ABC has named its first golden years-era Bachelor. Gerry Turner, a 71-year-old man from Indiana, will lead the senior reality dating series, “The Golden Bachelor,” a spinoff of ABC’s long-running hit franchise “The Bachelor.”
The show’s format will imitate the flagship dating show, except this time, Turner will search for love among a group of eligible women 65 years and older. The show’s tagline reads, “It’s never too late to fall in love…again.” Turner is a retired restauranteur who lives on a lake in Indiana. He was married for 43 years to his high school sweetheart, Toni, who tragically fell ill and died in 2017. He’s a father to two daughters and a grandfather to two granddaughters. ABC describes Turner as a “charming 71-year-old patriarch.”
The idea for “The Golden Bachelor” has been in the works for a while, with the network first releasing a casting call for seniors looking for love in early 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic then delayed the spinoff series. Now, it will be among ABC’s strike-proof, all-unscripted fall schedule, making its debut after “Dancing With the Stars.” A premiere date hasn’t been announced yet.
The 20th season of “The Bachelorette” is airing, with the ninth season of “Bachelor in Paradise” also expected in the fall. “The Bachelor” has also been renewed for an upcoming 27th season. When asked about the golden-years spinoff earlier this year, Walt Disney Television executive Rob Mills told The Hollywood Reporter that delays came from finding the right lead. He said, “It’s the one I get asked about the most, which means people really love this idea.”
He continued, “For us, the most important thing is that we get the exact right person, whether it’s a Bachelor or Bachelorette, and it’s somebody that everyone wants to see us tell their story and that everyone gets invested in seeing them find love. So we’re still casting, we’re looking, but once we find the perfect person, absolutely, it’s one we’re going to do.”
The official description for “The Golden Bachelor” reads, “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. In 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?”
Warner Bros. Unscripted Television produces “The Golden Bachelor” in association with Warner Horizon.