The Bachelor's filming location for Season 25 starring Matt James has reportedly been revealed, and it's on the East Coast.
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Reality Steve spoiler blogger Steve Carbone has reported that Matt James will begin filming The Bachelor's 2021 season next month at a resort in Pennsylvania.
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"(SPOILER): Might not be 'Bachelorette,' but got some Matt James 'Bachelor' filming news. His season will be filmed at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in PA, beginning end of Sept," Carbone tweeted on August 21.
Nemacolin Woodlands Resort is an upscale golf resort with a casino that is set on 2,000 wooded acres and boasts a pool and spa with many dining options.
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This is the same resort former The Bachelorette star JoJo Fletcher and her group of Season 12 bachelors visited on her season in Episode 4 when Chad Johnson got eliminated during a two-on-one date, according to Carbone.
Carbone also confirmed Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in PA is blocked off for dates when The Bachelor typically films each year.
"Didn't even think to look at the availability on their website. Hmmmm...closed mid Sept through Thanksgiving - exact dates the 'Bachelor' has filmed the last 12 years," Carbone tweeted last week.
Peter Weber's The Bachelor season, for example, reportedly began filming on September 20, 2019 and debuted on ABC in early January 2020. If Matt's season begins production on schedule, ABC should be able to roll out the premiere of Season 25 in January 2021.
Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it's assumed Matt's The Bachelor season will be filmed at the same resort all season long given it would be risky -- and in some cases, not possible -- to travel around the U.S. and internationally.
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The look of Matt's season will therefore resemble The Bachelorette's sixteenth edition, which is currently still filming at one resort on the West Coast -- La Quinta Resort & Club in Palm Springs, CA.
Clare Crawley began production of The Bachelorette in mid-July and the season will air on Tuesday nights at 8PM ET/PT this fall on ABC.
However, Tayshia Adams took over the role of leading lady after Clare reportedly quit the show because she had fallen in love with contestant Dale Moss in just 12 days.
Tayshia is now in the middle of filming her overnight Fantasy Suite dates, according to Cosmopolitan, so Season 16 isn't far from wrapping up.
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Clare's cast of 42 potential suitors was revealed by ABC last month, but the official cast of Season 16 and its premiere date have yet to be announced.
The Bachelorette was initially slated to begin production in March and air its sixteenth season in May, per usual, but the spread of and concerns over COVID-19 derailed ABC's plans and resulted in a long delay.
Given it's already late August, it appears Season 7 of Bachelor in Paradise won't be happening this year unless ABC decides to air it later this year, like in the winter.
Matt, a 28-year-old real estate broker, entrepreneur and community organization founder, will be the first black The Bachelor star ever.
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Matt shared how the reaction to his The Bachelor casting was positive overall when he appeared on a late June episode of The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons -- Ever!.
"It's been nice, because to be honest with you, I've heard from a lot of my black friends that aren't Bachelor-Nation faithful who are excited about me and honored I'm in the position I'm in and have this opportunity to just represent what it's going to look like to have diverse relationships and tell those love stories," Matt gushed to Chris Harrison.
"And I couldn't be more excited about that."
ABC has cast only one black lead in 40 seasons and 18 years of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette prior to Matt.
Matt will also be the first The Bachelor star who did not appear on The Bachelorette before landing The Bachelor role since Matt Grant starred on Season 12 in 2008.
Beginning with Jason Mesnick in 2009, every The Bachelor star has been someone who had previously competed as a suitor on The Bachelorette, with the exception of the show's 2011 season which featured Brad Womack getting a second chance at love after initially starring as the Bachelor in 2007.
Matt's The Bachelor casting announcement was made in mid-June on Good Morning America.
Historically, each year's The Bachelor star is not announced until late August or September, shortly before the season begins production.
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ABC acknowledged at the time the network has "a responsibility" to implement diversity in The Bachelor franchise.
"We know we have a responsibility to make sure the love stories we're seeing onscreen are representative of the world we live in, and we are proudly in service to our audience," ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke said in a statement.
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"This is just the beginning, and we will continue to take action with regard to diversity issues on this franchise. We feel so privileged to have Matt as our first Black Bachelor and we cannot wait to embark on this journey with him."
"Matt has been on our radar since February, when producers first approached him to join Bachelor Nation, as part of Clare's season. When filming couldn't move forward as planned, we were given the benefit of time to get to know Matt and all agreed he would make a perfect Bachelor."
Matt came into the limelight last year as The Bachelorette alum Tyler Cameron's best friend.
Matt was initially selected to compete for Clare's heart on The Bachelorette's sixteenth season, but ABC chose to promote him and announce him as the Bachelor prematurely instead.
Clare therefore missed out on getting to know Matt romantically, but he'll have his own set of around 30 women to date this year.
"Matt's built for this. He's a great person," Tyler, who finished as the runner-up on Hannah Brown's season of The Bachelorette last year, told Harrison on The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons -- Ever! earlier this summer.
"His heart will really show and shine, and it will be interesting to see where his heart leads him now... [Matt is] going to change the world. [So he needs] someone to take on that challenge with him."
ABC reality chief Robert Mills told Ryan Seacrest during a late June appearance on On Air with Ryan Seacrest that The Bachelor had already seen a "record-setting pace" of 6,500 applicants for Matt's season by that point, which he called "fantastic."
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