To say it's 'the end of an era' feels like a massive understatement.

After countless contestants and 23 Bachelors and Bachelorettes who took the helm of the show, Channel 10 has confirmed the end of the Bachie franchise, along with other long-running show,The Masked Singer.

"Network 10 will be packing away the masks and roses this year, confirming thatThe Masked SingerandThe Bachelorfranchises won't appear in its program schedule," a spokesperson told Mumbrella.

The Bachelorpremiered in 2013 with Tim Robards as the first man to lead the Aussie adaption of the popular US series. Sam Frost would debut as the star of Australia's first season ofThe Bachelorettein 2015, with another seven ladies to follow in her Tony Bianco shoes.

For the first handful of seasons, both shows were wildly popular across Australia, with each episode dissected as a water cooler topic and the finale episodes viewed by more than 1 million people.

These were the glory days of Bachie, but in recent years (*cough* from 2021 onwards *cough*) the quality of the series took a steep nosedive — as did the show's ratings.

Which leaves only one question: which was the verybestseason of all the iterations of Bachie? I've been writing about this show for more than a decade and feel more than qualified for the task of ranking everyThe Bachelor/sandThe Bachelorette.

FYI: Just so we're very clear, this isnota ranking of the people but their seasons as a whole. Without further ado, let's go...

18. Wes Senna Cortes, Ben Waddell and Luke Bateman.

I'm going to be honest with you: I barely watched this season ofThe Bachelors. But I clearly wasn't alone, given the show has been cancelled after this, the latest season, brought in the lowest ratings in the history of the franchise.

Sorry to these men, it's nothing personal (except Wes, I didn't like his vibe) — they were simply aboard a sinking ship.

17. Felix Von Hofe, Jed McIntosh and Thomas Malucelli.

I did watch this season! And look, it was interesting...

The 'three-men leading one show' schtick was quite fun at first, but the novelty quickly wore off when we realised that none of these guys would have been chosen to be a single Bachelor in their own right. Perhaps with the exception of Jed, who I actually thought was a refreshing pivot, as he was funny, emotionally intelligent and filled that emo void the show was missing.

In news that was shocking to no one, none of the men ended up with their chosen ladies for long after the show ended. I don't remember the women's names either.

16. Elly and Becky Miles.

The fact that when I was compiling this list I completely forgot about this season says A LOT.

But it definitely... happened.

Elly found a following on Matt Agnew's season as the country gal with a heart of gold, but then she was cast alongside her sister Becky and we... ummm... we didn't know this dame.

Overall, the season was lacking drama and memorable moments. Sadly, the sisters didn't have much luck on the show, as both women split from their chosen men shortly after the finale was filmed.

15. Jimmy Nicholson.

If Ellie and Becky were the downfall ofThe Bachelorette, sadly Jimmy the pilot might have been the last straw forThe Bachelorin 2021.

He was... fine. Like, lovely guy, but didn't bring much personality to the role. The season was saved by a sliver of drama, thanks to one of the women referring to future winner Holly Kingston as a 'c**t', but that's as wild as the season ever got.

14. Ali Oetjen.

Ali first appeared back in season one, and after a stint onBachelor In Paradise, she was cast as the next Bachelorette. And look, in Ali's defence, she wasn't given the best bunch of men to work with... they were kinda duds, including her winner Taite Radley.

The only saving grace was Bill 'Dog Park' Goldsmith debuting on this season, a man who would go on to be a baffling character on bothThe BacheloretteandBachelor In Paradise.

13. Locky Gilbert.

Locky answered the question no one asked: can aSurvivorcontestant translate toThe Bacheloruniverse?

The answer was no.

He did have lockdown working against him (yep, part of the season was filmed virtually, the horror) but Locky proved to be one of the dullest Bachelors in the history of the show and also the only man to tell BOTH finalists that he loved them. Not kidding.

But luckily for him, his season was marginally improved by the women, namely winner Irena Srbinovska and runner-up Bella Varelis, who began their season as besties but ended up barely speaking due to a mid-season feud.

12. Brooke Blurton.

Brooke made history in multiple ways: she was the first bisexual and woman of colour to be cast as Australia's leading lady onThe Bachelorette. Brooke proved the perfect addition to the franchise. She was warm, kind, witty and wise beyond her years, but sadly... she was matched with a bunch of people she didn't seem to click with.

