The Bachelor execs are pretty much chomping at the bit when it comes to the return of Bachelor in Paradise, slated for summer 2021.
And one contestant they would really love to see on the beach? None other than the most hated Bachelor himself, Peter Weber.
Yes, that’s right. Even after an absolutely horrendous season of The Bachelor in 2020, producers just can’t get enough of the pilot.
ABC Exec Robert Mills recently appeared on The Bachelor Recap podcast where he was asked about the prospect of Peter appearing on BiP since Peter and Kelley Flanagan are no longer together. Robert replied,
“Wow, I love that idea! Absolutely, yeah. I wanna say — and I could be wrong here — but I’m almost positive I remember this: there were discussions about [former Bachelor] Chris Soules and some stuff happened. But I like the idea of Peter in Paradise.”
In a separate interview with Us Weekly, the exec brought it up yet again and added,
“At the very least, I just want Peter to come [by] on a seaplane. Even if he just does a fly by and leaves.”
According to Robert, the network is “hell-bent” on making BiP happen this year. And we don’t blame them.
Since there was no Paradise last year, there is an overflow of possible contestants to appear on the show. Just consider how many seasons they have to choose from: Peter’s, Claire/Tayshia’s, Matt’s, and possibly another season of The Bachelorette if everything goes as planned.
In a previous interview with Us Weekly, host Chris Harrison remarked,
“It’s going to be a murderers’ row of choices of people. And I mean, I hate to say this, but there’s going to be people left on the bench that we love just because you can only have so many people on that beach.”
With so many amazing options, it would be a shame to give away one of the spots to Pilot Pete. He’s already had more than enough screen time — more than he should have — and he totally squandered it. I would much rather see some of the great guys from Tayshia’s season like Brendan Morais or Dr. Joe Park than to have to live through another season of Peter Weber. And I have a feeling that most viewers would agree.
Peter’s season was boring, awkward, and downright cringeworthy at times. Ever since, he’s been considered one of the most hated Bachelor leads of all-time (possibly even more than Juan Pablo, and that’s saying a lot).
It probably didn’t help that, once his season wrapped, he cruelly dumped Hannah Ann Sluss so he could get back together with Madison Prewett.
And it only continued to go downhill from there. During the After the Final Rose, Peter’s mother expressed her hatred for Madison while Peter sat there quietly, rarely standing up for his girlfriend. It’s fair to say that Peter’s reputation was pretty much in the gutter after that.
It’s still way too soon for any BiP cast announcements to be official, especially since we don’t know the status of the next season of The Bachelorette. So while execs might think the idea of bringing back Peter Weber is “fun,” there’s still plenty of time for them to come to their senses.
