Billy Eichner Volunteered To Be The Lead On A Gay Season Of 'The Bachelor'

The Bachelor has been on the air for 17 years, but in all of its 23 seasons or its similarly long-running spinoffs, the iconic reality dating show has never featured a gay romance. But Billy Eichner may change that. Eichner appeared on Monday night's new episode of The Bachelor, and his brief stint chatting with host Chris Harrison and current bachelor Colton Underwood led to the question of why there has yet to be a gay season of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette. Now, Billy Eichner wants to be the bachelor on a new gay season of the show, and it sounds like the perfect way to really shake up the long-running dating series.

On Monday's new episode of The Bachelor, Billy Eichner injected some new life into the show by bringing up some real questions about sexuality, which are rarely ever seriously discussed on The Bachelor or its spinoffs. Eichner joked that Colton should come out as gay in the middle of the season to really deliver the most dramatic season ever. Of course, Eichner's idea was just a fun joke, but it was a telling reminder about how overwhelmingly heteronormative The Bachelor has always been. Isn't it about time that the dating franchise acknowledge members of the LGBTQ+ community in its shows?

As Billy Eichner's episode aired, the comedian took to Twitter to pitch his idea for the first gay season of The Bachelor, even dropping a wink-y "I'm single..." to hint that he would be down to be the bachelor for the season.

While The Bachelor is obviously the king of reality dating shows, there have only ever been a handful of gay dating shows, and they never stuck around passed one season. The most recent example is Logo's Finding Prince Charming, which debuted in 2016 and has yet to announce a second season. One of Billy Eichner's followers suggested that he should be the star of a potential second season of Finding Prince Charming, but Eichner responded that he is adamant on being on The Bachelor and The Bachelor only.

So, what are the odds that we get to see Billy Eichner handing out roses to the men of his dreams on ABC? Well, hopefully The Bachelor franchise does expand its idea of love and romance in future seasons of the show, but it probably won't be with Eichner at the center. Several celebrities have voiced their interest in being on The Bachelor or The Bachelorette in the past, but the dating shows have never actually gone through with bringing on a celebrity bachelor. Instead, the shows constantly feed on themselves, turning fan favorite contestants from past seasons into each new bachelor or bachelorette.

But then again, since The Bachelorette has never featured an out gay man as a contestant, the franchise would have to look elsewhere for a potential gay season of the show — and Billy Eichner seems like a perfect choice. Now that the idea is out there, we will just have to wait and see if ABC jumps on it.