After a five month delay, Season 16 of “The Bachelorette” finally premiered on October 13 on ABC. This season follows lead Clare Crawley on her journey to (hopefully) find love.

Due to COVID-19, filming took place at La Quinta Resort in Palm Springs rather than the typical Bachelor Mansion. Contestants had to quarantine for two weeks upon arrival in separate rooms and receive multiple negative COVID-19 test results before filming could begin. Once all participants were cleared, they were able to continue the show as normal, without masks and social distancing. However, the usual international trips were cancelled and all dates remained within La Quinta’s grounds.

Following a disastrous season of “The Bachelor” last spring, featuring lead Peter Weber, 29, who struggled to choose between a bunch of immature girls as they fought over champagne and designer clothes, Bachelor Nation called for an older cast. The producers certainly delivered with Crawley, who is 39 and the oldest Bachelorette yet. However, that hasn’t stopped there from being a whole lot of drama already.

Before the premiere aired, there was some speculation from fans that Crawley quit the show in the middle of filming because she believed that she already found her husband, and another lead had to be brought in to finish the season. These rumors started after Bachelor franchise blogger Reality Steve leaked this theory on Twitter.

In the first episode, there were several signs implying that Reality Steve was right. After meeting contestant Dale Moss for the roughly ten second limo exit and hug, Crawley claimed that she had found her match. Moss is then given the first impression rose, and by the second week, Crawley already admits that he is the contestant that she is most excited to get to know. In the end-of-episode teaser for the season, contestants are shown questioning whether they will get to meet another Bachelorette to continue the season.

As a lead, Crawley is somewhat disappointing. She spends most of her time yelling at the contestants for not knowing when to talk to her on group dates and rewards those who break the rules of the show. However, a great cast of contestants and host Chris Harrison’s dad jokes make up for what is lacking.

Since this season of “The Bachelorette” now coincides with the professional football season, episodes air on Tuesday nights at 8 pm on ABC instead of the usual Mondays. Tune in, because this could be the most dramatic season yet.