There were season standouts, like sensitive carpenter Konrad Bien-Stephen and charming NRL cheerleader Holly Langford, but ultimately, Brooke chose Persian prince Darvide Garayeli. But the couple weren't meant to be, splitting a few months after the finale aired.

11. Tim Robards.

This was the season that started it all. In many ways, Tim was the perfect first Bachelor: he was handsome, kind, sweet and he had a normal job! Tim was a humble chiropractor.

Yes, back in the early days, the Bachelor wasn't an influencer, sports star or MLM schemer. He was just a regular, very good-looking bloke.

Tim's season offered a wholesome take onThe Bachelorconcept — it was relatively low on drama and memorable moments but high on genuine love stories.

Of course, Tim met his wife and mother of his two daughters, Anna Heinrich, on season one. Cute!

10. Blake Garvey.

Now we're cooking! These top 10 are arguably the most iconic seasons in Australian reality TV history. And we're starting with the big dog: Blake 'I propose to women then dump them' Garvey.

This season may have ended in absolute mayhem, with Blake ditching his chosen lady (and incoming Bachelorette) Sam Frost for his third-placer Louise Pillidge, but the entire season brought with it nonstop iconic moments.

After all, this was the season to introduce Laurina Fleure into Australian homes — a woman who would utter the most important three words in reality TV history: dirty street pie. I HAVE CHILLS.

The phrase came out after Laurina had expected Blake to take her on a luxurious dinner date but instead, he planned for the twosome to eat from a pie truck on the street. Yes, a dirty street pie. Only the BEST for our Bachie queen.

9. Angie Kent.

Now THIS was a refreshingly different season ofThe Bachelorette.GoogleboxandI'm a Celebstar Angie was a breath of fresh air for the franchise, as a hilariously loose leading lady with a penchant for feminist musings.

This is what we asked for and the Bachie Gods delivered.

Along with Angie just being a flawless Bachelorette, the season featured English lad Ciarran Stott, who would go on to wreak havoc onBachelor In Paradise,and runner-up Timm Hanly, who was as rogue as they come.

Sadly, the men weren't quite on Angie's level and even though she left with Carlin Sterritt, they split after a year.

8. Nick Cummins.

He might have chosen precisely no one in the finale, but there's no denying Nick 'Honey Badger' Cummins' season ofThe Bachelorwas one for the history books.

Firstly, it introduced Australia to Brittany Hockley, host ofLife Uncut, along with future Bachelorette Brooke Blurton. Secondly, the season featured arguably the biggest 'villains' on the series, with the 'mean girls' clique': Cat Henesy, Romy Poulier and Alisha Aitken-Radburn.

In the case of Cat, Nick kicked her out of the mansion for 's**t stirring'. The season was dramatic, sure, but it wasn't always enjoyable to witness how unkind some of the women were to each other without any genuine love stories to balance it out.

7. Sam Frost.

The first season ofThe Bacheloretteset a sky-high standard, and this season truly had it all: a loveable leading lady in Sam Frost, husband material in eventual winner Sasha Mielczarek, a cartoon villain in 'international model' David Witko, and an adorable underdog in Richie Strahan.

Richie found a strong following for his hilarious antics with Sam, making the finale extra tense for viewers when Sam chose Sasha. Richie would be announced as the following year's Bachelor, while Sam and Sasha parted ways after 18 months together.

6. Matt Agnew.

"I'm an astrophysicist."

"Okay, I'm a Gemini."

These words were uttered by Abbie Chatfield during the premiere of Matt Agnew's season ofThe Bachelorette,setting the tone for one sensational season. It was a delightful return to form after a divisive 2018 Honey Badger season, with Matt being a sweet, smart and goofy addition to the franchise.

And then there was the drama... Oh boy, the drama.

Six words and a whole lot of fallout: "She called you a dog c**t." These words were shared by Abbie, who claimed that an intruder had described the Bachie in these undignified (but... very funny) terms.

But the season also featured genuine love stories with viewers divided over whether Abbie or eventual winner Chelsea McLeod was the correct choice for the astrophysicist. There hadn't been such an uproar over which woman should win since our number three spot, but we'll get there...

5. Sam Wood.

This is what we came for. Sam and Snezana Markoski were the ultimate Australian love story.

He was a personal trainer. She was a mum-of-one. Can I make it any more obvious?

These two met, the stars aligned, and it was clear in most viewers' minds that Snez was endgame. But it was still a fun journey all the same, with breakout stars like the kooky Sandra Rato and the charismatic Heather Maltman starring in the third season ofThe Bachelorand elevating the series to