The accompanying link detailed that the casting was for a single season, requiring availability for up to 12 weeks of filming between May and July of this year.

The franchise already broke ground last year by casting Brooke Blurton as the first openly bisexual star on spin-off series The Bachelorette.

While the show has yet to fully confirm that the 2022 season will have a bisexual lead, a representative for the ‘new look’ Bachelor said to Daily Mail Australia, : “Trying to fit a square peg into a round hole is so 2020. Love is love and we look forward to casting our next Bachelor, whoever they may be”.

While some fans online were delighted that the casting call appears to signal progression in terms of LGBT+ inclusivity, others pointed out that it still limited itself to ‘men and women’ within its messaging, excluding potential non-binary applicants.

Both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette suffered disappointing ratings throughout their respective seasons in 2021, with Channel 10 executives acknowledging that the network’s two flagship dating shows ‘need work’.

‘So now we need to go, ‘What do we do with The Bachelor? Can we get it back to its glory days?” said Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer of ViacomCBS Aus and NZ Beverley McGarvey.

Clip from The Bachelorette below: