• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, February 22, 2024

A 71-year-old turned heads on ABC last fall, and a golden lady of a certain age will be the center of attention on ABC next fall.

Is this a golden age for golden agers? It could be, as ABC readies its latest brand-extension in its long-running “Bachelor”/“Bachelorette” franchise: “The Golden Bachelorette.”

It’s the logical follow-up to last fall’s sensational “Golden Bachelor,” which had America watching and talking about 71-year-old retiree Gerry Turner as he looked for love among a group of 22 eligible bachelorettes ages 60-75.

The age range was within the parameters of the Baby Boomer generation: those born between the years 1946 -- 78 years old this year -- and 1964 -- 60 years old and not yet on Medicare.

U.S. Baby Boomers are said to number somewhere north of 70 million (online estimates range anywhere from 68 million to 73 million) out of a total estimated U.S. population of more than 336 million (source: United States Census Bureau).

In addition, the median age of Americans is said to be 39, according to Census Bureau data cited by CNN last year. 

With U.S. life expectancy expected to increase to 79.5 years this year (source: United Nations -- World Population Prospects), ABC’s spry seniors are partying like they’re not yet 99.

Who will be ABC’s “Golden Bachelorette”? ABC has not announced that yet, but the prediction here is that she will be drawn from the 21 sixty-year-old-plus ladies who lost out on “The Golden Bachelor” to Gerry’s choice, Theresa Nist, 69 (above photo, front row, far right).

The two were married in a live, two-hour special on ABC January 4. “The Golden Bachelorette” is slated for next fall.

Last December, ABC reported that the finale of “The Golden Bachelor” on November 30 drew total viewership of 7.13 million and a 0.98 rating in adults 18-49 (national live+7 numbers cited by ABC).

The network said the total viewership was the highest for any show in the “Bachelor” universe (“The Bachelor,” “The Bachelorette” and “Bachelor in Paradise”) since March 2020 and the best 18-49 number since September 2022.

The implication was that “The Golden Bachelor” drew viewership in a demo where the top age is 11 years younger than the youngest woman on “The Golden Bachelor” and 22 years younger than the golden bachelor himself, Gerry Turner.

Missing from the ABC ratings release was the average age of the show’s total viewership, other than the 18-49s. It is certainly possible that the show itself skewed older than that.

Whatever the makeup of the show’s audience, “The Golden Bachelor” is spawning “The Golden Bachelorette.” How much do you want to bet that more “Golden” bachelors and bachelorettes are on the way?