Who Should Be the Next Bachelor? Colton Underwood Weighs in on Peter Weber, Mike Johnson & Derek Peth

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Given how much drama a typical season of The Bachelor holds, rose-givers might be eager after their season ends to shift the spotlight to the next lead. So, not surprisingly, Colton Underwood is discussing the next Bachelor — and, admittedly, he makes a few solid points about who would be able to handle the hot seat. As for who will ultimately get the gig, season 23’s lead has thoughts about three top contenders: Peter Weber, Mike Johnson and, the unexpected people’s pick, Derek Peth.

Underwood chatted about the potential bachelor hopefuls with Us Weekly at a recent event in New York City and, right out of the gate, it doesn’t look great for our guy Johnson. “I think I even saw the other day, Mike hasn’t even had discussions with producers about being the Bachelor,” Underwood said of the contestant who has arguably been the center of the most next-Bachelor-speculation so far (even though, TBH, we’re still rooting for a Demi Lovato love connection there).

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As for Weber, a popular pilot from Hannah Brown’s season of The Bachelorette, Underwood seems more hopeful. “At this point, I’m sure Peter’s probably already met with them,” he said, then alluded to the fact that Johnson recently referred to Weber as the “safe” pick. “By safe, I would agree with that. But my definition of safe would be he has a lot of qualities that are needed in the Bachelor. I’m not saying that Mike doesn’t [too].”

And that’s all well and good, but let’s talk about the dark horse of this whole race, shall we? In the wake of The Bachelorette season 15 finale, fans have largely been duking it out over Weber and Johnson. But a cursory scan of social media since season six of Bachelor in Paradise started shows a possible new frontrunner in Peth.

While we’ll be the first to petition ABC to put Johnson at the Bachelor helm next season, we have to admit that — after tuning into this season of BiP — we wouldn’t be mad if Peth made his way to the rose podium. Thanks to being super-supportive of Demi Burnett for pursuing a relationship with her girlfriend, Kristian Haggerty, the heartbroken hunk has stolen the hearts of Bachelor Nation fans everywhere.

Fellow contestants are also coming forward to support the idea of #DerekForBachelor. BiP bartender Wells Adams called him “my bestie from the TV world and honestly one of the best guys I’ve ever met.” Kristina Schulman praised him for being “level headed, emotionally intelligent, sensitive, sweet, and understanding.” Evan Bass tweeted that making Peth the next Bachelor would be “the only justice.” Underwood told Us Weekly Peth would be “a good one.”

Who do you want to see handing out the roses next season?

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