‘The Bachelorette’ Season 16 Rules Out Italy Filming Amid Coronavirus Concerns (EXCLUSIVE)
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“The Bachelorette” Season 16 is shaping up to be a U.S.-bound production. A source tells Variety that initial plans to shoot parts of the upcoming season — featuring newly unveiled star Clare Crawley — in Italy had to be changed, given concerns over the growing threat of coronavirus.
Crawley, a 38-year-old hair stylist from Sacramento, Calif., was introduced to viewers earlier Monday on “Good Morning America” as the new star of the unscripted franchise, which airs on ABC and is produced by Warner Horizon Unscripted Television. She made her first appearance on the 2014 season of “The Bachelor,” featuring Juan Pablo Galavis.
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While a trip to Italy on this season of “The Bachelorette” is unlikely to happen, all international travel has not been ruled out entirely, and the production schedule is so far moving forward as planned. But the unpredictability of the status of this rapidly spreading epidemic, which has killed over 3,000 and infected as many as 90,000 thus far, has made planning for the future difficult.
Warner Bros. said that travel for all of its productions is being evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
“As the health and safety of our talent and employees are always our primary concerns, production travel is being evaluated on a case-by-case basis, factoring in the latest information from a variety of organizations, including the CDC, WHO, U.S. State Department and in-territory local health agencies,” said a Warner Bros. spokesperson in a statement provided to Variety.
“The Bachelorette” is not the only U.S. television production to be impacted by the spread of coronavirus. Production of Season 33 of CBS’ “The Amazing Race” was suspended over similar concerns. No contestants or production staff had been impacted by the virus, but the measure was taken out of an abundance of caution.
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