'The Bachelorette' Season 20 Had Yet Another Time Change and Fans Are Relieved

There's little you could do to make longtime Bachelor and Bachelorette fans stop watching the franchise. And we aren't saying placing Season 20 of The Bachelorette in a new time slot is one of those few things, but it certainly had fans in a bit of an uproar. Luckily, starting with the July 24 episode, things went back to normal. But why was The Bachelorette on at 9 p.m. EST for the first half of the season?

The time change didn't go unnoticed by those who are used to tuning in at 8 p.m. every Monday night.

To be fair, we still get those super-size two-hour episodes. And Charity Lawson's group of guys are as eclectic as ever. But the integrity and general quality of the show isn't really what was in question here as viewers complained about a later time slot and, therefore, a later time that the two-hour reality show ends every Monday. Even though now, we're back to that sweet 8 p.m. showtime.

The reason why The Bachelorette was on at a different time for part of Season 20 boils down to what else is on ABC on Monday nights. And, while Claim to Fame is relatively new in the reality TV world, it's another ABC hit that was given the 8 p.m. time slot that The Bachelorette typically holds. And since The Bachelorette premiered its twentieth season while Claim to Fame was still in the midst of its own season, The Bachelor spinoff was moved to 9 p.m., when Claim to Fame ended each Monday.

Claim to Fame's inaugural season and Season 19 of The Bachelorette also aired at the same time in 2022. However, at that time, Claim to Fame premiered after The Bachelorette and the latter remained in its time-honored spot on ABC.

It's possible, however, that the network opted to switch things around in 2023 to give Claim to Fame a wider audience earlier in the evening. And let's face it — no matter what time The Bachelorette is on, we're going to be watching. Luckily, as Claim to Fame wound down for its second season, the network opted to switch the time slots of both shows, putting The Bachelorette back to its 8 p.m. EST time midway through Season 20.

Even though the most die-hard, and even some of the casual, Bachelorette fans are here to stay regardless of when The Bachelorette is on, there were some complaints about the move to 9 p.m. EST. One fan tweeted ahead of the premiere, "I’m excited for Charity’s season but this new time slot is not it for my almost 30-year-old body. I’m exhausted."

Another Bachelorette fan shared on Twitter that Charity "deserves" the typical 8 p.m. time slot and that viewers do too because "we are all sleepy girls." While some aren't wild about the new Bachelorette time, though, most are still eager to see Charity's love story play out. And now that The Bachelorette once again airs during the long-standing time slot Monday evenings, all is right in Bachelor Nation.

Watch The Bachelorette on Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.