The Golden Bachelor’s older singletons have saved a franchise

No matter who 72-year-old Gerry picks on this week's finale, the spin-off has injected new life into the US's flagship dating show

Strange as it may sound, one of the hottest shows on TV this fall has been ... an old dating series now catering, for once, to senior citizens. That would be The Golden Bachelor, a new spin-off of America's pre-eminent dating series in which a 72-year-old widow searches for love among a cohort of age-appropriate women aged 60-75. The show has delivered the franchise's highest ratings in years - its September premiere reached a combined 13.9 million viewers and set a streaming record as ABC's most-watched episode of an unscripted series ever on Hulu. And it's not just appealing to the golden demographic; the series scored the franchise's best ratings for the 18-49 demographic since a 2021 episode of Bachelor in Paradise, which adheres to the much more standard format of hot young singles commingling in hot exotic locales.

Anecdotally, The Golden Bachelor has transcended the generally siloed island of Bachelor Nation - no show has been mentioned to me more this fall, or with more surprise and delight. I'm generally dating show agnostic, and yet found myself charmed by the older midwesterner Gerry Turner and his suitors, all openly looking for companionship after love, loss and many former eras. Regardless of who Turner chooses on this week's two-hour season finale - 64-year-old Leslie Fhima, a former national aerobics champion, or 70-year-old Theresa Nist, who also lost a longtime beloved spouse - the Golden Bachelor has undoubtedly reinvigorated America's pre-eminent dating franchise.