Disney-owned ABC decided to cancel “The Bachelorette“ after a video showed Taylor Frankie Paul, a star from The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, throwing a chair at her partner. The show was set to premiere in just three days, leaving many fans wondering what ABC would replace it with on Sunday nights. Taylor Frankie Paul was supposed to be the next Bachelorette, aiming to attract a Gen Z and “Momtok” audience, but her season was canceled due to this troubling incident. This has become a major problem for ABC, costing up to $50 million and surprising many in Hollywood. It also marks a challenging beginning for Josh D’Amaro, the new CEO of Disney, who took over just days ago. ABC is now urgently searching for a solution to fill the void on Sunday nights. Some fans hope that Dancing with the Stars might create a special episode or an all-star season to air in its place. Derek, a judge from the show, hinted that something could be in the works.Credit: DisneyWhen Josh D’Amaro started his new role as CEO of The Walt Disney Company on March 18, 2026, the mood was meant to be celebratory after years of leadership changes. He and Dana Walden, who became President and Chief Creative Officer, were excited. However, they faced a major crisis the following day. By the following morning, they had to cancel Season 22 of “The Bachelorette” just three days before its premiere. This quick decision shows a strong focus on brand safety at Disney.The TMZ Video That Killed Bachelorette FranchiseThe catalyst for the cancellation was a “nuclear” video published by TMZ on Thursday, March 19, with the footage dating back to a 2023 domestic altercation, allegedly showing Taylor Frankie Paul in a violent physical confrontation with her ex-partner, Dakota Mortensen. Most disturbingly, the video captured the incident occurring in front of Paul’s young daughter, whose cries were audible as metal chairs were reportedly thrown, with Taylor Frankie Paul who was this season’s bachelorette having thrown a chair at her partner Dakota Mortensen in the vicinity of one of her children creating situation that was caught on video and made its rounds on the internet.Credit: DisneyWhile Paul’s 2023 arrest was public knowledge when she was cast, the visceral nature of the newly surfaced footage changed the math for Disney, with D’Amaro having built his reputation on the “Magic” and safety of Disney Parks, making the optics insurmountable. As a result ABC pulled the show and made the following announcement stating “In light of the newly released video just surfaced today, we have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of The Bachelorette at this time, and our focus is on supporting the family,” with “at this time” suggesting the season may be aired eventually though there is an open police investigation involving Paul and Mortensen.The $50 Million Sunk CostThe financial implications of this decision are staggering, with scrapping a season of The Bachelorette not being like canceling a show in development, but rather representing a “finished product” ready for delivery. Industry analysts estimate the “sunk cost” of the decision at upwards of $50 million, broken down into three devastating categories, including production costs of $25 million to $30 million, marketing and ad spend of $10 million to $15 million, and lost ad revenue and “make-goods” of $20 million or more.The Bachelorette is a cornerstone of ABC’s summer ad revenue, and by pulling the show three days before the premiere, Disney left a massive hole in the Sunday night schedule, with the company now owing “make-goods” to major sponsors who had bought premium slots, likely requiring Disney to give away free ad time on other properties to compensate for the loss.The Current Bachelorette ReplacementsOn Sunday, March 22, a two-hour repeat of American Idol took its place as ABC scrambled to find an immediate programming solution. This past Sunday, watchers saw that ABC decided to fill the spot with old episodes of American Idol. This coming Sunday, repeats of America’s Funniest Home Videos and The Greatest Average American will air from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., suggesting ABC will choose replacements on a week-by-week basis rather than implement a permanent solution.The Dancing with the Stars SpeculationABC has reportedly been scrambling to figure out what will replace The Bachelorette on Sunday nights now that it has been pulled, with American Idol apparently not being necessarily a permanent solution. “The execs at Disney, many of whom are newer in their roles and did not want to step into their new positions with this mess, are livid,” a source tells The Sun, adding that “The network is obsessively scrambling to find programming to fill in the Sunday night timeslots. There have already been dozens of crisis talks and last-minute meetings amongst different show crews to see how they can remotely salvage this situation. They’ve talked with other ABC shows to see what can be done.”Credit: DisneyIIt’s possible that Idol could move to two nights a week for the rest of the season, while the DWTS crew is considering last-minute options for Sunday nights. Fans speculate that Dancing with the Stars might air an all-star season with returning champions, a special featuring pros without celebrity partners, or a live stream of the ongoing DWTS Live Tour. Judge Derek Hough hinted that something is in the works, but no official announcements have been made yet about Sunday night content.Credit: DisneyNo New Bachelorette SeasonAs for rumors that The Traitors star Maura Higgins could be tapped to film a live season of The Bachelorette that would go into production pretty much immediately, sources say the show simply is not coming back anytime soon. “Finding another Bachelorette and filming a new season is not at all being considered right now,” the source insists, explaining that “The amount of money it takes to put a whole season together is too high and it would take too long to scramble that together.”D’Amaro’s Brand First DoctrineThis move is the clearest indication yet of how Josh D’Amaro intends to lead with his time as Chairman of Disney Experiences, having established a reputation for obsession with the “Guest Experience” and brand integrity. Dana Walden, meanwhile, has spent years managing the complex egos and liabilities of the television world, with her alignment with D’Amaro on this decision showing a unified front.By sacrificing $50 million in a single afternoon, they have sent a message to the creative community that the brand is more valuable than the bottom line, with a veteran TV agent stating, “It was a brutal first move. Most leaders would have tried to edit around the controversy or push the premiere back. To kill the whole thing three days out? That’s a statement of power.”As The Bachelorette was scrapped from TV, many fans speculated about what the replacement would be, with ABC currently implementing a week-by-week format.The post Major ABC Programming Crisis After Bachelorette Disaster appeared first on Inside the Magic.