The Golden Bachelor is basically The Bachelor, except everyone is about 30-40 years older than the show’s usual contestants. The bachelor that 20 women will be competing for is Gerry Turner, 71, whom we find out lost his wife of 43 years to a bacterial infection back in 2017, right as they were preparing to live out their retirement years in a new beach house. “I yearn for the second chance in life to fall in love again,” he says, and he has his daughters’ and granddaughters’ encouragement to go for it.
Opening Shot: A shot of Los Angeles. Gerry Turner stands in front of a mirror, buttoning a tuxedo shirt. Then we see a closeup of a hearing aid, which the man grabs and puts in his left ear.
The Gist: After our emotional introduction to Gerry, we see him arriving at the mansion and meeting host Jesse Palmer; he says he’s nervous. “I’m going to meet the woman of my dreams very shortly,” he tells Palmer. “It’s huge.”
From there, the scene is familiar: A limo pulls up, and one by one, bachelorettes get out and introduce themselves to Gerry. Only this time, all of the hopefuls are 60 and over, with the ages ranging up to 75. Some of the introductions are straightforward, like the one given by the silver-haired Edith, the first one out of the limo, and others are… not so much.
For instance, the seemingly sweet Sandra, 75, spouts the f-word when demonstrating to him her favorite way to ease her nerves. Patty, 70, tells Gerry she’s the mom of former Bachelor Matt James. Renee, 67, shows up in what looks like a jogging suit. Faith, 60, rides in on a motorcycle. Kathy, 70, says it’s her birthday and reveals what she says is her “birthday suit,” which almost gives Gerry a heart attack until he sees it’s a one-piece swimsuit.
Then a surprise bachelorette shows up, but she’s not among the 20 vying for Gerry’s heart: Jimmy Kimmel’s Aunt Chippy. She just wanted to check the handsome bachelor out. She marvels at the beautiful seniors in the room and realizes “This ain’t no 80-year-old club.”
Gerry certainly has his work cut out for him. He has his individual conversations with a decent number of the women, but not all of them. Then he gives his “first impression rose” to the woman who made the most lasting first impression on him. Then, as the sun rises over the mansion — “this is the latest I’ve ever stayed up,” he tells the women — he gives out the other 15 roses, meaning four women have to go home.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Uh, The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.
Our Take: What we thought we might see on The Golden Bachelor is a bit more of a mature and respectable take on the shenanigans we usually see with this franchise. But after the first episode, that notion pretty much went out the window. It’s the show people love, and others love to hate; it’s just that the contestants are a few decades older.
There’s still a fair amount of showboating among the contestants that can either be construed as personality or desperation, depending on your view. There’s the women elbowing each other for time with Gerry. And then there’s the kissing; he makes out with at least two bachelorettes, which is quite a heady day for someone who was married to his high school sweetheart for 43 years.
Look, it fills our hearts with hope to see all of these people trying to find love in their 60s and 70s. It also shows that in a day and age of better fitness knowledge, less smoking and cosmetic surgery you can look and act youthful and vital into your Social Security years. We just wish that didn’t translate into all of these women throwing themselves at Gerry like they’re 30-year-old marketing execs and TikTok influcencers.
Sex and Skin: Like we said, there’s some smooching in the first episode.
Parting Shot: Jesse wakes up Aunt Chippy, who wants to take home the couch she fell asleep on.
Sleeper Star: We like Sandra, not only because she looks about 20 years younger than her actual age, but she loves dropping f-bombs.
Most Pilot-y Line: There’s a scene in the season highlight reel where Gerry says, “The only time I felt worse was when my wife passed away.” Really, Gerry? It comes just under your wife dying? Talk about ramped-up TV emotions.
Our Call: STREAM IT. The Golden Bachelor has all the stuff Bachelor fans love. We just wish all of these sixty- and seventysomethings acted with a touch more maturity and dignity.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.