8 Ways The Golden Bachelorette Will Outshine The Golden Bachelor (My Thoughts On The Upcoming Spinoff)

The Golden Bachelorette is coming this fall, and with so much excitement from viewers, the series is hoping to do everything it can to outshine the first season of The Golden Bachelor. After years of hoping for an older-generation spin-off of The Bachelor, viewers were given the exciting announcement that The Golden Bachelor season 1 would be happening in mid-2023. The series, which had been in the works at ABC for years, was able to finally get produced due to the WGA Writers’ Strike, as ABC prioritized their reality TV programming for the fall lineup. Though viewers were nervous about the Bachelor Nation spin that the series might take, they trusted in the production team enough to watch the show get built from the ground up. With a whole new set of parameters, starting with who would lead the series, the Bachelor production team had to figure out an entirely different puzzle with the new series.

Rather than reaching into their usual bag of tricks surrounding casting, The Golden Bachelor chose to select someone from a nationwide search. After vetting hundreds of older men who were looking for love after heartbreak or loss, The Golden Bachelor chose Gerry Turner as their lead. The 70-something widower had two daughters and grandchildren and had lost his wife Toni Turner tragically in 2017. With a support system and a sad backstory in place, Gerry felt like the perfect lead to ease into the franchise. Bachelor Nation was anxious to see just how The Golden Bachelor would be different from the original series of the franchise, as the premise was the same as the original. The addition of older, wiser, and different contestants would have to make for a completely different experience, though, or at least that’s what Bachelor Nation initially believed. Captivated by Gerry’s backstory, viewers didn’t realize what they were going to be getting into watching the new series.

Even the premiere of The Golden Bachelor felt different than The Bachelor or The Bachelorette. Treating Gerry’s story with care, the producers wove his story with just specific details and made it clear that this wasn’t just the typical search for love, but something more. Gerry was in his golden years, and the women who’d chosen to leave their lives behind to try and see if there was a connection with him weren’t the typical Bachelor contestants. The added element of age truly made things more authentic, and more interesting to watch. The women of The Golden Bachelor stole the show throughout the season, creating fascinating relationships with one another and supporting each other through the most difficult moments of the series. When Gerry finally chose Theresa Nist as his partner by the end of the season, viewers were more excited to learn what was happening with the women he’d sent home. After lobbying for The Golden Bachelorette, ABC announced the next iteration of the Golden franchise is coming, but many are hoping it will be even better than The Golden Bachelor.

8

The Audience Will Be Familiar With The Lead

Gerry Started Out A Stranger

While the audience of The Golden Bachelorette will likely be around the same size, if not larger, than The Golden Bachelor‘s audience, the series will also be going into its inaugural season with another benefit. When The Golden Bachelor began, ABC had to introduce Gerry Turner to the audience. They did this by taking him on a press tour so that he could share his story with the world, bringing him to news outlets and morning shows, as well as social media. Gerry had to be introduced and shown around, and the audience had to take the time to get to know him. With The Golden Bachelorette, it’s likely the lead will come from Gerry’s cast of women. The lead of The Golden Bachelorette will be someone that the viewers are already aware of, which means there will be less of a learning curve for the viewers to take part in. People will already be aware of whose journey they’re taking part in, meaning there will be less hesitation in jumping in.

7

The Lead’s Journey For Love Will Be More Well-Rounded

The Golden Bachelor Was The Show’s First Outing

The Golden Bachelorette‘s lead will be going on a journey that Bachelor Nation has seen many times before, but it will be interesting to see what happens with a second outing for a Golden journey. With The Golden Bachelor, the series was a first at every turn. Though the formula of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette was at play, the fact that the viewers weren’t completely sure what the structure would look like or how the show would be was exciting, but nerve-wracking. For The Golden Bachelorette, the experience of watching a Golden series has already happened. The Golden Bachelorette won’t have those first-time jitters in the same way its predecessor did, but it will carry all of the excitement into the series. As the production team has already produced The Golden Bachelor, the next series will be similar mechanically, which means they can ultimately be a bit more creative now that they have a roadmap for how the show should look.

6

The Golden Bachelor Cast Will Be Involved

There Will Be Familiar Faces

Throughout The Golden Bachelor season 1, Gerry was joined by Bachelor Nation alumni who were there to help him along his journey. While seeing the familiar faces of some fun Bachelor couples and singles was nice, it was also a bit odd to see such young people offering Gerry, a man in his 70s, advice. Throughout the season, Gerry was also offered counsel by Bachelor Nation host Jesse Palmer, and his family from time to time. With less of a world built around him, Gerry’s season had to rely on familiarity within the franchise, rather than familiarity within the series. For The Golden Bachelorette, it’s possible that Bachelor Nation alumni may join in, but there is a built-in group of people who will be there to support the lead. The familiar faces of The Golden Bachelor season 1 cast will be present for the lead to offer counsel and help in the journey of whoever is chosen to be The Golden Bachelorette.

