After years and years of teasing it would happen, ABC has finally given the greenlight to its long-awaited senior citizen season of “The Bachelor.”
This fall, one lucky older man will embark on a journey to find love, flipping the formula of “The Bachelor” franchise, which for more than two decades has starred 20-something and barely 30-something singles.
The new series will be called “The Golden Bachelor.” The leading man has yet to be announced, and his cast of female suitors will be announced at a late date.
ABC describes the new series as showcasing a “whole new kind of love story — one for the golden years.” The network’s synopsis says a “hopeless romantic is given a second chance at love in the search for a partner with whom to share the sunset years of life. The women arriving at the mansion have a lifetime of experience, living through love, loss and laughter, hoping for a spark that ignites a future full of endless possibilities. In the end, will our Golden man turn the page to start a new chapter with the woman of his dreams?”
Execs behind “The Bachelor” have been hot on the idea of a senior citizen “Bachelor” season for quite some time, but the series has been waiting on the back burner for years.
It seems the writers strike pushed ABC over the edge, as the network is now leaning heavily on unscripted content, bolstering their fall 2023 schedule with reality shows. That means “The Golden Bachelor” won’t be the only show under “The Bachelor” umbrella to air this year: fan-favorite series “Bachelor in Paradise” will also air its ninth season in the fall. (“The Golden Bachelor” will air Monday nights after “Dancing With the Stars,” and “Bachelor In Paradise” will air Tuesday nights in the fall.)
Casting calls for a senior citizen “Bachelor” have been airing during “The Bachelor” franchise shows for years, keeping viewers wondering when — or if — the show would ever happen. In 2020, the show was very much in consideration, but when the pandemic halted production, plans were thwarted.
Disney’s top unscripted TV exec, Rob Mills, previously spoke to PvNew about excitement behind the series, noting that one of the big changes with an older lead would be the hometown dates, which could feature visits home to children instead of parents. “Some of the casting interviews we got, they were just so touching,” Mills said. “It’s such a different way of doing ‘The Bachelor’ because these people are just at a totally different place in their lives.There is an interesting thing about people who have hit the other end of the spectrum, who’ve lived their lives, they’veraised their kids, some have been widowed or divorced and maybe some have never been in love. We thought that would be an interesting dynamic through the ‘Bachelor’ prism.”
“The Golden Bachelor” marks the latest expansion in “The Bachelor” franchise, which includes the flagship series “The Bachelor,” “The Bachelorette” and “Bachelor In Paradise.”
“The Golden Bachelor,” which will air Mondays this fall at 10 p.m., is produced by Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Warner Horizon.
