American TV franchise The Bachelor has cast its first black lead, according to multiple reports.
Rachel Lindsay will star in the next season of The Bachelorette after not being chosen by the current season's star Nick Viall, according to US media.
It marks the first time a person of colour will be the lead in 21 Bachelor seasons and 12 Bachelorette seasons.
Lindsay, a lawyer from Texas, is one of the 30 women who featured in the 21st season of ABC's The Bachelor, which is still currently airing. She has made the final six and is yet to be eliminated.
The US version of the show has copped criticism for its lack of diverse casting, especially among the leads. While an African-American man or woman has never led the series, the only non-white lead was the Juan Pablo Galavis in Season 18.
Last year, ABC boss Paul Lee told the Television Critics Association the network was "doing a whole lot of tweaks" and that he'd "be very surprised if the Bachelorette in the summer isn't diverse".
The current season of The Bachelor has had the most diverse pool of contestants - Viall's original 30 ladies included eight non-white contestants.
Meanwhile, the New Zealand version of The Bachelor is set to return to Three soon.
Newshub.
