Production of The Bachelorette's upcoming sixteenth season starring Clare Crawley has been delayed for at least two weeks over concerns regarding the coronavirus pandemic.
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Clare and The Bachelorette host Chris Harrison confirmed ABC's decision to postpone filming of The Bachelorette -- which had been scheduled to begin on Friday, March 13 -- due to the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
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Clare wrote this past weekend on Instagram, "Well hello! Talk about most dramatic season ever! In all seriousness, Everyone's health is the most important priority at this time, and as I'm sure you've heard, we are pressing pause for now on filming The Bachelorette."
"We are taking it day by day and even hour by hour as this is so unpredictable. All I know for sure is that my heart is so full from all the love and support this far, and am still so excited for my journey to begin! I've waited 38 years for these moments, what's a little bit longer, right! xoxo."
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And Chris addressed The Bachelorette's postponement on Friday night in an Instagram video, explaining that ABC didn't feel it had much of a choice.
"Hello, Bachelor Nation. It is with a heavy heart that I come to you tonight, because right now, at this very minute, I should be standing on a very wet driveway with a very excited woman, ready to change lives. But in effect, lives have been changed, because I am here to confirm -- which you probably already know -- and that is production of The Bachelorette has been postponed for two weeks, at least," Chris said.
"In two weeks, we will reassess where we are in the world and figure out what's happening, and if we can move forward. Things are not changing by the day; they are changing by the hour. But I was consulted about this. It was not only the right thing to do; it was the only thing to do."
But Chris insisted in the video the decision to push off filming was still "hard to make."
"[It was difficult] because this will affect a lot of people. Like it is for everybody around the globe, the ripple effect of this is massive -- first and foremost, for my Bachelor family, the crew, and there are hundreds, hundreds of people, from audio to camera, producers, AD's [assistant directors], art department, hair, wardrobe, driver, security, catering, you name it," Chris explained.
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"This is massive. Jobs will be lost, paychecks will be lost, and there's just no way to avoid that, and that doesn't avoid the fact that this was still the right thing to do and the only thing to do."
"To the men who had given up time in their lives to go on this adventure, I say thank you," he continued.
"Thank you for understanding and I hope this will all work out and we can be back together again. To my friend Clare, you are still my Bachelorette and hopefully we're still going to get the opportunity to help you find love and make this work."
Chris confirmed Friday night was supposed to be "the official first night of production," and he had previously sat down with Clare to discuss her excitement over what was to come -- including the first cocktail party and first Rose Ceremony.
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"All of this seems trivial now in the face of what we're all about to face here in the United States and what you've been facing around the world. But it's still tough and it's still emotional to set it all aside and let all this go. So I just want to say, 'Bachelor Nation, I'm with you... This too shall pass," Chris said.
Chris asked everyone to be "smart, vigilant, caring and loving." He suggested people should wash their hands, avoid crowded restaurants and bars, and take extra steps to "knock this thing down" so The Bachelorette can resume with hot tubs, drama and "all the crazy things that come with it."
"God bless you all. I'll be here with you every step of the way, and I hope to see you soon," he concluded.
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Warner Bros. Television Group, which produces all Bachelor spinoffs, issued a statement to Us Weekly on Friday first announcing production of The Bachelorette was going to be delayed.
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"With the rapidly changing events related to COVID-19, and out of an abundance of caution, Warner Bros. Television Group is halting production on some of our 70-plus series and pilots currently filming or about to begin," The Bachelorette's production company told Us in a statement.
"There have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 on any of our productions, but the health and safety of our employees, casts and crews remains our top priority. During this time, we will continue to follow the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control as well as local officials and public health professionals in each city where our productions are based."
A source told the magazine, however, there are no plans to cancel the season entirely.
Clare's season of The Bachelorette was set to premiere on Monday, May 18, but it remains unclear how the production delay will impact when the show begins airing on ABC.
Clare, 38, was announced as The Bachelorette's Season 16 star on the March 2 episode of Good Morning America. She will be the oldest woman to ever take on the leading role, and her cast of 32 potential bachelors was just announced last week.
The coronavirus pandemic has also affected production schedules of dozens of other television shows, including other reality shows like CBS' Survivor and The Amazing Race.
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Earlier this month, CBS postponed the back-to-back production of Survivor's 41st and 42nd seasons, Entertainment Weekly reported.
Season 41 of Survivor was supposed to begin filming on March 24 in the Mamanuca Islands in Fiji, however Survivor host and executive producer Jeff Probst informed crew members that cameras will not start rolling until at least May due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to EW.
Season 42 of Survivor was reportedly set to begin filming on May 24, a few weeks after Season 41 was scheduled to wrap production.
Assuming the two-month delay isn't extended further, both Survivor seasons will still reportedly be filmed in time to maintain their original premiere dates.
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Survivor's 41st season is expected to debut in September 2020, while CBS plans to premiere Season 42 of the franchise in February 2021.
And last month, CBS had to suspend production of Season 33 of The Amazing Race after filming its third leg due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Amazing Race's Season 33 teams had reportedly already traveled to England and Scotland prior to the sudden suspension of the show's production.
While it has yet to air on CBS -- or even have a premiere date announced -- The Amazing Race's 32nd season already completed filming over a year ago.
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