MIke Fleiss talks return of 'Bachelor Pad' on InsideTV Podcast

While Desiree is spending this summer avoiding bad white boy rapping and suitors obsessed with hashtags and high fives on The Bachelorette, fans of the franchise have been mourning the loss of the guiltiest of guilty pleasures, Bachelor Pad, which will not be returning to ABC’s schedule this August, where it has resided for the past three years.

But Bachelor/Bachelorette exec producer Mike Fleiss dropped a bombshell on Jessica Shaw and me when he called in to chat on Entertainment Weekly’s new SiriusXM channel 105. “I love Bachelor Pad,” said Fleiss. “I thought it might be good to give it a break for a little while — let the fans starve for it a little bit so that next summer when it comes back…” WAIT, WHAT?!? Bachelor Pad is coming back? “I have a good feeling it will be back next summer,” revealed Fleiss. “I really wanted to give it a break because I did not feel like we had enough superstars to populate the pad.” By “populate” we’re pretty sure he means spread sexually transmitted diseases, but there’s no need to get into technicalities. The point is, plenty of bimbos and himbos could be back in work in 2014! Mike Fleiss: job creator!

To hear Fleiss talk about the return of Bachelor Pad, the biggest differences between The Bachelor and Bachelorette, the horrific “Right Reasons” rap from last week, and all the drama set to go down on Monday night with the arrival of one of the suitor’s girlfriends, then click on the audio player below for more.

But first, Jenna Morasca and I check in with Walking Dead star Norman Reedus, who calls in from just outside Atlanta, where he is currently filming season 4 of the AMC zombie drama. What will be different when the show returns? Well, Reedus promises that the zombies will be way scarier than anything we have seen before, and also talks about what it’s like working for the drama’s third showrunner, Scott Gimple.

Then, Jessica and I talk with Tatiana Maslany, the outstanding star of BBC America’s Orphan Black. Maslany tells us all about playing seven different clone characters — the one that’s the most fun to play, her music playlists for each, and which one is most like her. It’s a revealing chat with the up and coming star from the show everyone is talking about.

To listen in on the whole thing, just click on the video player below. You can also download the entire podcast right here. Or, since we’re on iTunes, you can subscribe for free and take the podcast with you. No iTunes? No problem. To send a question to the InsideTV Podcast team, follow us on Twitter @InsideTVPodcast. And to hear more interviews and television discussion and debate, check out Entertainment Weekly Radio channel 105 on SiriusXM.