ABC is currently between seasons of shows within Bachelor Nation, with Season 20 of The Bachelorette with the hopeful Charity Lawson as leading lady still more than a month away in the 2023 TV premiere schedule. The network nevertheless had some big news for the franchise looking ahead to the fall of the 2023-2024 TV season, which will premiere The Golden Bachelor as the dating show focusing on singles of a certain age. While the show has been in the works for some time, fans still hit social media with some interesting comments about ABC making The Golden Bachelor official!
News broke about a senior version of The Bachelor back in February 2020 when an ad during an episode revealed that the franchise was "NOW CASTING SENIORS LOOKING FOR LOVE." The surprising reveal came not too long after an ABC exec addressed Bachelor Nation potentially aging contestants up. Unsurprisingly, the then-untitled show did not get off the ground in light the COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in TV shows being delayed just weeks later.
Now, as part of ABC's announcement of reality TV shows taking over the 2023 fall lineup (presumably in response to the WGA writers strike), The Golden Bachelor is coming to primetime on Mondays. The network describes the show as giving one man a second chance at love while trying to find somebody to share the "sunset years of life" with, with the women arriving with "a lifetime of experience." This is a love story for "the golden years."
The show hasn't shared details about the singles who will appear, but it is officially coming to ABC in the fall. Take a look at the social media announcement:
While the franchise has been known to experiment with different kinds of formats – remember The Bachelor: Listen to Your Heart? – fans had some interesting (and funny) reactions to the news in the comments on the Instagram posts from Bachelor Nation and Golden Bachelor. The prevailing opinion seems to be that given the others shows' tendency to cast very young singles for the other shows, The Golden Bachelor could be more of the same:
- amber_streiff: Based on your casting for the regularly seasons this person will be what 32? 35?
- jjgee813: So over 30?
- mallory1230x: Does this mean people my age??? 34 😂😂
- lisamfan_: Watch they’re all gonna be in their 40s 🙄
- natashazips: Finally 😭 are they gonna be over 35 lol
Bachelor Nation is known for many things, but casting middle-aged singles for the various shows isn't one of them. In fact, if they hit 30, it's usually not far over. It's pretty clear from the description of The Golden Bachelor that the show is presumably aiming to find love for some individuals considerably older than usual... and presumably well over 40. Then again, who can say for sure? I was imagining a senior season in Bachelor Nation to be more like Bachelor in Paradise than a season of The Bachelor.
Of course, there were some other comments that were repeated for both Instagram posts, and these were a bit more complimentary:
- briannaramseyy: And it better be grandpa John
- jackie_volz: grandpa john? 🔥😏
- shordyy.b: GRANPA JOHN FOR BACHELOR
- letsgetsaucyyy: GABBYS GRANDPA!!
Gabby Windey's grandfather – known among viewers as Grandpa John – is clearly still a fan favorite, and I have to imagine that he'd be a great hook for fans to tune in to The Golden Bachelor. Plus, this franchise does tend to pull from its own pool of singles; could Grandpa John appear in the new show?
That seems like a stretch, but fans hoping for Grandpa John are among the commenters who are most enthusiastic about The Golden Bachelor. Interestingly, ABC has scheduled the new show for Monday nights in the fall, with Bachelor in Paradise airing on Tuesdays with its return for Season 9, so fans of the franchise will get a lot of singles looking for love in the final months of the year. ABC has not yet announced precise premiere dates, so only time will tell when they debut in the fall!
