It seems like it was only just yesterday that Colton Underwood was announced to be the next star of The Bachelor, but here we are with an official premiere date! On Nov. 14, ABC confirmed that the new season of the beloved dating show will be Monday, Jan. 7.

TBH, we aren’t all that surprised. After all, early January has been a Bachelor staple for quite some time now. Last year, Arie Luyendyk, Jr.‘s season was dubbed “Janu-Arie,” and it kicked things off with a bang on Monday, Jan. 1. The year before that, Nick Viall‘s season premiered on Monday, Jan. 2, and Ben Higgins started his journey for love on Monday, Jan. 4.

View this post on Instagram

Time to find a wife ❤️

A post shared by Colton S. Underwood (@coltonunderwood) on

We have little doubt that Colton is ready to get back into the swing of things. Which shouldn’t be hard, since he’s been involved in Bachelor Nation for pretty much eight months straight since he started filming The Bachelorette back in March — even sooner if you count his weekend getaway with Tia Booth before he was even cast. Speaking of Tia, don’t expect to see her back on the show any time soon. She made it pretty clear on Twitter that, regardless of whatever lingering feelings she has for Colton, she’s not going to be making another appearance.

As for the women who will be on the show, well, you’re in luck! All 30 of the beauties have been announced and we’re so excited to meet them! Obviously, we’re not trying to shade anyone, but we have to say there’s definitely a few standouts! In fact, On Sept. 20, Ellen DeGeneres introduced us to the first 3 contestants — Sydney, Annie, and Katie — who will be competing on Colton’s season and they were really sweet. Hmmm, foreshadowing, anyone? 

Then again, when it comes to this series… you really never know how are things are going to pan out! Get ready ladies and gents, we have just under two months to prepare.