The Bachelorette season 16 premiere date announced alongside weird poster; ABC Promises ‘Explosive Turn of Events’

Since filming for The Bachelorette’s season 16 was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, fans have been eagerly waiting for the new season. Which was originally supposed to premiere in May. However, the anticipation is finally over. Fans will get to start watching Clare Crawley’s highly anticipated season 16 on Tuesday, Oct. 13.

“It’s about time”

Apart from the premiere date announcement, ABC also released the official key art for Clare Crawley’s upcoming season of The Bachelorette.

Clare ditched the sparkly gowns for jeans and a chic velvet blazer, while a mostly unseen man pulls on a sock in the foreground. The poster seems to be a nod to the iconic 1967 film, The Graduate. The movie is centered around a 21-year-old who is seduced by a much older woman. And eventually falls for her daughter, too.

Crawley, mimics Dustin Hoffman, in the gender-swapped version, leaning against a wall and giving the camera a smirk while holding a rose in her hand. A mystery man (Mr. Robinson?) is also seen pulling up his sock. “It’s about time,” the tagline declares.

“An explosive turn of events that will have all of Bachelor Nation talking”

As per ABC, here’s the official season description, “Bachelor Nation, the wait is finally over! Clare Crawley will finally embark on her journey to find true love as The Bachelorette returns for its sizzling 16th season on a new night. Clare had women across America cheering from their living rooms when she famously stood up to controversial Bachelor Juan Pablo, during the memorable 18th season finale of The Bachelor.

Crawley left the season with a new sense of self-worth and a determination to never settle for anything less than the unconditional love and respect that she deserved. Follow her passionate, wild ride to find her soul mate and the explosive turn of events that will have all of Bachelor Nation talking.”

Tayshia Adams is replacing Clare Crawley?

Missing from the poster, however, is Tayshia Adams, who is reportedly replacing Crawley as the new Bachelorette mid-season. So far, ABC has not acknowledged Adams in any of the promotions either.

Multiple sources have confirmed on Aug. 3 that Adams became the new Bachelorette. The casting shakeup comes as Crawley reportedly fell in love with one of her original suitors after the coronavirus pandemic delayed production in March.

“One of her potential guys found a way to get in touch with her and they began talking,”one source said of Crawley. “By the time filming officially began, they were basically already in love. No one else stood a chance. It just became so obvious from her subsequent few dates that her heart wasn’t in it and she just wasn’t feeling it. Then she said she wanted out.”

Tayshia Adams was a contestant on Colton Underwood’s season 23 of The Bachelor and also went to appear in Bachelor in Paradise, last summer. “Tayshia was game and ready to go,” the source says. “What remains to be seen is if more men will be brought in now to give Tayshia a full roster of suitors.”

“I feel like this could be double trouble”

ABC has yet to confirm the reports, and the press release makes no mention of Tayshia. But, they have already subtly hinted at the rumors of a mid-season Bachelorette switch in a previous promo.

Host, Chris Harrison also hinted at the switch when posting about the premiere date on Instagram, promising that the new season will be “twice as good” as the rest. Chris even took to Twitter with a cheeky tweet. Sharing the poster on his social media platform, he wrote, “I feel like this could be double trouble,” which has only fueled speculations.

Additionally, the press release does tease “an explosive turn of events that will have all of Bachelor Nation talking,” which very well could refer to Tayshia taking the reins later this season.

“1st time in Bachelor franchise history that two people have held the coveted the title during the same season”

According to reports, Clare seemingly confirmed the switch by liking a tweet about Tayshia becoming the Bachelorette on Aug. 2. Before unliking it the next morning. The incident raised questions among fans, as the cast is not allowed to have phones on set, making some believe that she had indeed stopped filming the show. The contestant that reportedly stole Clare’s heart so quickly is former NFL player Dale Moss. Who currently works as a model and global ambassador for the Special Olympics.

If the reports are true, this would be the first time in Bachelor franchise history that two people have held the coveted title during the same season. In addition, some contestants that Clare eliminated before falling in love are reportedly being brought back mid-season to compete for Tayshia’s affections.

“It’s shaping up to be a very interesting season creatively with lots of twists and turns,” a production insider revealed, and we couldn’t agree more. The Bachelorette is all set to premier Tuesday, Oct. 13 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.