Season 17 of ‘The Bachelorette’ star, Katie Thurston, alongside Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe (Photo: ABC’s The Bachelor)

Our guilty pleasure has returned and Mondays are once again a rose-filled affair, yet the show’s longest-running host isn’t there. Season 17 of The Bachelorette kicked off with a new voice, literally. The franchise staple, Chris Harrison, is no longer there to introduce what is always pegged to be the “craziest season yet.” Katie Thurston, our latest Bachelorette, set out on her journey to find “the one” alongside her “girl gang.” Tayshia Adams from last season and Kaitlyn Bristowe from the 2015 season — are guiding Thurston through her matchmaking journey. The 30-year-old marketing manager from Washington began her journey meeting 30 possible suitors. With all the new changes afoot fans are enjoying Harrison’s replacements on the popular dating show.

Harrison is “stepping back” from the show after a controversy. During Matt James’s 2021 season of The Bachelor, Harrison defended James’s top contestant Rachael Kirkconnell after she had racially insensitive social media posts come to light. Kirkconnell’s past — uncovered by fans — found out that she’d “liked” a post of friends posing in front of a Confederate flag, shared an Instagram post whose language echoed the QAnon extremist ideology, dressed in traditional American Indian garments, and attended an “Old South” antebellum-themed party in college in 2018. After apologizing for how he handled the revelations, Harrison announced he would step away from hosting the Bachelor shows, including this season of The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise. In nearly 20 years of ABC’s popular reality-dating shows, this is the first season without Harrison. 

The network’s franchise received a surge of backlash before, during, and after James’s seasons due to ongoing diversity issues. Former contestants on James’s season and former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay all spoke out about the show’s inconsistencies. Nonetheless, viewers still tuned in last night to escape to Bachelor Nation where its latest adventure includes men in catsuits, virgins, and giant gift boxes. Whether you love to watch or love to hate-watch, this new season of The Bachelorette sees a few changes. “I wanted my experience to be true to myself and great for the men who were joining me as well as Bachelor Nation,” Thurston tells The Hollywood Reporter. “And I think that was really taken into consideration and worked out. I expressed what I wanted with my journey, and I think I was listened to. As [viewers will see] with the first episode, it feels different. I have a great group of guys and I think Bachelor Nation is going to be really excited to watch that and see a change.”