Mike Fleiss, creator of ABC’s hit reality dating series The Bachelor, will be exiting the series after 21 years, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
- In addition to creating the series, Fleiss has been the longtime face of the popular franchise.
- Claire Freeland, Jason Ehrlich and Bennett Graebner will take over as executive producers and showrunners for the franchise, which also includes The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise.
- The trio has already begun work on the upcoming 20th season of The Bachelorette, which is set to premiere in June.
- Fleiss confirmed his exit in a statement, in which he congratulated The Bachelor season 27 star Zach Shallcross and fiancée Kaity Biggar.
- Fleiss had already stepped back on his involvement in the series and hadn’t been working day-to-day on it in the past decade.
- The Bachelor debuted in March 2002 and led to the creation of spinoff series The Bachelorette the following year.
- Fleiss also served as executive producer on additional spinoffs, including Bachelor Pad, Bachelor in Paradise and The Bachelor Winter Games.
- Some of Fleiss’ other credits include Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?, Superstar USA, The Will and High School Reunion.
What they’re saying:
- The Bachelor creator Mike Fleiss: “I want to thank WBTV and ABC for 21 extraordinary years. They’ve found the perfect creative team for me to entrust The Bachelor franchise and keep this lightning in a bottle bold and moving forward. Let the journey continue.”