• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, August 17, 2023

ABC’s long-running “The Bachelor” is skewing older this fall with a new gimmick -- “The Golden Bachelor.”

For the first time, the venerable matchmaking series will feature a senior bachelor looking for love.

Once upon a time, the average American living on steak dinners and cigarettes was lucky to reach 70. 

But now, a 71-year-old golden boy from Indiana is looking to get lucky by picking a mate from a gaggle of golden girls.

ABC has not yet announced a premiere date for the show nor has it revealed the golden gals who will vie for a coveted red rose from dashing Gerry Turner, 71 (pictured above), whose identity was announced last month.

Gerry (pronounced GAIR-ee) is a widower who married his high school sweetheart, Toni, in 1974, ABC said. But sadly, she died of a sudden illness in 2017 after 43 years of marriage. 

“Six years after Toni’s passing and with the support of his family, Turner is ready to put himself out there and find a love that will stand the test of time in his golden years,” the network said.

On the show, a bevy of bachelorettes will meet a man who is described by ABC as a “doting father and grandfather [who] lives in his dream house on a beautiful lake in Indiana.”

He’s a retired restaurateur who is “busy hosting barbecues, playing pickleball, cheering on his favorite Chicago sports teams, four-wheeling and spending time with friends and family at restaurants and local haunts,” says an ABC press release.

Clearly, he is a perfect match for a four-wheeling female who roots for the Cubs and enjoys cookouts. Important question: If she doesn’t play pickleball, will this be a dealbreaker for this handsome Hoosier?

And what about this group of senior sirens? An ABC description suggests that they will all be similar in age to Golden GAIR-ee.

“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,” ABC said.

For 21 years, “The Bachelor” and its spinoffs “The Bachelorette” and “Bachelor In Paradise” have all featured younger men and women, presumably with the goal of attracting a predominantly female audience whose demographic profile falls more or less in line with the contestants on the shows.

Thus, the question for ABC is: Who is the potential audience for “The Golden Bachelor”? Does the network expect to draw the usual young audiences who have flocked to “The Bachelor” and “Bachelorette”? 

Or is the network hoping to discover a new, older audience who will embrace this love story as its own and set the stage for more?

And if an older audience is the goal -- perhaps one older than 49 or 54 -- where is this coming from? 

In an industry that is always in the hunt for younger viewers, putting on a show aimed mainly at seniors is a new wrinkle.