ABC Announces 'The Golden Bachelor' Premiere Date, Time

Pack the Ben Gay and little blue pills?

ABC has picked up the long-gestating new iteration of The Bachelor franchise—The Golden Bachelor. The spinoff series will premiere on Monday nights, following Dancing with the Stars, which is returning to broadcast this fall after a year on Disney+. An exact premiere date has yet to be announced.

The Bachelor producer Mike Fleiss first announced in February via Twitter that the senior version of the ABC reality show was getting closer to reality.

“Major Announcement!!!! The Golden Bachelor is coming!!!” he tweeted.

The OG Bachelor premiered March 25, 2002. That means the franchise has been matching young couples on The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise for more than 20 years!

But now it's time for "a whole new kind of love story," ABC says.

This new unscripted series will give one hopeless romantic a second chance at love as they search for a partner with whom to share the sunset years of life.

The women arriving at the mansion will 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, ABC asks in the show's official synopsis

The ABC casting page, which is still up, refers interested seniors to Casting Crane, which asks, “Are you entering your golden years and looking for romance? The producers of The Bachelor are looking for active and outgoing single men and women in their golden years for a new exciting dating show.”

ABC unscripted chief Rob Mills has noted that the show is hunting for people 65 or older.

What else do we know about the new older The Bachelor? Read below for more!

Who is The Golden Bachelor?

Gerry Turner will be handing out the roses on The Golden Bachelor, ABC's first-ever senior-focused version in Bachelor history.

After several days of teases, ABC made the big reveal Monday, July 17 on Good Morning America, cheekily calling out several major differences between the traditional late 20s, early 30s Bachelor-verse contestants and the new golden version.

Turner is a 71-year-old grandfather from Indiana (whose first name is pronounced as “Gary”). He also shared that his wife of 43 years, Toni, fell ill and died in 2017.

"He posts his thirst traps in a leather-bound album," the promo said. "His DMs have postage. He gets the Early Bird Special anytime he wants."

But perhaps one of the starkest differences: "If you call him, he'll answer the phone.

"He doesn't have gray hair, he has wisdom highlights. Florida wants to retire and move to him. He's Gerry and I'm your first Golden Bachelor.

Here's his full bio from ABC:

"A retired restaurateur and doting father and grandfather, Gerry [GAIR-ee] Turner lives in his dream house on a beautiful lake in Indiana. He's often 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.

Always a romantic, Turner married his high school sweetheart, Toni, in 1974. Together, they lived a full and happy life with their two daughters, Angie and Jenny, and later two granddaughters, Charlee and Payton. Sadly, after their 43 years together, Toni suddenly fell ill and passed away in 2017.

What happened to Gerry’s wife?

During the “Men Tell All” special of Charity Lawson's season of The Bachelorette, we learned what the heartbreaking story of what happened to Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner's wife.

In a clip played during the episode, Gerry said he and his wife of 43 years had a plan for their golden years. His wife, Toni, retired in May 2017. They closed on their dream house on June 6. Things went south from there.

"She became ill and her situation got worse over a couple of weeks,” he said.

Gerry continued, tearing up, “And so we went to the emergency room and she had a bacterial infection that infected her kidneys and infected her liver. So I took my wife to the emergency room on July 7. She passed away on July 15.”

How long has a senior Bachelor spinoff been on the drawing board?

The idea of a senior The Bachelor has been floating around for more than three years. During pilot Peter Weber’s 24^th season that began in January 2020, fans saw some casting commercials for it. As Variety has reported, the show was expected to shoot and air by fall 2020, but the Covid-19 crisis scuttled plans.

How has The Golden Bachelor been promoted?

Fans were primed for a greying Bachelor in a segment of comic relief during Clayton Echard’s season 26 of the show. A woman named Holly, 63, exited a limo and told young and hunky Echard, “I’m here for the other Bachelor, you know, so I feel like I’m in the wrong place.”

Is The Golden Bachelor already casting?

Yes. Mills told Variety in July 2020, “Some of the casting interviews we got, they were just so touching. It’s such a different way of doing The Bachelor because these people are just at a totally different place in their lives.”

What are producers looking for in potential Golden Bachelor cast?

On the Casting Crane site, applicants are being asked for physical appearance details such as height, weight, hair color, and eye color. Other questions involve occupations and salaries, education level, and where applicants were born. More contentious questions ask if the senior Bachelor hopefuls have ever been arrested or filed for bankruptcy! One important question asks, “Why would you want to find love on TV?”

When will The Golden Bachelor premiere?

The new Bachelor spinoff will premiere as part of ABC's fall 2023 lineup on Thursday, Sept. 28 at 8 p.m. ET. We're guessing they can't film this series too far in advance in case, you know, something happens to the cast.

Will The Golden Bachelor air on ABC?

Yes! The Golden Bachelor will air on ABC on Monday nights following Dancing with the Stars.

Who will host the new Bachelor spinoff?

ABC has not released any details about who will host The Golden Bachelor. We'll update this space as new details emerge.

How will the senior Bachelor differ from the original Bachelor?

Mills has said the hometown visits will obviously be different, with suitors meeting the contestants’ children and other family members instead of parents. He elaborated to Variety, “There is an interesting thing about people who have hit the other end of the spectrum, who’ve lived their lives, they’ve raised their kids, some have been widowed or divorced and maybe some have never been in love. We thought that would be an interesting dynamic through the Bachelor prism.”

Do they already have a Bachelor Nation favorite in mind?

Many have suggested Gabby Windey’s beloved grandfather, John, as ideal for the new show. The feisty and funny oldster became a breakout star on both Echard’s The Bachelor and Gabby’s dual 2022 season of The Bachelorette with Rachel Recchia. Widower John still wears his wedding ring—and takes frequent naps, so it remains to be seen if he'd be up for the senior show. But Twitter fan Erin told producer Fleiss, "Grandpa John better be in those fantasy suites."

Are fans embracing The Golden Bachelor idea?

Most love the concept but some wonder if it’s really going to happen after taking so long.

"I'll believe it when I see it," one Twitter user shrugged.

"This Century? Before the applicants die of old age?" Tweeter Shannon asked.

“If I had a nickel for every ‘major announcement,’ I’d be able to produce an enjoyable show,” another person fumed via Twitter.

What does a former Bachelor Nation star think about new spinoff?

The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise alum Josh Murray recently told TMZ he loves the new idea. “The older people need loving, too,” he smiled. “Everybody deserves love so hopefully it will be fun. I’ll watch it. I’m not watching the regular Bachelor stuff anymore [but] I’ll watch the senior one.” Murray said it will be refreshing because older contestants likely won’t be looking for fame after the show. “I think by that age, people actually want to find someone they’re actually looking for…It may be more genuine….I like the concept.”

Next, Everything To Know About The Bachelor Host Jesse Palmer