Everything We Know About Michelle Young’s Bachelorette Season Right Now

Bachelor Nation is getting not one but two Bachelorette seasons this year. After Katie Thurston's season wraps and Bachelor in Paradise plays out, Michelle Young's Bachelorette season or ~journey~ to find love will air this fall. Young previously appeared on Matt James' Bachelor season, where she came in second. Now the 27-year-old teacher from Minnesota will take some time away from the classroom for her second chance at a TV love story.

Young's season will adopt some of the major changes we saw on Katie's season and on Clare Crawley and Tayshia Adams' season: everything from the hosts, the Tuesday night schedule, and the COVID-safe bubble set-up. But Young's season is breaking ground behind the scenes, too: it's the first in franchise history to have a Black executive producer. According to Variety, Jodi Baskerville has been a producer for the series for almost a decade and was recently promoted to the executive producer level, with Young's season being her first in the new role. While fans may see Baskerville in action, having another black woman in charge behind the camera could make a significant difference in Young's experience — she's only the third Black woman to lead the show. Hopefully, Young will feel supported as she leads the next season of The Bachelorette, especially after some of the recent claims Rachel Lindsay made about her time on the series.

As for the more forward-facing things we can expect from Michelle's season, here's what we know so far.

Viewers can tune in at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Oct. 19 to see Young kick off her Bachelorette season. Typically the series airs on Monday nights, but with Dancing with the Stars in that fall Monday time slot, Young's season will likely air weekly on Tuesdays instead. This is a switch-up from Thurston's season, but in line with how Crawley and Adams' season was scheduled, since it also aired in the fall.

Series creator Mike Fleiss tweeted the first photo from Young's season as production got underway. "On location," he wrote alongside a picture of Young in a gym surrounded by basketballs. It could be a teaser from one of her dates, but since she's a former college basketball player, it could just be from her intro package.

With Chris Harrison permanently out of the franchise, Bristowe and Adams will return as co-hosts for Young's season. They made a big impact in the role on Thurston's season. Kaitlyn, especially, showed fans why The Bachelorette should always have been hosted by a woman (or women) with actual experience in the Bachelorette's shoes when she comforted Katie after her frontrunner suddenly following hometowns.

According to the Palm Springs Desert Sun, it's been rumored that Young's season begins at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa in Indian Wells, California. That resort just a few minutes away from La Quinta Resort & Club where Crawley and Adams' season taped. Per the Desert Sun, the Renaissance Esmeralda had its rooms blocked off through August 15, although staff didn't respond to a request for comment on the filming rumours and Indian Wells city manager Chris Freeland declined to comment.

If the show is filming there, but only through August 15, it's possible that the series plans to return to its traveling ways (at least domestically) as the weeks go on. But those plans may be thwarted by the United States' rising COVID-19 cases thanks to the Delta variant. Young is currently filming her season, so things may change on an almost daily basis.

In a now-deleted Facebook post, ABC briefly revealed the 35 potential suitors for Young's season. Like with previous seasons, these early reveals may occur in the hope that fans will perform digital background checks and any problematic contestants can get rejected before they appear. The list will likely be cut down to a final 25-30 men who will actually get to meet Young on premiere night.

If you're feeling any Bachelor Nation fatigue as Thurston's season wraps up, you'd better shake it off. Between Bachelor in Paradise and Young's bonus Bachelorette season, there's a whole lot more to come over the next few months.