The Bachelorette season starring Katie Thurston has reportedly already wrapped filming.
ADVERTISEMENT
|
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Katie's entire season taped at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico, where cast and crew were required to quarantine and follow safety measures amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, according to Reality Steve spoiler blogger Steve Carbone.
Season 17 of The Bachelorette premieres with a two-hour episode Monday, June 7 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC.
ABC had announced Katie's cast of 34 potential bachelors last month, just a few days before filming began on March 22.
While the outcome of Katie's season and whether she found true love remains a mystery right now, viewers are also curious how the new The Bachelorette edition will look with former The Bachelorette stars Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe serving as co-hosts.
ABC hired Kaitlyn and Tayshia to fill in for longtime host Chris Harrison after he announced in February he'd be "stepping aside" from his hosting duties to educate himself on racism in society on a "profound" level.
Chris came under fire during Matt James' The Bachelor season after he defended Season 25 contestant Rachael Kirkconnell's racially-ignorant and racially-insensitive actions in the last several years during a controversial interview he had with Extra's Rachel Lindsay, who starred as the first Black Bachelorette.
Kaitlyn, who starred on The Bachelorette's eleventh season, and Tayshia, who just starred on The Bachelorette's sixteenth edition, "were brought in at the last minute" to guide Katie through her journey to find The One, a source told the magazine.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
"They act professional, they're on time and are helping the franchise as much as they can in this funky situation," the source revealed.
Although Kaitlyn and Tayshia are no strangers to The Bachelor franchise, there was reportedly a bit of a learning curve considering neither woman has ever hosted a reality show before.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW
"Tayshia and Kaitlyn have had to learn how to co-host and it's taken time," a second source told Us.
"They're lovely to work with and they get along with the crew. It's just completely different with them co-hosting."
The second source insisted the girls were just brought on the set to help out and this "is not their permanent position." In fact, Kaitlyn and Tayshia were reportedly told flat out they were "not replacing Chris."
Unlike the seasoned Chris Harrison -- who hosted the franchise ever since The Bachelor premiered nearly 20 years ago -- Kaitlyn and Tayshia reportedly had "to do a lot of retakes" during filming.
"It's a lot of memorizing lines," the second insider continued. "They didn't have years of experience before hopping on. Scenes that could be done in one take with Chris can now take, like, two hours."
Tayshia teased during a recent appearance on the Going to Bed with Garcelle podcast that the world will see something "fresh and new" with Katie's season.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
"I think that people are looking for change in the franchise," Tayshia said following the Chris and Rachael racism controversy as well as years of diversity lacking in the franchise.
ADVERTISEMENT
It remains unclear who will host Season 18 of The Bachelorette starring Michelle Young when it films later this year and premieres in Fall 2021.
Interested in more The Bachelor news? Join our The Bachelor Facebook Group.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski