year, is probably going to help us move forward.”

The decision to axe the show won’t come as a shock to many viewers, as ratings have dwindled dramatically in the past few years.

Despite the 2021 season of The Bachelorette receiving widespread praise for casting the franchise’s first ever openly bisexual and indigenous lead, Brooke Blurton, ratings didn’t reflect the network’s historic decision.

The October finale pulled in the smallest audience on record, with just 439,000 metro viewers for the final 15 minutes, and just 361,000 tuning in for the lead-up.

The premiere night pulled in the lowest audience in history, attracting just 397,000 viewers (5-city metro).

In the 2020 season, which saw sisters Elly and Becky Miles vie for love, the finale ranked slightly better, but still only had 573,000 metro viewers tuning in for the finale.

Meanwhile, the 2020 season of The Bachelor, starring Jimmy Nicholson, was also a ratings flop. The July premiere drew in a bleak 482,000 viewers from metro cities across Australia.

The axing comes just a week after Channel 10 announced three men would star as this year’s Bachelors – an attempt to revamp the show’s tired formula.

Felix Von Hofe, Thomas Philbin-Malucelli and Jedidiah “Jed” McIntosh will all be appearing on the show this year with a host of ladies vying for their hearts.

A day before The Bachelorette‘s cancellation was announced, Channel 10 defended their choice to cast the three white men amid backlash over a lack of diversity.

“There’s a whole significant portion of that cast still to come, which will make people probably slightly rethink their position,” Beverly said.

“It’s about cast and crew in representation and we do feel that it matters, and we’ve demonstrated that clearly with all of our casting choices.”