'The Bachelor' casts Grant Ellis as Season 29 lead in surprise announcement (2024)

The Bachelor franchise switched things up for Jenn Tran’s season of The Bachelorette with a new mansion and a new largely abroad season, and six episodes into Season 21, the surprises just keep coming.

In an unexpectedly early announcement, ABC revealed The Bachelor Season 29 lead before Tran even headed to Hometown Dates. It’s typical for new show leads to be shared later in a season, especially since Top 4 fan-favorite contestants are often eyed to return to screen. But one of Tran’s final four guys — Devin Strader, Marcus Shoberg, Jonathon Johnson, and Jeremy Simon — wasn’t selected to head his own season. In a twist, The Bachelor Season 29 lead will be Grant Ellis, who said a heartbreaking goodbye to Tran at the end of Episode 6.

In a press release shared with Decider on Monday night, ABC explained, “After an emotional exit, Grant Ellis’ journey to find love will continue as he takes on the role of leading man for the upcoming 29^thseason of The Bachelor. The adventurous day trader, who captured the hearts of Bachelor Nation with his genuine desire to build a future centered around family on Jenn’s season of The Bachelorette, will be handing out roses when his season premieres next year on ABC.”

Per Ellis’ official Bachelor bio, the 30-year-old from Houston, Texas is “a self-proclaimed mama’s boy” with an “infectious smile and unwavering positivity” who “instantly brightens every room he enters.”

“The former pro basketball player is passionate about his career as a day trader, but when he’s not immersed in the fast-paced world of finance, you can find him cheering on the Lakers, hitting strikes at the bowling alley, or belting out tunes at karaoke nights,” the bio continues. “As the Bachelor, Ellis is eager to embark on a journey filled with romance, adventure, and genuine connections. He hopes to find a partner who shares his values of loyalty, humor and a deep appreciation for life’s simple pleasures.”

On the heels of Jenn Tran’s historic season as the first Asian American Bachelorette lead, Ellis’ casting marks another promising step towards inclusive, diverse casting for the franchise, which has come under fire for mishandling issues related to race in the past. In a June 2024 interview with theLos Angeles Times, executive producers Claire Freeland and Bennett Graebner addressed major missteps during The Bachelor Season 25, which featured the show’s first Black lead, Matt James, admitting that the season was mishandled on many levels.

“I’m going to be really frank — we let Matt down,” Graebner said. “That season went wrong on so many levels. We did not protect him as we should have. The finale of that season was the darkest day I’ve had on this franchise. Here was this great Black man, and we should have been celebrating his love story. Instead, what we saw was a man burdened and overwhelmed by issues of racism. It was really sad for me personally.”

“It’s hard to say out loud, that people of color didn’t see themselves represented, that they did not seeThe Bachelorfranchise as a safe place,” Graebner told theLA Times. “We didn’t have a Black lead in this franchise for 15 years, and that’s inexcusable. It created a vicious cycle, and it’s taken a lot of work to get back to a place where we feel at least we’re working for the positive.”

During a conversation with Decider in February 2024, Bachelor producers vowed that highlighting diverse stories would be a priority moving forward, so it’s reassuring to see Ellis cast so soon after that statement. (Though it’s a bit confusing why the announcement happened in such an unconventional way.) That said, those behind the franchise must continue proving to Bachelor Nation, contestants, and leads that the change and progress is ongoing.

For those who need a refresher on Ellis’ Bachelorette journey, Decider has you covered. During his Night 1 intro video, the Bachelor to be revealed that he’s been playing basketball since he was eight years old and was the first Division I signee at his high school. “I ended up graduating from Albertus Magnus College and then I went oversees as a professional athlete,” Ellis told viewers. “But then I got injured, so my career ended.” After his memorable limo exit, Grant stole Jenn later in the night to shoot some hoops and as the season progressed, the two got to know each other a bit better, with Ellis getting an Episode 5 one-on-one.

Ellis and Tran went horseback riding in Muriwai and had a rainy “perfectly imperfect” picnic on the beach where they started to dig deeper into their relationship hopes and formative life experiences. At dinner, the future Bachelor lead shared that his father was an addict for 30 years, which left him with trust issues. After his dad recently got fired from his job and Ellis told him off, however, his dad called him the following day to say he checked himself into rehab. He’s a little under two months sober now, and Ellis said he’s enjoyed getting to know him all over again.

Tran told Ellis that standing by his dad’s side all those years spoke volumes about him as a person. The two touched on sensitive, serious topics — from racism and sexism to emotional abuse. And Ellis said he’s on a mission to be the man that his father wasn’t. He fell hard for Tran, even shedding a few tears before his emotional exit, so it’s clear he believes in the process and is ready to find his person.

If you’re looking to stay up-to-date with Ellis outside of the show, follow him on Instagram at@grantellis__, where he had 8,000 followers ahead of his Bachelor announcement. The Bachelor Season 28 premiered on January 22, 2024, and while an exact Season 29 date has yet to be revealed, fans can expect the series to return in 2025.

While we wait to learn more details about The Bachelor Season 29, be sure to tune in to new episodes of The Bachelorette Season 21 Mondays at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC to see how Jenn Tran’s journey to find love turns out.