The Golden Bachelor, ABC’s dating reality tv spinoff series of The Bachelor, featuring a cast between the ages of 60 and 75 has stunned tv executives with its high ratings positive reviews.
The series has made a star of 72-year-old Gerry Turner, a retired restauranteur and widower from Hudson, Indiana. Critics have said the show is coming at a time when there are “expanding sensibilities around who is fit to fall in love on television.”
The stakes, emotions and characters seem far more elevated than previous versions of the franchise. Turner’s wife of 43 years died in 2017. “He isn't vapid or shallow like some of his "Bachelor" predecessors who can barely conceal a desire for fame and fortune. When he talks about why he joined the show, you believe he's looking for love. His voice breaks when talking about his late wife, Toni, his emotion leaping off the screen with grief relatable to so many of us.” USA Today
“Though its participants are not spring chickens, their lives are also far from over. These are people with hopes and dreams and desires, and, as I watched, I couldn’t help but think that there was something pretty radical about a show that represents older people as still wanting more from life—romantically, emotionally, sexually—without pandering to younger viewers or infantilizing its mature subjects.” The New Yorker.
With final episode airing on November 30, we’ll find out who Gerry has chosen as his true love. Let’s discuss the series, our reaction to it, what it means for older people looking for love and how mature love is portrayed on TV.
Participants don’t have to watch the whole series (which is available on You Tube) but do try to watch at least the pilot Pilot-The Golden Bachelor or episode 7"The Women Tell All" Women Tell Allso we can have an informed discussion.