Why Is ‘The Bachelorette’ 2020 on Tuesdays Instead of Mondays?

Bring on the roses, the romantic dates and the dramatic fights, because The Bachelorette is back! ABC‘s hit reality dating show has returned for another season, despite the coronavirus pandemic, coming back a little later than usual, but bringing all of the same trademarks that make it an addictive TV tradition.

This season, we’ve got Clare Crawley, a 39-year-old Bachelorette looking for love. She’s got plenty of contestants to choose from — more than 30, in fact — and some reports have suggested that she even hit it off so well with one of them that she quit the show only 12 days into filming, marking a historic Bachelorette season.

But that’s not the only unusual thing about this season. As Bachelor fans know, the show has made a big deal of “Bachelor Mondays” for years now. However, when Season 16 premiered on ABC last week, it dropped on Oct. 13…which is a Tuesday. What’s up with the change in schedule? And Is The Bachelorette on Mondays or Tuesdays? Here’s what we know:

WHAT DAY IS THE BACHELORETTE ON?

This week, The Bachelorette premieres on Tuesday, Oct. 20. You can catch Episode 2 of Season 16 at 8/7c on ABC.

WHY IS THE BACHELORETTE ON TUESDAY THIS WEEK?

The Bachelorette airs on a Tuesday because of the coronavirus, simply put. Because ABC had to push back filming Clare’s season of the show due to the pandemic, they only wrapped up filming recently. When they finished up, the Monday time slot when The Bachelorette or The Bachelor usually airs was already taken up by Dancing With the Stars, another ABC reality competition. So, to keep the show on track for a fall debut and to avoid pushing its release any longer, ABC shifted The Bachelorette to Tuesday and kept Dancing With the Stars on Monday. The Conners, which normally airs on Tuesday nights, has been pushed to Wednesday on the network.

Host Chris Harrison confirmed the change to fans in September when introducing the men of Clare’s season. “I know we have thrown people through a loop, guys. It’s a Tuesday,” he said. “We have been on Mondays for many, many years. Maybe over a decade. We actually started on Wednesdays… But we’ve been on Mondays for a long time.” Harrison added, “Here’s the thing, The Bachelorette was supposed to air much earlier. We’re not usually on in the fall, so we got football, we got Dancing with the Stars…But because of that, we are going to be premiering on Tuesday nights.”

IS THE BACHELORETTE ON TUESDAYS NOW?

For this whole season, your calendar will now be booked with Bachelorette Tuesdays. ABC has not said anything about keeping the Tuesday schedule for next season of The Bachelorette, so stay tuned for any updates.

Where to watch The Bachelorette