'Bachelor in Paradise' Season 2 Is Due This Summer

There's not much of a reason to get sad about the end of this season of The Bachelor. First of all, the season was, well, kind of a mess — from all the women who showed up just to mess with ABC, to how boring Chris Soules could be. And if you were a fan of any of the cast members on this season, there's a good chance that they'll be asked back for either The Bachelorette or Bachelor in Paradise Season 2. Oh, did you forget about Bachelor in Paradise? I know I didn't, but that might just be because it was maybe my favorite part of 2014. (It was not a great year.) Anyway, there's no two ways around it: Bachelor in Paradise Season 2 will premiere later this year, but we still have a long way to wait. In case you forgot, BiP takes its cast from the previous seasons of Bachelor and Bachelorette, and it doesn't air until after the most recent season of Bachelorette, which times it out to late summer 2015.

But Bachelor in Paradise is truly the crown jewel of the ABC reality TV empire, so it's worth the wait. It's impossible to screw up totally, but the more they stick to the main things that appealed about the first season, the better it will turn out. And those things aren't necessarily what the producers would assume. For example, I don't ever need to see a treacly love story like Marcus and Lacy's again. But Ashlee and Graham's bananas back-and-forth? Yes, please!

1. There Needs to Be Backstage Drama

The bizarre account of Michelle K. hooking up with a sound guy in her hotel room who jumped out of the window, 30 feet off of the ground, breaking both of his ankles, was a truly unexpected way to start the season off, and their reenactments (complete with a narrator who could not stop laughing) were gold.

2. Someone Needs to Do a Solo Date

Might I recommend Ashley I. from the most recent Bach season? We know she loves hamming it up for the cameras, so she'd be more than willing to navigate her very own solo date. Plus, no real date means not having to worry about onion breath.

3. Pre-Show Instagramming

When the cast would show up with preconceived notions of who they wanted to hook up with, I was delighted. Obviously Ashlee was the greatest example, since she basically showed up expecting to get engaged to Graham, but they all had some preconceived notions.

4. Deeply Psychologically Uncomfortable Dates

They made the recently and messily divorced Michelle Money put on a wedding dress and take demo wedding photos on her first date with Cody. A therapist could unpack that idea for months.

5. Raccoon Reaction Shots

Of course. The best. Any other two-word sentences apply. I can't. So amazing. Unbelievable editing. Etc. PLEASE INCLUDE.

Image: Francisco Roman/ABC