Elizabeth Wagmeister Chief Correspondent “The Bachelorette” launched its 20th season Monday night, marking the first season to air without franchise creator Mike Fleiss on board — except Fleiss’ name still appeared when the credits rolled.
During the ending credits at the conclusion of the episode, the very last name to appear on-screen was Fleiss’ accompanied by the words “created by.” Unlike past seasons, Fleiss was not credited as an “executive producer” and his production company, Next Entertainment, was not listed.
In former seasons, Fleiss’ name appeared first on the credits, instead of last. A source tells Variety that the “created by” credit is contractual because Fleiss is still the creator of “The Bachelor” franchise, regardless of his departure. (Across the industry, both in scripted and unscripted programming, it’s typical for creators to be listed on their projects, even if they no longer work on the show.) Warner Bros.
TV declined to comment. Fleiss parted ways with his own franchise earlier this year. No reason was given for his exit at the time, but Variety reported that an HR investigation into allegations of racial discrimination and bullying behavior led to the creator’s departure.
Read more on variety.com