ABC sets a January 'Bachelor' return

Jake Pavelka's season is subtitled 'On the Wings of Love.' Feel free to mock.

Wednesday, Nov 4, 2009 4:46 PM

Daniel Fienberg

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Jake Pavelka of 'The Bachelor'

Credit: ABC

Jake Pavelka -- Who? -- will begin his quest for love when "The Bachelor" returns in January.

ABC had previously announced that former "Bachelorette" reject Pavelka would be the star of the ABC reality franchise's 14th installment, but the network is only now revealing that "The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love" will premiere with a two-hour episode from 8 to 10 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 4.

And yes, the new "Bachelor" season is subtitled "On the Wings of Love," because Pavelka's a commercial pilot.

Not only will Pavelka, a "Bachelorette" fan favorite even though Jillian Harris was ultimately less enthusiastic, weed his way through 25 bachelorettes to find a woman with whom he'd love to briefly be engaged, but he'll do so in HD. This will be the first "Bachelorette" season presented in 720p, ABC's preferred HDTV format.

As usual, "The Bachelor" will be hosted by Chris Harrison and executive produced by Mike Fleiss and Martin Hilton.