The idea of Hannah Brown returning for a second season as Bachelorette has been batted around a lot in recent months, and fans seem split on the idea.
Some say Brown had her chance, and if she wound up with a dud in the end, then she has no one to blame but herself.
Others insist that Hannah got a raw deal, as she learned that Jed Wyatt had a secret girlfriend waiting at home only after she handed him her final rose.
(Of course, it's worth noting that Jed was a walking red flag from the start, and Hannah is the one who allowed Wyatt and freakin' Luke P. to make it all the way to her final four.)
Whatever the case, the debate is helping Hannah's chances, as nothing attracts ratings quite like controversy.
When Hannah returned to The Bachelor for a segment on Peter Weber's season, social media went wild, and you can bet the show's producers took notice.
According to a new report from top Bachelor/Bachelorette source Reality Steve, Brown is currently the “top choice” to star in the 2020 season of The Bachelorette.
But there's a snag in the plan -- it seems Hannah B. is holding out for a bigger payday:
“They couldn’t agree on money apparently and she’s out unless something drastic happens,” Steve wrote on his blog this week.
“That’s the latest I have on Bachelorette,” he added.
“A decision should be made within the next week or so on who they end up choosing.”
The report jibes with recent rumors that the next Bachelorette will not be chosen from Peter's group of contestants, as the show's producers weren't particularly wowed by any of the women.
ABC exec Robb Mills came close to confirming those claims in a recent interview in which he praised the way that cast members from previous seasons supported one another before complaing that “support seemed to be rather absent this season."
There are two important aspects of Reality Steve's report to consider.
1. Steve has been wrong in the past, but it's rare -- especially when he's talking about a story that's this consequential in the world of Bachelor Nation
2. He seems to believe that salary negotiations are the only thing that could possibly prevent Hannah from signing on for a second season of getting gaslit by born-again bros with Napoleonic complexes.
If that's really the case, then buckle up, Hannah haters -- Beast Mode Brown will be handing out roses again in the very near future.
Right now, she's riding high -- Hannah won Dancing With the Stars in November, and she recently moved to Los Angeles with vague plans to make it as a professional media person.
But in time she'll realize that there's not a ton of demand for a former pageant contestant who's top talent is being sort of bubbly on camera.
Details of the negotiations are scarce, but Bachelorette is a prety sweet gig, as the star of the show usually pulls in around $100,000 for about two months of filming.
Can Hannah afford to pass up that kind of cash at this point in her "career"?
Probably not. In all likelihood, she's just playing hardball in hopes that execs will eventually return to the bargaining table with a sweeter deal.
Of course, if that's the case she may want reach an agreement soon, as it seems that producers are considering alternatives -- and the competition looks to be heating up:
