‘The Bachelor’ Announces Spin-off With Only Senior Citizen Contestants: ‘One For The Golden Years’
Courtesy ABC
In the midst of a costly writers strike, it appears networks like ABC are pulling out all the stops to keep audiences glued to their television screens this year.
The Bachelor, the long running show featuring groups of women and men competing for a chance at love, will be raising the stakes this Fall by debuting The Golden Bachelor, a new take on the franchise.
The Golden Bachelor will have contestants over the age of 65 competing for a rose and possibly a good retirement plan. Announced by ABC on Wednesday, the show plans to be a “whole new kind of love story — one for the golden years.”
A press release from ABC, obtained by Variety, says the show will showcase a hopeless romantic “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?”
While the idea for the spinoff has been thrown around for several years, first starting in 2020, it appears the WGA writers strike has pushed executives to finally give the show a green light.
ABC’s top unscripted executive Rob Mills told Variety back in 2020 that the spinoff could be a touching addition to the franchise that featured contestants in a much different part of life.
“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,” Mills said.
Certain aspects of the beloved franchise will remain the same, while some classic episodes will be adapted to fit the new contestants. For example, “Hometown Dates” which sees the potential Bachelor or Bachelorette visiting contestants’ parents, will be swapped out with meeting children and grandchildren.
