THE BACHELOR creator Mike Fleiss has officially left the franchise after 20 years.
Monday night's finale episode marked the producer's final season with the dating show amid poor ratings from fans.
On Tuesday, Dateline revealed that Mike, 58, has stepped down from his role at The Bachelor.
Longtime producers Claire Freeland, Jason Ehrlich, and Bennett Graebner will take over as the executive producers for the ABC show.
He told Dateline: “First and foremost, congratulations are in order for Zach and Kaity. I wish them a long and happy life together. I want to thank WBTV and ABC for 21 extraordinary years. They’ve found the perfect creative team for me to entrust The Bachelor franchise and keep this lightning in a bottle bold and moving forward. Let the journey continue."
Mike was one of the original creators of The Bachelor, which debuted in 2002.
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He also contributed creative direction to The Bachelorette which launched a year later.
SEASON 27 BUST?
Amid Mike's departure, the franchise has received harsh feedback from fans who believed season 27 with lead Zach Shallcross was the "worst ever."
Monday night saw Zach, 26, propose to contestant Kaity Biggar after sending home a tearful Gabi Elnicki.
Not only were fans appalled by the season lead's behavior, slamming him for "gaslighting" and "lying" through every episode, but they also found fault in the show's production quality.
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AUDIO ISSUES
Dozens were left furious with ABC after the audio cut out, leading to minutes of radio silence during the explosive finale.
Viewers tuning in were eager to see star Zach Shallcross introduce Gabi Elnicki and Kaity Biggar to his family.
He introduced them to his mother, father, and two sisters before taking Kaity and Gabi each on a solo date.
Zach and Kaity headed off on a hike in Thailand before he and Gabi stepped out for a horseback riding adventure.
Almost as soon as their date began, the show's audio cut out and left fans able to see what was happening but missing out on much of the conversation.
FAN BACKLASH
Viewers flocked to Twitter to slam ABC over the snafu.
One viewer wrote: "It’s always nice when I’m watching tv and the audio just straight up stops working. Nice job @ABCNetwork @BachelorABC, you only COMPLETELY dropped the ball."
A second Bachelor Nation fan wrote: "Umm did anyone else lose sound and CC?"
A third fan tweeted: "Me trying my best to lip read rn."
Someone else chimed in: "Just goes to show you how gone to s**t this entire franchise has gotten…no sound. I can hear all the cries of failed relationships of the past cry out in agony."
Bachelor host Jesse Palmer, who stepped in after Chris Harrison was ousted amid controversy, addressed the issue during the live portion of Monday's show.
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“Apologies for the technical difficulties earlier but we are back on track now and don’t worry because you didn’t miss anything except another shot of Zach in the shower and there are plenty more to come," he said with a laugh.
Back in January, Zach's season premiere delivered the worst ratings of all time, and left fans begging for ABC to "cancel" the show for good.
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