The Bachelor producers hope to have a gay lead in the future

Following the unimaginable success of The Golden Bachelor, Bachelor Nation is looking forward to different versions of their beloved dating series than they're used to. Specifically, a gay Bachelor lead!

Love is love and fans believe that the ABC series should keep up with that, especially because the series puts such an emphasis on falling in love no matter what the circumstances or who the humans falling in love are. However, as much as fans want this, ultimately, the ball falls in the court of The Bachelor.

Will we ever have a lead that's a part of the LGBTQIA+ community and that's reflected in their search for love or will fans have to wait a little while longer? Here's everything we know so far!

Bachelor producers want to be more inclusive in casting their leads!

As reported by Variety, there have been countless conversations about broadening their horizons when it comes to who they cast in the famous TV series. This even means that they've given much thought to casting a gay lead, which in turn means casting gay contestants. All in all, the Bachelor producers are planning exciting things for the near future!

"We hope to get the opportunity to [cast a gay lead]," The Bachelor executive producer Jason Ehrlich told Variety. "The most wonderful thing is that love is universal and so is the frustration of not finding love. We’d love the opportunity to tell all kinds of people’s stories."

Bennett Graebner shared these same sentiments, adding, "During my tenure on the show, the two spinoffs that have been pitched to be the most frequently are a Bachelor for older people and a gay Bachelor. We checked one of those boxes. We’re talking about checking out the other box."

Things are looking up for the future of The Bachelor and you can bet are looking forward to it, too!

Fans want more diversity from The Bachelor, but only if done correctly

Although Reddit fans definitely want a season of The Bachelor featuring a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, they want to make sure that the entire process keeps everyone safe and protected from problematic scrutiny that may follow.

"So much of the Bachelor is steeped in heteronormativity (even if it’s not explicit) and just having a queer lead wouldn’t change that." one Redditor expressed. "And there’s no way the whole season wouldn’t be just stereotypes and playing on harmful tropes of queerness."

The same Redditor even touched on the common homophobic comment from members of Bachelor Nation who believe the gay contestants would fall in love with one another and wouldn't be there for the lead.

"Even the 'what if the contestants fall in love with each other!' thing comes from a stereotype and misunderstanding of queerness."

With this in mind, Bachelor producers would have to do a lot more than simply cast a gay lead. They need to take the steps to ensure internal and external bias don't put the lives of the cast in danger. What's more, they have to find a way to actually appeal to those who are of the LGBTQIA+ community, as they aren't the majority of the audience who watch.

One Redditor touched on this and gave a quick suggestion.

"I would prefer a “gay bachelor/bachelorette” type formula on Netflix or Hulu, not cable TV," the Redditor commented. "It would just be a lot more fun to not be held back with censorship and appealing to conservative America. For example, [The Ultimatum: Queer Love] was so f---g messy and amazing."

Despite all the current worries, fans are still looking forward to the many different shake-ups of The Bachelor, so maybe the producers will find a way to appeal to their LGBTQIA+ fans who definitely want to see more representation of their amazing community. Only time will tell!