Jenn Tran Is Ready to Steal Hearts as the Next 'Bachelorette' Leading Lady

Now that Season 28 of The Bachelor aired its finale, fans eagerly await the next journey for one of Joey Graziadei's ladies. We know he chose Kelsey Anderson over frontrunner Daisy Kent, but what everyone wanted to know ahead of the finale was what the plan for the 2024 Bachelorette season would be.

There was tons of speculation about who will lead Season 21 of The Bachelorette. While many rumors circulated regarding potential candidates, we saw Daisy Kent, one of Joey's final two, offered the role in the After the Final Rose reunion. When she turned it down, another fan-favorite contestant slid into place as the 2024 leading lady.

Let's cut to the chase: Reality Steve revealed that Daisy Kent and Maria Georgas were the top two contenders for ABC's next Bachelorette season. And, ahead of The Bachelor finale, fans were inclined to agree. But in the end, Maria and Daisy turned down the gig, and Jenn Tran was named the 2024 Bachelorette lead.

"Right now, I know it's a time for me to focus on the things I love and the people I love," Daisy told host Jesse Palmer on After the Final Rose. "And so right now, no, I'm not ready. And that's OK. And I'm really proud of myself for realizing that."

While both Daisy and Maria were frontrunners, and even had support from Joey and former Bachelorette lead Hannah Brown, Jenn as the surprise leading lady choice makes sense. After she left The Bachelor, she received an abundance of support from viewers, and she makes history as the first Asian-American Bachelorette lead.

"It's honestly incredible and I feel so so grateful and so honored to be the first Asian Bachelorette in this franchise," Jenn said on After the Final Rose.

She continued, "Growing up, I've always wanted to see Asian representation on TV. I feel like it was really sparse. Anytime Asians were in the media, it was to fill a supporting character role, to fulfill some sort of stereotype and I always felt boxed in by that because I was like, 'I don't see myself on screen. I don't see myself as a main character.'"

In early May 2024, ABC unveiled its highly-anticipated summer schedule — and with it came the premiere date for Season 21 of The Bachelorette. So, are you ready to see Jenn hand out some roses? If so, mark your calendars because her season of The Bachelorette kicks off with a two-hour episode on Monday, July 8, at 8 p.m. EST!

But don't fret — if you can't catch the live broadcast of the season premiere, the episode will be available to stream on Hulu starting Tuesday, July 9.

This holds for the entire season, so if you're hoping to spend some summer nights away from the TV, you can easily catch up on all the Bachelorette drama the following day!