5

The Golden Bachelorette Won’t Face Scandal

Gerry Wound Up Not-So-Nice

Though it was minimal, there was a bit of scandal that haunted the tail-end of The Golden Bachelor season 1. While Gerry was painted out to be a sweet, sensitive guy who hadn’t dated since his wife Toni passed in 2017, it was revealed around the time of the finale that production had spun his story a bit to make him more palatable as the lead. Though Gerry is a sweet, kind, sensitive person who was hopeful that he’d find love in his golden years, he had dated after his wife died, and one of the women he dated anonymously shared she didn’t agree that he was kind-hearted. Telling some scandalous stories about Gerry to the press, the finale of The Golden Bachelor felt tainted by the drama. The Golden Bachelorette likely won’t face this sort of issue, as the women who are in the running to lead the series have been vetted by the producers already. It seems far less probable that the lead of the upcoming series will be able to fall prey to scandalous gossip about their lives prior to being The Golden Bachelorette.

4

Viewers Will Be Rooting For The Golden Bachelorette

It Was Tough To Root For Gerry & Theresa

After Gerry’s scandal, many already were finding it hard to root for him during The Golden Bachelor finale. Though he was clear that he hadn’t made the choice easily, Gerry wound up choosing Theresa and proposing to her in the finale episode. Viewers weren’t all satisfied with the choice, as Gerry had been open about his feelings for his other finalist Leslie Fhima in a way that pushed many to believe he’d be choosing her. Between the scandal and the fact that some wanted Gerry to choose Leslie in the end, it became hard to root for the couple as they moved out of the spotlight. On The Golden Bachelorette, there will surely be some dispute around who the better pick for the lead in the end is, but the majority of viewers will hopefully be on the same page. On top of potentially agreeing, it’s less likely that there will be anything scandalous for viewers to fixate on, so the lead will be easier to root for.

3

The Lead Will Undoubtedly Rely On Her Friends

Gerry Was Flying Solo

The majority of the time on The Golden Bachelor, Gerry was alone in his decision-making. He did have other Bachelor Nation alumni to rely on, as well as Jesse, but he didn’t have many people he trusted or knew to confide in throughout the season. Gerry, who clearly values being able to talk out his decisions, struggled with the pressure he was under throughout The Golden Bachelor season 1, even dissolving into tears at one point when he was trying to choose who to send home close to the end. Though The Golden Bachelorette will face a similar sort of pressure, her support system may look a lot different than Gerry’s did on the inaugural season. The Golden Bachelorette will likely have a lot of outside support from her former castmates, who will surely be part of her journey and allow her to talk things out at as needed. The lead having a better support system will make the series easier to watch for viewers.

2

The Series Will Bring In Another Layer Of Bachelor Nation

Some Viewers Prefer Bachelorette Content

Although many Bachelor Nation viewers watch every series that the franchise airs, some are more particular about their viewing habits. Some Bachelor Nation viewers only watch Bachelorette content, as they enjoy seeing the women in control more than the men. Some viewers struggle with the cattiness present on The Bachelor, and who lauded The Golden Bachelor for not falling into the same trap. The women of The Golden Bachelor were deeply supportive, but they were still competing to win one man’s heart. Some viewers simply didn’t tune in because of that convention but would be open to watching when a woman is in control. The Golden Bachelorette will have a whole subset of viewers that didn’t opt in for The Golden Bachelor but will be excited to see the women-driven version of the original. For some, watching The Golden Bachelorette will be their first experience in the Golden side of the franchise.

1

Bachelor Nation Is Already Excited

The Audience Has Bought In

While there was hype around The Golden Bachelor, the frenzy surrounding the series didn’t really come to fruition until well after the show had started to air. In meeting Gerry and seeing how authentic the journey would be for him and the women on his cast, viewers bought into the series and felt compelled to continue watching. Thankfully, Gerry’s journey to find love with Theresa kept viewers hooked throughout the season, and The Golden Bachelor became must-see TV. While The Golden Bachelorette will have to create some buzz surrounding the show once it’s closer to the premiere date, there is already some built-in hype from Bachelor Nation regarding the series. The audience is already locked in and ready to watch one of the women of The Golden Bachelor find love of her own. With a built-in audience and many who would join in for the first time to watch live episodes, The Golden Bachelorette is already looking like it will outshine its predecessor.