So It's Come To This: ABC's just going to air 10 weeks of The Bachelor clip shows

The Bachelor franchise has undergone something of a renaissance over these last several years, as the intermingling of tabloid culture, social media, influencer clout, and podcasting has managed to keep the dating series a part of the cultural conversation even when it’s not airing.

As such, ABC has sought to expand the brand with a slew of spin-offs, several of which were set to launch within the next year. But while the music-themed Listen To Your Heart managed to finish filming ahead of quarantine, others weren’t so lucky. The Bachelor: Summer Games—a spin-off of 2018's Winter Games—was axed after the Olympics were postponed, Bachelor In Paradise is a no-go, and lord knows what’s happening with that dating show for seniors ABC teased back in February. The Bachelorette, meanwhile, was put on indefinite hold just days before it was set to begin filming with franchise alum Clare Crawley.

Faced with few options, the show’s producers are tossing their surplus of fake roses in the wind, shrugging, and strolling, Charlie Brown-like, into the editing bay. There, Deadline reports, they’re Frankensteining together a 10-episode retrospective awkwardly titled, The Bachelor: The Most Unforgettable–Ever!. The gaps in ABC’s schedule, as cavernous as the voids in the contestants’ hearts, will be filled not with the stabbing tongues and damp cheeks we’ve come to love, but rather “the rose ceremonies, proposals, meltdowns, breakups and unexpected new arrivals” of seasons past. Host Chris Harrison will also spearhead “virtual catch-ups” with former cast members, the likes of whom will be no doubt be glad to gab about their new careers shilling detox teas and baby detergents on Instagram.