'The Bachelor' Expands to Dating Show With Older People

By Daniel S. Levine

The Bachelor franchise is expanding with a new series this fall on ABC. The Golden Bachelor will air on Monday nights this fall at 10 p.m. ET, following the return of Dancing With the Stars. It's part of ABC's strike-proof schedule, which includes exclusively unscripted programs for the fall of 2023.

The Golden Bachelor will star a man over 60 looking for love among a group of women contestants who are also over 60. ABC and Warner Bros. Unscripted Television have been considering the idea for years, and it came close to fruition in early 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the plan to be put on hold until earlier this year when ABC put out a new casting call.

"After more than 20 years of fostering young love on The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise, The Golden Bachelor showcases a whole new kind of love story – one for the golden years," reads the show's official description. "On this all-new unscripted series, one 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?"

As the Writers Guild of America's strike continues, ABC put together a fall 2023 schedule made entirely of unscripted competition and reality shows. The Golden Bachelor will take the post-DWTS slot usually reserved for The Good Doctor. Bachelor in Paradise will move from the Monday slot it had last year to Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET, following Celebrity Jeopardy!. Judge Steve Harvey and What Would You Do? will air on Wednesdays, with reruns of Abbott Elementary in between.

Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, Press Your Luck, and The $100,000 Pyramid will air Thursdays. Shark Tank and 20/20 will air on Fridays. America's Funniest Home Videos will air on Sundays, ahead of programs under the Wonderful World of Disney banner.

The Bachelor was created by Mike Fleiss and debuted in March 2002. Jesse Palmer hosted the previous two seasons. The main show was renewed for a 28th season on Tuesday. The Bachelorette recently finished its 20th season in April, while Bachelor in Paradise Season 8 ran from September to November 2022. Other Bachelor spinoffs include Bachelor Pad, Bachelor in Paradise: After Paradise, The Bachelor: Winter Games, and The Bachelor Presents: Listen to Your Heart.

0comments

Related:

Start the Conversation

of