ABC'S SIZZLING SUMMER GUILTY PLEASURES 'THE BACHELORETTE' AND 'BACHELOR IN PARADISE' PICKED UP FOR NEW SEASONS

The No. 1 Show of Summer 'The Bachelorette' to Return for Season 16, and Fan-Favorite 'Bachelor in Paradise' Picked Up for Season Seven

ABC announced today at the network's Television Critics Association presentation that the No. 1 show of summer, "The Bachelorette," was picked up for its 16th season, and summer's guiltiest pleasure, "Bachelor in Paradise," will return for its seventh season.

Last week, the dramatic 15th season of "The Bachelorette," featuring Hannah Brown, aired its shocking season finale with a surprise breakup and potential rekindled romance. The season finale telecast grew year over year by 17% among Adults 18-49 to post the show's highest-rated telecast in two years and delivered a season-high 2.2 million total social interactions.

The highly anticipated sixth season of "Bachelor in Paradise" will premiere tonight, MONDAY, AUG. 5 (8:00-10:01 p.m. EDT), on ABC. (TV-PG, DL) Episodes can also be viewed the next day on ABC.com, the ABC app and Hulu. Last summer, "Bachelor in Paradise" led its Monday night time period and stood as the night's No. 1 series across all key Adult demos (A18-34/A18-49/A25-54). In fact, "Bachelor in Paradise" was Monday's No. 1 series on 4 of its 5 telecasts with Adults 18-49. The series' Tuesday-night run stood as last summer's No. 1 program of the night among Women 18-34.

These "Bachelor" franchise properties join the already announced 24th season of "The Bachelor," which will also return in 2020. During its 2019 run, featuring Colton Underwood, "The Bachelor" ranked as Monday's No. 1 TV program in Adults 18-34, Women 18-34 and Women 18-49, standing as the night's top-rated series on each of its 10 telecasts of the season.

Hosted by Chris Harrison, "The Bachelorette" is a production of Next Entertainment in association with Warner Horizon Unscripted Television. Mike Fleiss, Martin Hilton, Nicole Woods, Bennett Graebner, Peter Gust, Tim Warner, Louis Caric and Peter Geist are the executive producers.

Also hosted by Chris Harrison, "Bachelor in Paradise" is a production of Next Entertainment in association with Warner Horizon Unscripted Television. Mike Fleiss, Martin Hilton, Nicole Woods, Tim Warner, Louis Caric and Peter Geist are the executive producers.